The Born is the primary EV from fledgling automotive maker Cupra. The Spanish producer that’s a part of the Volkswagen Group has large plans for zero emissions automobiles and it kicks off with this five-door hatch.
Whereas the Cupra EV utilises {the electrical} structure that underpins varied Volkswagen EVs – together with the Volkswagen ID.3, ID.4 and ID.5 – the Born has a character of its personal because of its design and engineering.
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It’s powered by a single electrical motor driving the rear wheels and has a claimed EV vary of as much as 511km.
Worth
The Cupra Born is priced from $59,990 earlier than on-road prices. That makes it eligible for rebates in most components of the nation, whereas in NSW patrons wouldn’t pay stamp responsibility.
For that you just get a five-seat hatch with 19-inch wheels, wi-fi telephone charging, good key entry, inside ambient lighting, 360-degree digicam, tyre stress screens (there’s no spare tyre) and a compact 5.3-inch digital instrument cluster.
There’s additionally a 12-inch central infotainment display incorporating Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Pay one other $2600 for the Efficiency pack and the wheels step as much as 20 inches in diameter however lose their copper end that matches the copper highlights elsewhere. There are additionally adjustable dampers.
Consumers can even possibility an Inside pack for $2900. It brings electrically adjustable entrance seats with massagers and heating in addition to Dinamica trim materials and a nine-speaker Beats sound system.
The Efficiency and Inside packs each scale back the seating capability to 4, with the centre rear seat as a substitute changed with a storage binnacle.
There’s no dwelling charger, with Cupra as a substitute offering a Sort 2 to Sort 2 charger that enables AC charging at as much as 11kW at public chargers. Cupra then encourages homeowners to suit a house wallbox charger, which may additionally utilise that provided cable.
These chasing a conveyable charger or plug into an everyday powerpoint might want to shell out $750 for a Cupra one or take a look at aftermarket choices.
The Born is roofed by a five-year limitless kilometre guarantee. The excessive voltage battery will get a separate eight-year, 160,000km guarantee that protects towards “extreme lack of capability”.
Inside
It might be a compact automobile from the surface – it’s related in dimension to a Toyota Corolla – however the Cupra Born is refreshingly spacious inside.
That’s as a result of it sits on an structure designed from the outset as an electrical automobile, permitting the optimum placement of elements together with batteries and the rear-mounted motor.
The motive force has ample adjustability to the seating place and there’s nice headroom. The entrance seats hug and assist properly and the built-in headrests add to the sporty theme.
Headroom is much less forthcoming within the again, however it’ll suffice for many – and there’s respectable knee room, though no rear air vents. Three throughout the rear could be tight; when you’ve optioned the Efficiency and/or Inside packs then there are solely two seats within the rear.
The boot isn’t overly lengthy however is usefully deep and has a 60/40 split-fold.
The cabin is a mixture of high quality finishes and supplies. From the trendy seats with recycled plastics and tactile finishes to the padded centre console and furry prime on the central sliding binnacle lid. The carbon fibre-inspired steering wheel boss and copper highlights liberally utilized all through prime off what’s a cultured cabin.
There’s a small digital instrument cluster for the primary driving capabilities, whereas the primary 12-inch display takes care of infotainment within the centre of the sprint.
The display might be irritating to function with some primary capabilities; the amount management makes use of a slider dial, for instance, and accessing the air flow controls past the temperature adjustment requires further display presses. Plus a number of the menus usually are not significantly person pleasant.
But it surely’s crisp and clear.
The sporty steering wheel feels nice, though it’s straightforward to graze the outer slider buttons together with your fingers or palms, one thing that results in audible alerts and the infotainment display being one-third consumed by the amount settings. It’s surprisingly straightforward to do…
Aside from a slim glovebox, storage is nice, from twin cupholders and a binnacle below the central slider to a deep centre binnacle that additionally accommodates a wi-fi charging pad and two USB-C ports. There are one other two USB-C ports within the again seats.
