MODEL ON TEST: VZ2 1.5 e-HYBRID DSG AUTOMATIC – MILEAGE – 7,059

Journeys to the end of the earth are a bit of a road test cliché, of course, but a decision to blow the cobwebs off the final atlas pages and revisit an old holiday stomping ground for the first time in a decade (blame Devon, I guess?) led me this month to steering the Terramar’s handsome nose for Cornwall and into the car park for Land’s End, that place on the map where fair Albion’s final fingertips surrender to the swell of Atlantic and, etc, etc.

As most people know, of course, Land’s End itself is a salt-flecked shopping mall first conceived in full Disneyesque late- 80s glory by oil, property and shipping magnate Peter de Savary. Visitors can drop anchor here for £9.50 or stop free for a few minutes, which was just enough time to get awkward stares from Japanese tourists (why’s that sad bloke taking a picture of his car, I think they asked).

Snatched photography aside, the image is fitting because it marks a moment worth recording: the entire Cornwall jaunt, replete with coagulated M5, narrow, boulder-infected lanes and prolonged sessions of musical chairs in beach car parks clearly designed before the nation converted to SUVs, amounted, I am shocked to report, to a happy holiday. And much of the credit for that (along with yet more endless days of sunshine) lies at the door of the Terramar.

This picture shows I modified the load capacity by deft addition of my trusty old Halfords roof box and, although the Terramar’s boot is reasonably capacious for four on a short trip away, it’s laughably bonsai for beach trips. With all sandy stuff thus quarantined, the only setback was the endless drone once we were under way.

“What’s that high-pitched whining?” my wife said, barely a mile from home. “I’ve modified the drag coefficient slightly,”I say,pointing skyward.Thankfully, this car’s belter of a sound system took care of the constant whine (from above, not next to me), but I fully expected to stop at the first break and find a hundred dogs running behind us.

No other noises, however, were apparent, for which we should praise the Terramar’s huge rear-seat space, smooth ride (unless agitated by an Airbnb rough track) and velvety transmission. Despite all this sporty design, it’s a family pleaser. For the duration, we eschewed battery power (once the original 60 miles or so had expired) but being thrown to the mercy of the forecourt proved not too bad: on its long-term average, the car clung on to 148mpg for the 500-plus miles adventure. Back home, I return to the daily psychodrama of seeing whether my children’s random journey demands, on top of everything else, can be kept electric. They usually are.

And so it is that we head towards the chequered flag for the Terramar’s tenancy and this intense week underlined why we now see so many on UK roads.The word ‘practical’ may be a bit utilitarian – but if it’s true, the final furlongs are likely to underline how this is all that plus a lot more.

SIMON HACKER

WHAT’S HOT: Roof rails! Don’t start me on the ranks of EV models that banish them. They’re a real-world essential (but I must find a more streamline box).

WHAT’S NOT: The Terramar’s eye-spy technology flashes a warning on the dashboard if you so much as glance away from the road. A nanny nightmare, or must-have safety kit?

CLICK HERE TO READ ALL OF OUR LONG-TERM REPORTS ON THE CUPRA TERRAMAR

FACTS & FIGURES

ARRIVED: 10th February 2026

PRICE WHEN NEW: £50,150

PRICE AS TESTED: £51,145

ECONOMY: 156.9mpg (official WLTP) 41.7mpg (on test)

COSTS: None

FAULTS: None