Cupra Terramar long-term test

The car Cupra Terramar V2 1.5 e-Hybrid 204PS DSG Run by Stuart Milne, digital editor

Why it’s here To see if the Terramar could be a practical, low-cost Porsche Macan alternative

Needs to deliver the driving experience those looks promise, while being an economical family workhorse

Miles covered 7921 Price £46,695 Target price £44,035 Price as tested £47,390 Official economy 176.5mpg Test economy 78.4mpg

18 March 2026 – Illuminating stuff

Years ago, car lighting was purely functional: usually-dim filament bulbs would attempt to break the gloom ahead, and an array of coloured ones would warn from the dashboard when something was amiss.

Those days are long gone, and car makers have entire departments dedicated to the art of fluorescence. Some manufacturers, such as Audi, make it possible for their lights to emit all manner of patterns; others, such as Mercedes, bathe their cars’ interiors in all manner of hues.

The approach in my Cupra Terramar is far simpler, but no less impressive. The headlights sport fixed patterns, but I love their intricate trio of three triangles formed of 25,000 individual pixels. It’s a shame then that on my V2 model, there's no Matrix LED beam-shifting technology, and I’ve found the automatic high beam a little lazy. Annoyingly, Matrix LEDs can’t even be chosen as an option on the V2 – meaning you’d need to spend around £7000 more to step up to the VZ1 trim in order to get them.

The rear lights are great, and require no such caveats, although it seems a little bit of a miss that they don't fade up and form patterns when the car is unlocked. But while I’m no fan of illuminated badges, the triangular Cupra logo looks good to my eyes. 

I like the design of the main light units, which carry on that triangular design cue and give it some three-dimensional depth. It’s some really smart design, but something the driver will rarely get to appreciate.

But I also find it odd that the only reference to ‘Terramar’ is on the side of those lights. Given Cupra is a new brand, and three of its models are sleek, aggressively styled family SUVs, I’d have thought it’d go big on explaining what each model is with a traditional badge on the rump.

I’ve struggled a bit more with the interior lighting. There’s a strip which runs the entire width of the dashboard. Out of the box, it shines in Cupra’s signature bronze, which is a nice hue, but the other colours, which are selected via the infotainment, just seem too intense, even if the brightness can be tweaked. Better are the dotted patterns on the door cards, which are very easy on the eye, and not remotely distracting.

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