Cupra Born 240kW e-Boost VZ 79kWh 5dr Auto

Ten Second Review

Fledgling Spanish brand CUPRA offers a surprisingly appealing compact family EV with sporting genes, this car, the Born, here usefully improved. It takes all the clever ingredients of other VW Group EVs, but blends them into a more engaging and characterful confection.

Background

It was only a matter of time before we started seeing performance-orientated versions of compact family EVs, but what if you could have one that was, in all its forms, fundamentally developed for enjoyment at the wheel? Yet still as practical, ecological and frugal as its battery-powered rivals. That's the promise of this car, the CUPRA Born. You may by now be vaguely aware of the CUPRA brand. Once it was purely a performance badge on fast SEATs, but now it's a marque in its own right offering two repackaged SEAT models (the CUPRA Ateca and the CUPRA Leon) and one design of its own (the CUPRA Formentor SUV). CUPRA was clear from the start that electrification would play a major part in its product development and, sure enough, the Leon and the Formentor can both be had in Plug-in 'e-Hybrid' forms. The Born though, is a full EV, using the same engineering you'll find in a Volkswagen ID.3 or a Skoda Enyaq, but packaged with a performance twist. You'd think this CUPRA EV model would have had a wider audience with the SEAT branding it was originally supposed to have (initially it was slated to be sold as a SEAT el-Born). But the VW Group has decided instead that this car should be a touch more aspirational than that. Let's check it out.

Engines and Tech Spec

Like the VW ID.3 it's based on, the Born drives from the rear, but has been set up to feel more sporty. The main drivetrain change with this update lies with the base 58kWh battery model, which is now paired with a motor downrated from 204PS to 190PS in an effort to improve range (which accordingly rises from 264 to 280 miles). Most Born buyers opt for the larger 79kWh battery, which as before is paired to a 231PS motor and offers range now improved from 346 to 372 miles. There's still a hot hatch Born VZ flagship model with the same 79kWh battery pack and an uprated 326PS motor; this can also go up to 272 miles. The Born springs away from rest of course, as all EVs do, running out of puff just after the point where you realise that the torque rush has inadvertently pushed you over the speed limit. To differentiate the car from the ID.3, CUPRA has has fitted shorter coil springs lowering the ride height, along with wider tyres, a more direct variable-ratio steering set-up and a retuned stability control system. Across the Born range, there are four main drive modes - 'Comfort', 'Performance', 'Range' and 'Individual', with a further 'CUPRA' setting for the e-Boost and VZ models. Optional 'DCC' adaptive damping (standard on the VZ) enhances the 'Comfort' setting, but you don't really need it because the standard passive set-up is very good indeed. The Barcelona engineers must have worked really hard on that: a pity then, that they weren't given leave by Wolfsburg to fiddle with the steering, which despite its quicker rack feels remote and very light on feedback. Even as it is though, this is (as intended) a far more engaging thing than its ID.3 cousin; to the point where we'd find it hard to think of another similarly-sized EV in this price bracket that we'd recommend over this one to a keen driver.

Design and Build

This improved Born gets a sharper look, with the three-triangle front lighting signature familiar from the Tavascan and Terramar. There's also a smarter lower intake and extra copper detailing. At the rear, the bumper and boot lid have both been restyled and there's a more prominent lower diffuser and a more modern 3D tail lamp design. Smarter 19 and 20-inch alloy wheel designs and illuminated door handles complete the exterior changes. Otherwise, everything's much as before. CUPRA says this Born was 'designed and developed in Barcelona' - which is poppycock of course: it's a restyled Volkswagen ID.3. And rolls down the same German Zwickau production line as its sister car, unlike CUPRA's other models, which are Iberian-built. You can't deny though, that it's got a bit more flair, attitude and presence than its Wolfsburg cousin and it's 61mm longer too. At the wheel, the main change with this updated car is the replacement of the previous compact little 5.3-inch instrument display screen for a much larger 10.25-inch monitor. A previous owner would also not that the steering wheel now features physical buttons, the door cards have been restyled and there are now (at last) properly separated rear window switches for the driver. All versions get sporty bucket seats upholstered in upcycled Seaqual Yarn or Dinamica recycled textiles. And, as before, copper-coloured accents are scattered around the cabin - on the steering wheel, the vents, the seat stitching and frame the open part of the lower centre console. As before, there's a 12.9-inch central infotainment screen. There's a surprising amount of room for two adults at the rear, where an air vent has been added in the back of the centre console. And out back, there's a reasonable 385-litre boot, the same as an ID.3. Push everything forward and that extends to 1,267-litres.

