Cupra Born Review

Introduction

If you’re delving into the world of car buying after a few years away, you could be forgiven for thinking that there’s a new kid on the block – Cupra. And, in some respects, you’d be correct, because the Volkswagen Group (which owns SEAT, Audi and ŠKODA) is keen to establish Cupra as a new, youth-focused brand with attitude and a sporty brief. In reality, it’s actually a division of Spanish carmaker SEAT, which has discovered that the market for its sporty Cupra-badged models has so much potential that they warrant a badge of their own. 

So that’s the back story to the name sorted. Now to the car. The Born is Cupra’s first all electric car (but SEAT’s second after the Mii electric). If you think certain bits look familiar, that’s because it’s based on the Volkswagen ID.3. One wit on social media said the Born looked like an ID.3 which had been disguised to appear in an insurance advert on TV.

What Cupra’s version deliberately adds is a sporty edge that the ID.3 doesn’t have. Look at the two together and it’s immediately apparent that the Spanish machine is leaner and meaner with a more assertive look. It’s a clever bit of design and will appeal to buyers who crave a bit more visual drama than the current crop of compact family SUVs deliver. 

The sporty theme continues inside, where Cupra’s designers have done a decent job of reworking the ID.3 somewhat austere cabin. Although all the instrumentation and infotainment is the same, albeit with liberally applied copper trim, there are a few key differences. The centre console is much wider in the Cupra, which isn’t great news if you’re long of leg. It does, however, add extra storage and make it feel like a cabin designed to please the driver. The infotainment screen is also better and easier to use than the VW - better than the MG4's, but still tricky compared to the system in the Kia Niro EV. 

The sports seats are vastly more supportive than those fitted to the ID.3, but the sportiness and bulk comes at the expense of space or at least perceived space. With the 3cm lower roofline, dark trim and those race-style seats, it does feel a little more snug in the back. And you have to remember that thanks to the intricacies of Volkswagen's electric car platform, if you go for the big battery Born you only get four seats.

Speaking of space, there's 385 litres of boot room which expands to 1,267 litres with the seats folded. Unsurprisingly that's identical to its VW sister car, but what might surprise you is that the Born's boot is a little on the small side by class standards. A Renault Megane E-Tech (440 litres) and Kia Niro EV (475 litres) are much larger. 

As for the Cupra’s all-important battery, performance and range figures, these largely mirror those of the ID.3. The Born is offered with two battery options; 58kWh and 77kWh with power outputs of 201bhp and 228bhp. Choose the e-Boost option on the 58kWh pack and that rises to 228bhp (the 77kWh pack comes with e-Boost as standard). Range-wise, Cupra claims 231-264 miles for the 58kWh and 342 for the 77kWh, depending on spec. 

How does it drive? Cupra’s engineers have done a decent job of sharpening up the responses and although it doesn’t quite feel like an ‘electric GTI’, it delivers a pretty engaging drive. The ride feels firmer but not too harsh while the steering feels sharper and more direct. 

Verdict

We would stop short of calling the Born an electric hot hatch, but there's no doubting that it's a sporty electric hatchback – and there's not many of those, let's be honest. It has more style and character than its more straight-laced Volkswagen sister car, and it can work out cheaper, too. The Cupra Born's combination of interesting design inside and out, keen pricing and fine driving characteristics makes it one of the best electric hatchbacks.

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