Cupra Born: Stylish, classy and fun

The Born, which is more or less mechanically and electrically identical to its cousin, VW’s ID.3, is a big step forward for the Cupra brand, says Sean O’Grady

The Cupra gets a smoother snout than the ID.3, reminiscent of the Kia EV6 (Cupra)

If cars are your hobby then you’ll understand the experience of trying to explain what a Cupra Born is to a normal human being. Taken in isolation the phrase has a bit of a sci-fi vibe to it, like it’s the genesis of some killer robot. Actually, it’s an electric car. Of course. Quite a nice one, too.

Cupra is the new brand “born” (if you’ll pardon the expression) out of Seat (which continues), and is designed to be a sportier, classier, more premium product (and therefore more profitable). Like Seat, Cupra is part of the VW Group, and the Born is very similar to the VW ID.3. The Born is indeed the first-Born battery-electric Seat or Cupra car. It’s also more or less mechanically and electrically identical to its VW cousin, right down to most of the bodywork.

The Cupra gets a smoother snout, reminiscent of the Kia EV6, has a slightly lower ride height, for sportier handling, different detailing, some very funky starfish-like alloy wheels, classics of their type, and true to Cupra’s mission, marginally more power and the option of “e-Boost” to give an additional edge, not available on the VW. You might think of the Cupra Born as like a Seat/Cupra Leon compared with a VW Golf in old-fashioned internal combustion engine terms. You can press the Cupra button for extra oomph, which is fun. All that said, a 0 to 60 mph sprint in seven seconds isn’t that exciting, albeit with the usual neck-snapping initial electric power acceleration from rest if you slam your foot down. You get used to it.

THE SPEC

Cupra Born

Price: £39,230 (as tested; range starts at £34,660)

Engine capacity: Single electric motor, rear drive powered by 58kWh battery

Power (bhp): 210

Top speed: 99mph

0-60mph: 7.2secs

Fuel economy: 140mpg equiv

Range: 200 miles

CO2 emissions: 0

Also in common with most electric cars is refinement and near-silent operation as standard, which you also start to take for granted after a time. Like its VW ID.3 and slightly bigger ID.4 relatives, the Cupra dispenses with such fuddy-duddy legacy features such as a proper handbrake or having to unlock and lock the doors (it senses your presence and absence), and the automatic gearbox is accessed via a rotary dial next to the little pod above the steering wheel where they’ve put a minimalist dash. Less happily, the Born is fitted with the latest VW touchscreen, which is over-sensitive and tricky to use. The steering wheel controls are better, once you get the hang of the precise finger pressure required.

The perfectly adequate power of my 58kWh batteried mid-range Born will take you about 200 miles in real-world driving conditions – but always remember that the ambient temperature outside, type of driving (eg motorway or round town) and your style of driving will all radically affect how far you can go on a single charge, and much more radically than in a petrol or diesel-engined vehicle. If you’re one of those folks who carry their belongings around with them in the boot, electric motoring isn’t really for you. A giant batteried version takes your range into Tesla territory at more than 300 miles, and gives you a faster drive. An entry-level model will give you 170 miles.

The interior is stylish, classy and carefully detailed (Cupra)

The interior, as in the other current Cupra models, the Leon, Ateca and Formentor, is stylish, classy and carefully detailed, with lots of bronze touches around the cabin and the exterior, including the jagged geometric Cupra logo, resembling that of a computer game console. It’s darker and more conservative than the VW, and feels more premium, which is nice. One of the attractions of the Cupra brand is that it’s a more “individual” choice, and not noticeably more expensive than the more commonly seen VW. To get the most out of the Born, again like other BEVs (battery electric vehicles) you’ll need to be a higher mileage motorist, so that the savings on petrol or diesel make up for the higher purchase price or lease deal. It’ll need about six hours for overnight charging from a home wall box, and is capable of using very fast chargers, where available.

The Born is a big step forward for the relatively young Cupra brand, and an important product for Seat and VW Group. It’s up against the excellent Kia e-Niro (soon to be replaced by an all-new version), Peugeot e-208 and Vauxhall e-Corsa (based on the e-208), among others. The good news is that there is a greater range of electric cars than ever before, and they are good, with “range anxiety” becoming a bad memory – motorway charging points are far more flexible now. The bad news is that they are still too expensive for many families and there’s a shortage of them. The Cupra Born has been born into a troubled world.