Efficiency and effectivity
The Cupra Born will get a single electrical motor powering the rear wheels. It makes 170kW and 310Nm, which is analogous to some sizzling hatches.
Nonetheless, whereas there’s that unbelievable near-instantaneous response of an e-motor in addition to an enticing surge that continues as velocity builds, the Born can be hindered by weight. The bottom mannequin is a portly 1927kg whereas the four-seat model is 1960kg.
It’s nonetheless brisk and fascinating, capable of get to 100km/h in 7.0 seconds.
Plus it’s comparatively environment friendly.
Claimed consumption is 17.0kWh per 100km or 18.2kWh/100km when you’ve acquired the 20-inch wheels.
The Efficiency mannequin isn’t any faster and makes use of extra electrical energy, purely all the way down to its stickier tyres. Throughout our transient drives we discovered it used one thing like 15-20 p.c extra electrical energy than the common mannequin on its 19-inch tyres.
Nonetheless, with a WLTP vary of 511km for the bottom automobile and 475km for the Efficiency pack there’s a great deal of vary to play with. Simply remember that the NMC lithium-ion batteries desire to be topped as much as solely 80 p.c for normal working, with the total one hundred pc for longer drives.
Charging
The Cupra Born might be charged at as much as 11kW utilizing an AC outlet. Which means a full cost in about eight hours, or extra like 11 hours from a 7.4kW wallbox. Charging from an everyday powerpoint would take about 40 hours.
Public DC quick charging might be performed at as much as 170kW for a 10-80 p.c cost in 34 minutes.
It’s value noting that the Born doesn’t get an everyday dwelling charger to plug into a typical powerpoint; you’ll should splash out on one if that’s what you’re planning to cost with. As an alternative it comes with a Sort 2 to Sort 2 cable that may plug into some dwelling wallboxes and public charging stations.
Experience and dealing with
The Cupra Born is designed to be enjoyable to drive. You get that once you press the throttle.
It’s additionally good via corners, too. The steering is correct and predictable and works as effectively zipping via roundabouts because it does on a winding street.
The 19-inch tyres have clearly been chosen for effectivity, with a bent to achieve their limits of adhesion when you up the tempo. It’s all very predictable, however in the end limits the tempo.
Step as much as the 20-inch tyres of the Efficiency pack and it’s a marked step up, permitting extra tempo via bends and better confidence. Dial up the Cupra mode and there’s additional weight to the steering and a extra energetic really feel.
The adjustable dampers additionally add to the management, particularly when encountering mid-corner bumps. It’s firmer in Efficiency and Cupra modes however nonetheless has ample compliance for on a regular basis consolation.
Speaking level
The Cupra Born is successfully a sportier and sexier model of the Volkswagen ID.3. Whereas it makes use of the identical battery and electrical motor, Cupra has included a lift system that ups the height energy from 150kW to 170kW.
There’s no activating these additional 20kW; they simply kick in as soon as the motor is spinning quick sufficient to supply that 170kW peak.
Security
In addition to airbags and an optimised crash construction there’s a full suite of lively security gear. That includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind spot monitoring, rear cross site visitors alery, lane preserve help and aspect help with exit warning. There’s additionally a 360-degree digicam and driver fatigue detection.
The primary omission is a velocity restrict recognition system.
Verdict
The Cupra Born is a welcome addition to the EV market. It brings a refreshing mixture of driving engagement and practicality in a keenly priced bundle that additionally appears to be like slick.
Its lengthy driving vary provides to its attraction.
Cupra Born specs
Worth: $59,900, plus on-road prices
Fundamentals: EV, 4/5 seats, 5 doorways, hatch, RWD
Vary: 511km, 475km (Efficiency pack), (WLTP)
Battery capability: 77kWh (usable)
Battery guarantee: 8 years/160,000km
Vitality consumption: 17.0kWh/100km
Motors: 1 rear 170kW/310Nm
AC charging: 11kW, Sort 2 plug
DC charging: 170kW, CCS combo plug
0-100km/h: 7.0 seconds