The electric car market continues to grow, with new EVs springing up across the various segments and brands.
One of the latest additions is the Cupra Born – a battery-powered hatchback that comes from this relatively new Spanish performance brand. Bringing style, plenty of technology and a smart interior, it’s set to become a popular choice. Here are five things you need to know about it.
It’s Cupra’s first EV
Cupra only split from Seat to establish itself as a separate brand in the last few years, but the performance firm has quickly found its feet. Having started with sportier versions of Seat models, such as the Leon and Ateca, it launched the Formentor as its first standalone model in 2021.
The Born is now Cupra’s first EV as the brand increasingly pushes towards electrification. It does, however, use very familiar underpinnings, in the form of the Volkswagen Group’s dedicated electric car platform known as MEB. This architecture is used by models like the Audi Q4 e-tron and Skoda Enyaq iV, but also the Volkswagen ID.3 – the sibling car to the Cupra Born.
Arguably better looking than the Volkswagen ID.3
Though the Cupra Born is quite noticeably similar to the Volkswagen ID.3, as these two cars have a similar profile, we’d argue the Cupra is the far better-looking car. A car’s design will always be subjective, but the sportier stance of the Born really is welcome next to the more rounded look of the ID.3.
It gets sharper LED headlights, while a smart full-width LED light bar is present at the rear. The use of Cupra’s trademark copper colour throughout the Born’s design adds to the style, as does the more aggressive rear diffuser and intricate front end. It’s a very eye-catching EV that turns plenty of heads out on the road.
Sporty to drive
But it’s not just the exterior design that Cupra has made sportier, but also the way the Born drives. Engineers have worked hard to improve it, with changes including lowered suspension, wider tyres and the option of Dynamic Chassis Control across the line-up. The other change is that an ‘e-Boost’ option is available, bringing additional power to the Born for a short amount of time under full throttle.
The result is a car that drives really well, feeling agile and almost like a hot hatch in its character. Next to a rival like the Nissan Leaf or Kia e-Niro, it’s a huge improvement in this respect.
Available with a long range
Cupra is offering three powertrain options on the Born at launch – a 58kWh battery version with or without the aforementioned e-Boost, along with a top-spec 77kWh battery option.
It’s this latter model that you’ll want if you’re wanting an EV that can cover plenty of miles without charging, with the firm claiming a seriously impressive range of up to 340 miles – one of the longest of any electric car on the market, and the most of any compact EV.
It can also be charged at up to 135kW, meaning a five to 80 per cent top-up can take as little as 38 minutes.
Generous equipment levels
Regardless of which Cupra Born you go for, you get plenty of equipment for your money.
Prices kick off from £34,715 for the V1 model, which gets 18-inch alloy wheels, full LED lighting and a large 12-inch touchscreen. It also comes with a reversing camera, sport bucket seats and adaptive cruise control.
Upgrade to the V2 and it gets 19-inch alloy wheels, a heated steering wheel and an impressive augmented-reality head-up display. Right at the top of the range, the V3 trim brings large 20-inch alloy wheels and electric and massaging front seats.
