Mark Lincoln from Marketing: I recently emailed our CUPRA customers, along with those who may be interested in one day being a part of the CUPRA Tribe, with an email campaign that was perhaps a bit out of the norm for a car dealership. Subscribe here if you missed it.
Rather than promoting our CUPRA vehicles or offers, I instead shared some thoughts on what it means to be a part of the CUPRA Tribe.
I followed-up by creating an article version, Don’t read unless you’re a member of the CUPRA Tribe, and posted this to LinkedIn where you can also see a lot of the comments from other CUPRA owners, as well as CUPRA New Zealand’s team themselves.
After the email was sent and the posts were published, I was blown away with the support for CUPRA. Along with direct replies to the email from customers sharing their photos and stories, people that I’d been connected to on LinkedIn for years came out of the woodwork to show photos of their own CUPRA vehicles.
There was a common theme amongst those stories – while everyone was keen to see more CUPRA vehicles on New Zealand roads, they all appreciated the close community of CUPRA owners, the CUPRA Tribe, with at least three people all saying they waved at other CUPRA drivers when they passed each other on the road. One even went on to say he had an MG hire car on a recent trip to the UK and had to stop himself waving at the CUPRA drivers that went passed as they would have had no idea why he was waving!
With their permission, I’ve shared a few of their photos and stories below.
Ian’s 2023 CUPRA Formentor VZ in Wānaka
Ian quickly responded to our email to share this photo of his CUPRA Formentor VZ in Desire Red, positioned by a river with a stunning mountain range backdrop that New Zealand’s South Island is so well known for. This particular area is within the Mātukituki Valley, Lake Wānaka, Otago.
You can see from the bike rack that Ian’s obviously made the most of his visit. While the Formentor VZ is a powerful car (this one is 0-100 km/h in 4.9 seconds!) that looks incredible around town, the all-wheel drive drivetrain and 1,415 litres of boot capacity helps to make it a practical car that’s ready for weekend adventures along the roads less travelled.
I’m really loving this car, but a bit disappointed that there are not too many others enjoying them too, (although as you say I’m glad they’re not too common either). A very rare combination of performance and practicality, but with looks to match. – Ian, Formentor VZ owner
Thank you, Ian.
Chris’s 2024 CUPRA Leon Sportstourer V in Auckland
Chris Young didn’t initially receive our email (those who missed it should subscribe here) but saw my post on LinkedIn. While I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Chris in person, I’ve been connected to him through various social media profiles for many years. In fact, I think this may date back to the early days of Twitter (I prefer not to call it by its new name) when there were a select few of us in New Zealand who were early adopters on the platform. Correct me if I’m wrong, Chris!
I’d forgotten that Chris has a stunning Leon Sportstourer in black. He reminded me of this in a LinkedIn comment and happily sent through some photos of his ‘new car day’. He added his own thoughts about the CUPRA Tribe.
“Totally bang on Mark. I chose my CUPRA Leon Sportstourer because it’s not everyone’s cup of tea (plus it’s a rocket). I had owned VW and SEAT cars previously, and love the VW Group underpinning, but the Spanish styling is what makes this car special. I wouldn’t want to drive any other car (okay, a Porsche 911 would be good).”
– Chris, Leon Sportstourer owner
Thank you, Chris! Chris added, and I’ve reluctantly agreed (given our friendly rivalry!), that he wanted to give a shoutout to Dane at Giltrap CUPRA. Giltrap CUPRA is Auckland’s CUPRA dealership and has been looking after Chris very well by the sounds of it! Great work, Dane.
Of course, if you’re located closer to the home of CUPRA in Christchurch, our own Chris and Matt would be happy to look after you.
Chris is a fellow marketer and family man plus also a keen golfer, and if you’re happy to put that latter note aside then you should follow Chris on Instagram at @chriswardyoung. ;)
Nick’s 2024 CUPRA Formentor V e-HYBRID
Nick was another who wasn’t subscribed to emails as he’s based in Auckland. He’s a training adviser for MITO – they provide training for New Zealand’s automotive and transport industries so he really knows his stuff. Nick saw the LinkedIn post and added a photo of his CUPRA Formentor V e-HYBRID to the mix.
