Long-term report: The Cupra Terramar has departed, but has any love been lost?

The time has come to say goodbye to my Cupra Terramar, which I’ve been running for the last six months.

If we rewind back to September, I took delivery of this SUV with a rather low expectation; a grey-coloured family wagon and not even the hot ‘VZ’ model.

However, my opinion began to turn as the Terramar started to show its true colours as an easy-to-live-with, practical and comfortable proposition.

It’s not going to excite those who love driving, but that’s not what this type of car is about. Though at least it comes from a brand with sporty credentials, as the signature front LED headlights feature a distinctive chequered flag pattern and the gold accents dotted about the interior give off a sense of class.

I’ve been impressed with how it delivers its comfort on a long journey and the four-wheel drive setup fitted to our test car gives a sense of security on a slippery road during the winter months.

The Cupra and I have covered many miles together; lots of them up and down the M3 and M25, and every time, the car’s excellent refinement levels and soft suspension make it a great motorway-mile-muncher.

I complained at the start that the car was only averaging around 28mpg; however, after running it in, the fuel consumption has levelled out and on a good run you can easily achieve between 40 and 45mpg.

The sliding rear seats have been really handy for loading larger items into the rear and passengers have commented several times on how comfortable the seats are.

What I love most about the Terramar is that it doesn’t feature a single piece of gloss black trim. The interior boasts lots of recycled materials, which just feel more durable and better quality than shiny, easy-to-scratch black plastic.

My experience with the Cupra hasn’t been all plain sailing, as the glitchy infotainment system never resurrected itself, even after several software updates, and there were a few times where the ‘ADAS’ systems malfunctioned with the dashboard lighting up like a Christmas tree.

The automatic gearbox wasn’t the best either, revving out unnecessarily under mid-acceleration, which dented the fuel economy and refinement from time to time. Plus, the touch-sensitive volume controls and temperature dials for the air conditioning still aren’t the most intuitive, with the system working much better if there were physical dials. Thankfully, the buttons on the steering wheel and door panels still have tactile switches.

The ‘auto-hold’ function also makes parallel parking a chore as the slightest tap from the throttle sees you hurtling towards the car in front. It’s much easier if you turn the system off while you’re trying to park to avoid any bumps and scrapes.

As I handed over the keys to the delivery driver, I felt sad to see the back of this SUV as it did everything without a fuss. Sure, it didn’t set my hair on fire in the driving stakes nor in the performance department, but there is something satisfying about living with a car that is easy to live with and has a discreet image.

In the last six months, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Cupra Terramar is a sensible, sturdy, practical, yet slightly vanilla choice in the family SUV market. It has plenty of things going for it and still carries some of that exclusive Cupra DNA within its interior, though there are alternatives like the Ford Kuga and Hyundai Tucson, which provide sharper driving characteristics.