This week on Chasing Cars: Cupra Formentor reviewed, Dodge goes electric and Polestar 6 unveiled

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When dealing with an industry layered so thick in marketing and, at times, deceptive jargon we relish the chance to catch up with the big bosses and have a straight conversation.

This week, Chasing Cars shared our full and exclusive interview with the global CEO of Cupra, Wayne Griffiths, and spoke about their foray into the Australian market. 

Alongside this, we covered a big week of news with rumours on everything from the new Subaru Impreza arriving soon and Lexus CT transforming into an electric small SUV – as well as the arrival of a host of new electric SUVs from Mercedes-Benz.

We’ve also published a suite of reviews on everything from the Kia Niro hybrid to a head-to-head between two full-electric SUVs – but our highlight of the week is the virtually unknown but very cool Cupra Formentor which deserves a very special mention. 

Cupra Formentor VZe reviewed

We’ve had a drive on the track and now we’ve had a go on less than ideal roads and all in all, we’re still very impressed with the Cupra Formentor.

Reviewed here in plug-in hybrid VZe guise, the Formentor is technically a midsize SUV but in the flesh, it’s more of a raised wagon – and all the better for it we reckon. 

During our testing we saw an electric-only driving range of 49km and its suspension is well-suited to Aussie roads, proving itself quite a fine commuter. 

And when you finally lean on it properly (as you should) the Formentor VZe has some seriously engaging handling that makes it feel like more of a sports car than an SUV – it’s just a shame that stock is so limited for this model at the moment.

If you want to find out more go read or watch our review and after that, if you still want more Formentor content, you won’t have to wait long as Chasing Cars will soon be taking on a Formentor VZx as a long-termer. 

Dodge flexes its electric muscles

How do you sell electric cars to a fan base which is well known for despising the very thought of adopting the technology? It’s a question with an answer that could make or break the future of Dodge. 

The demise of combustion-engined vehicles appears all but inevitable and Dodge doesn’t want to be left behind, prompting it to make the brave decision this week to announce it would retire the Charger and Challenger models as we know them next year.

With its present-day given a definitive death date, Dodge unveiled its future the very next day with the Charger Daytona SRT concept. Featuring a very Challenger-like design with some clever aerodynamics on the front of the car, the concept simply looks the part.

Dodge also rattled off some interesting features hidden behind some simply nauseatingly cheesy marketing that we did our very best to translate into English.

This includes an ‘E-rupt’ transmission that simulated the experience of a petrol car, as does the ‘Fratzonic chambered exhaust’ which blasts out an engine noise of sorts, Dodge claims, at up to 126dB – a figure akin the highest volumes ever documented by stadium rock bands.

While Dodge did not disclose any performance figures for the concept, it claims the 800-volt ‘Banshee’ electric propulsion system makes the new electric coupe “faster than a Hellcat in all key performance measures”.

Polestar 6 concept unveiled

The Polestar 2 liftback has been a real hit and the Polestar 3 SUV isn’t far away so with its core products accounted for, the Swedish automotive brand is going back to its performance roots with the Polestar 6 convertible.

It won’t be built until 2026 but Aussies can place an order now if they’ve got a spare ​​USD$25,000 (est. A$35,700) sitting around, with Polestar stating that the total estimated price will be around $286,000. 

We’ve only seen the concept of this convertible so far but we’re impressed, though it remains to be seen what the final product will look like.

The platform it sits on is capable of 650kW of power and 900Nm of torque, which should provide some pretty ferocious acceleration times that will take the fight to the Tesla Roadster. 

All the cars and SUVs we reviewed this week:

The Kia Niro hybrid is, in my option, a severely underrated small SUV, that packs enough space inside to fit the family and due to an influx of stock, you can actually get your hands on one right now, as I discussed in my review of the GT-Line grade this week. 

The Toyota Camry is bloody brilliant in our eyes and this week our infatuation with this once incredibly dull sedan was renewed once again when we reviewed the SX hybrid, which we think represents a far better option than an SUV for many family duties. 

Honda’s CR-V is getting on in years now and while it does have a number of advantages going for it (mainly price) but the rate of pace among its competition mean it’s slowly being left behind, as the affordable VTi X grade made clear in our review this week. 

We put the Volvo XC40 and Lexus UX300e head to head to compare which of these electric SUVs is the best to buy.

Other car and SUV news we covered this week:

• Kia is currently bringing in more stock of the Niro small SUV to Australia than it’s selling and in a time when wait times on hybrid-powered SUVs can last for years there is a good chance you could simply walk into a dealership and just buy one. 

• Mercedes-Benz has priced the fully-electric, seven-seat EQB 250 from $87,800, with the all-wheel-drive 350 version commanding $106,700.

• Meanwhile in the US, Mazda has unveiled the refreshed 3 hatch and sedan range and given the 2.5-litre engine a power and fuel economy boost, which we could get eventually. 

• If you want a Skoda with a seven-year warranty I’ve got some good news, because the Czech automaker has now extended its deal to throw in the longer coverage when buyers pick up a seven-year pre-paid servicing package. 

• Hertz has just added 70 Polestar 2s to its Australian fleet and told Chasing Cars it could potentially add the Polestar 3 and Tesla Model Y to its line-up.  

• ARB has announced its broad range of aftermarket accessories for the upcoming Ford Everest and previewed them on the car. Bullbars, snorkels, a pull-out kitchen and an air compressor kit are just some of the options on offer. 

• UK outlets have picked up on Volkswagen filing a patent of ute version of the ID Buzz that could come to Australia, with new renders giving us a hint at what it might look like.  

• Haval has confirmed the Jolion Hybrid will be priced from $40,990 driveaway when it goes on sale in Australia this September – a $7000 premium over the regular model. 

• Kia has been spotted testing a camouflaged facelift version of the Sorento large SUV and now new renders have emerged, giving us an idea of what it might look like. 

• What happens when you rent an EV and its runs out of charge? We were curious about this so we put the question to Hertz who gave a curious response.