CUPRA BORN

Can sportier take on the ID 3 appeal to keen drivers in a way the Volkswagen can’t?

Cupra’s gradual shift towards becoming an all-electric car brand starts in UK showrooms this month as its first EV – the Cupra Born – goes on sale.

The car is available initially in one mechanical guise only: the 201bhp, 58kwh Born driven here. An entrylevel model (148bhp and 45kwh) and a slightly more powerful one (227bhp and 77kwh) will follow later this year.

This is Cupra’s slightly sportier, more stylish and marginally more expensive take on the Volkswagen ID 3. The car’s meaner stare, more aggressive bumpers and lower stance give it a kerbside presence the VW lacks, and the cabin of our test car (an upper-grade V3) featured a richer mix of materials than the ID 3 has.

For the greater relative allure of the exterior styling and cabin, it’s easy to imagine why people might prefer the Cupra to an equivalent, higherend ID 3 – especially if, as Cupra promises, more favourable residual values make the Born’s monthly finance cost little more expensive.

As for the driving experience, Cupra has fitted shorter coil springs than the ID 3 uses as well as wider tyres, a more direct variable-ratio steering set-up as standard (it’s optional on the ID 3) and a retuned stability control system. Dynamic Chassis Control adaptive dampers are an option that our test car didn’t have – and didn’t need in order to ride perfectly comfortably.

Even in mid-range form, the Born has plenty of power and response when accelerating up to motorway speeds. It has marginally stronger lateral grip levels, more level body control and better steady-state handling balance than an ID 3, and a shade more rear-driven fun factor around tighter bends.

On cross-country roads, there’s just enough bite and swivel about the Born’s handling, and precision and composure about its body control, to keep you interested at the wheel – but only just. Cupra could have delivered better brake pedal feel, and finer control of trailing-throttle energy regeneration, to really seal the deal.

As it is, keener drivers might just about see enough in the Born to pick it over rivals, at just the right price – but if you could stretch to a Kia EV6 instead, I suspect you would.