Cupra Born review

The Cupra Born is an electric family hatchback that promises a bit of a sporting edge. With a maximum range of up to 335 miles it’ll give the likes of the Tesla Model 3 something to worry about, but in reality it sets out to take on alternatives such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the Kia e-Niro and the Volkswagen ID.3.

In fact, this Spanish EV is closely related to the Volkswagen. Not only are they all but identical under the skin, they look remarkably similar too.

In a way, you could think of the two cars as being siblings. The Volkswagen is the sensible, mature older brother, while the Cupra is the young upstart that’s a bit edgy and has a tendency to get up to a bit of good-natured mischief.

Up front it has a much sharper face than the ID.3, and there are some striking copper coloured badges and trim inserts for a bit of extra visual wow factor too. Wheel sizes range from 18- to 20-inches, and round the back there’s a sharp-looking LED light bar that stretches across its tailgate.

The cabin is pretty athletic looking, too. In the place of leather you can get sporty synthetic suede upholstery that’s made from recycled ocean plastic; and the sports seats are comfy and hold you snugly in place (although it’d be nice if you could bring the steering wheel in a bit closer to your chest). You won’t have any trouble seeing out the front, but the rear window is a bit on the small side.

You get a 12-inch touchscreen on the dash, which packs sharp looking graphics and plenty of tech including satellite navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It’s a pity it has a tendency to lag and crash, though; and the lack of proper physical controls for the air conditioning is also a pain.

The Cupra Born is the sportier looking sibling of the practical Volkswagen ID.3. The 58kWh battery with the 204hp motor offers the best blend of range and performance.

Still, there’s a tonne of space in the rear for back seat passengers, and the spacious 385-litre boot is identical to that of its Volkswagen relation.

There will eventually be three different battery sizes to choose from, lending the Born an electric range of as little as 211 miles and as high as 335 miles. Our test car had the mid-level battery with a range of 263 miles, and a 204hp electric motor.

Plugged in to a 7kW home wallbox charger, you’d be able to top this car’s battery up overnight easily enough – and it’d cost you about £10 to do so. The Born can charge at up to 170kW, so if you find a fast enough publicly-accessible DC rapid charger you’ll go from 10% to 80% capacity in around 30 minutes.

Set up as such it’s easily quick enough for ducking and darting in and out of slow moving traffic, and for swift overtaking on faster roads. On its lowered sports suspension it handles pretty tidily too, with accurate steering and decent grip. The brakes are lifeless though, and despite its athletic looks it certainly doesn’t feel like a fun-loving electric hot hatchback. It’s a bit too sensible for that.

That said, despite a bit of tetchiness over the odd lump or bump, it’s comfy enough, and on the motorway it settles down nicely. There’s a bit of road and wind noise, but this is no dealbreaker.

So there’s plenty to like here. The Born is practical, spacious, easy to drive and has more than enough electric range. But given the fact it wears the Cupra badge (Cupra is the performance offshoot of Seat) it’s just a pity it isn’t a bit more fun and engaging to drive.

Prices haven’t been announced just yet, and the Born isn’t expected to arrive in the UK until 2022. We’ll let you know what they are as soon as we can. In the meantime, head on over to our Cupra deals page to see how much you can save on a new car through carwow.