The Formentor V e-HYBRID has a combined fuel economy of just 1.3 litres per 100 km. I don’t know if Nick uses it for work, but I’m sure if he did his company would thank him for the low annual fuel bill. In addition to that, Nick would also be able to travel 54 km in full electric vehicle mode. My own commute from Rangiora to Christchurch is 30 km, so I’d be able to just about do this each day in electric mode only with zero emissions, charging each night. Then for longer weekend adventures, the petrol engine would work in-sync with the battery to provide more economical driving over long distances.
The new CUPRA Formentor V e-HYBRID hasn’t yet had its fuel economy figures added to the spec sheet, so I’m keen to see those and how they compare to the previous model.
“Stunning cars!”
– Nick, Formentor V e-HYBRID owner
Thank you, Nick.
Aaron’s 2024 CUPRA Leon Sportstourer V e-HYBRID
Aaron was another CUPRA owner who came across my LinkedIn post. He’s the proud owner of this CUPRA Leon Sportstourer V e-HYBRID, which boasts a combined fuel economy of just 1.2 litres per 100 km and is capable of up to 58 km of electric-only driving. This model’s combined petrol and battery power offers up to 180 kW of power and 400 Nm or torque delivered through a 6-speed DSG transmission, so it certainly has power when you need it.
While we don’t yet have a PHEV model in the new CUPRA Leon Sportstourer range, the V model is a mild-hybrid turbo petrol with fuel economy of just 5.1 litres per 100 km, so still very frugal when it comes to its petrol consumption.
Love ours. I took this photo on the desert road a while back.
– Aaron, CUPRA Leon Sportstourer V e-HYBRID owner
Aaron Staples happens to be a Motorsport Photographer for ASP, hence the stunning photograph. I strongly recommend viewing his work on his website, Aaron Staples Photography.
Thanks, Aaron.
Paul’s CUPRA Formentor VZ
Paul responded to the email with some great feedback but didn’t include a photo of his CUPRA Formentor VZ, so I’ve cheated slightly and used one of CUPRA New Zealand’s photoshoots. That’s not Paul in the photo, and – unless through some bizarre coincidence – that’s not Paul’s chicken.
Paul was so confident in the Formentor that, while still doing his research, he bought his without ever having taken it for a test drive.
I brought my Cupra Formentor VZ because I loved the look of it. Didn’t want to buy the run of the mill vehicle that is everywhere. So after seeing these vehicles on Trade Me I brought one privately without even driving one.
I was rapt when it arrived and can honestly say it is the best car I have driven. From it’s appearance to quality finishes and great performance I have been really impressed with it. It is really nice to drive around town but comes into its own on the open road.
– Paul, CUPRA Formentor VZ owner
Thank you, Paul.
Where can you keep updated on CUPRA news?
This has all been a great opportunity to hear from CUPRA owners in New Zealand – the CUPRA Tribe. For me personally, it’s been a good excuse to hear from our owners and gain some insights on how they’re using their CUPRA. That’s something I don’t get enough of, sitting behind my desk in the marketing office, so I really appreciate those who have shared their photos and stories.
If you’re reading this and own a CUPRA in New Zealand, please reach out to us with your stories. Tag us on social media at @cuprachristchurch (links below) and sign-up to our emails for future updates.
We hope to share more stories through the CUPRA Tribe category of our website’s news section.
Our social media:
- News updates on Facebook at @cuprachristchurch
- Photos, reels, and wallpapers on Instagram, @cuprachristchurch
- Videos on YouTube
- Behind-the-scenes insights and other news on LinkedIn
And be sure to subscribe to our emails for more updates from our team, local news, offers, and more.
See you out there.
Mark Lincoln
Connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram @marklincoln (sorry, not so many cars on there recently!)
“I wasn’t aware of the CUPRA brand until my husband started researching into what might be a good car for me. He definitely got it right when he said CUPRA was the way to go. I’m not a car person but I absolutely love my CUPRA.
It’s a high-performance car, and I finally get what it means when people say that a particular car is “lovely to drive”. I love driving it and I especially love the power behind it.”
CUPRA CHRISTCHURCH
An official CUPRA dealer at 335 Moorhouse Avenue and a member of the Miles Group, one of New Zealand’s leading, family-owned and operated automotive groups.
Our team look forward to hearing from you.