Market and Model

The CUPRA Born is the brand's only model to qualify for a government grant - at the £1,500 level. Asking figures sit in the £36,000-£40,000 price bracket. Unless you opt for the top VZ version, which doesn't qualify for a grant and costs around £45,000. Across the line-up, CUPRA offers a useful free 'EV&Me' app so that you can check out whether switching to an electric vehicle is right for you. If considering all of that has convinced you towards Born ownership, the decider might be a generous level of spec. Well, as you'd hope for this kind of spend, all variants come well equipped. There's LED headlights and tail lamps, auto headlamps and wipers, adaptive cruise control, Sport suspension, all-round parking sensors, keyless entry and a 'Drive Profile Selection' driving modes system with 'Range', 'Comfort', 'Performance' and 'Individual' settings - plus with the e-Boost electric motor, you get an extra 'CUPRA' mode. Inside every Born, expect to find a 10.25-inch 'Digital Cockpit' instrument binnacle screen, ambient lighting, a rear view camera, an auto-dimming rear view mirror and front sport bucket seats. Media's taken care of by a 12.9-inch centre Navigation display with an online voice assistant and all the usual smartphone-mirroring and EV features. Plus there's a 'CUPRA Connect' app so you can remotely interact with your Born, even when you're not with it.

Cost of Ownership

Many customers will probably choose the base 58kWh 190PS package, which as we told you in our 'Driving' section offers up to 279 miles of driving range. Stretch to a better derivative with the 77kWh battery and the range figure rises to 372 miles. As for charging, well CUPRA has taken the opportunity to upgrade the DC charging speed for the 58kWh battery, up from 120kW to 135kW. As a result, the car in this form can be DC-charged from 5-80% using a DC rapid charger in just over 30 minutes. AC charging from 0-100% takes around 6 hours 30 minutes using an 11kW AC wall charger. The larger 77kWh battery can DC-charge at up to 185kW, gains 62 miles of range in just 7 minutes and can manage a 5 to 80% DC charge in 26-30 minutes. A full AC charge using an 11kW wallbox at home needs 8 hours 30 minutes. Customers will be offered a CUPRA-branded domestic wall box for home charging, which can be controlled using the company's 'Easy Charging' smart phone app. It's not only that your energy costs will be lower: you should also make savings in insurance, road tax and the fact that no oil changes are required. The Spanish maker says that its aim is to make sure that the battery pack lasts as long as the car and, sure enough, that battery pack is warrantied to have at least 70% of its usable capacity after eight years or 100,000 miles.

Summary

The Born has always been one of our favourite small EVs and this useful package of mid-term updates will do its prospects no harm at all. Yes, in some ways this Born remains little more than a Volkswagen ID.3 in a track suit, but at the same time, it also offers something just a little different - and arguably more appealing. It's still not quite as different from an ID.3 as CUPRA thinks it is. But this car is more engaging to drive than its cousin - and to our eyes more engaging to look at too. Do you really want to pay considerably more in this segment to get only slightly more space and fractionally more driving range? From an EV that almost certainly won't be as interesting at the wheel or look as good on your driveway? Such is the Born ultimatum. And we can understand if you found yourself tempted by it.