A BLAST OF SPANISH SUN
The sharp-looking, sporty Cupra Born hatchback offers a taste of Spain. And, like much of the nation’s food, it’s a hot and sizzling experience. My test-drive, though, starts in Braintree, essex, at the Gridserve electric car charging centre with its shops and rest areas. Cupra is the new sporty car brand spunoff from Spanish sibling SeAT — both part of Germany’s Volkswagen — and the Born is built in Zwickau, Germany.
The all-electric rear-wheel drive Born, from £31,715, is Cupra’s first fully-electric car based on VW’s ID.3. There are three trim levels — V1, V2 and V3 — and three grades of power: an entry level 45 kWh, a mid-level 58kWh and a higher-level 77 kWh.
I drove a mid-range Cupra Born 58 kWh V3 variant, priced from £38,390. Its 204 hp electric motor allowed me to accelerate from rest to 62 mph in 7.3 seconds on 20 in wheels.
Top speed is 99 mph. It has a claimed range of 264 miles. Charging time on a domestic wallcharger is 6 hours 15 min. On DC fast-chargers at Gridserve, it’s 35 minutes.
The 77kWh 230hp Born does rest to 62mph in 6.6 seconds and has a range of 261 miles to 340 miles. It will be available here in summer. The Born’s styling inside and out is sporty and comfortable, with Cupra’s tasteful signature copper highlights. It’s easy to drive, nippy and nimble. Drive settings are ‘range’, ‘comfort’, ‘performance’ and ‘individual’. A ‘Cupra’ mode is available on the more powerful ‘e-boost’ variants.
It has sporty granite grey 12-way electrically adjustable front bucket seats, lumbar support and a massage function.
The augmented-reality display helps keep your eyes focused on the road ahead. There’s a 12in navigation and infotainment screen and a 5.3in digital cockpit screen. Boot space is 385 litres, though rear seats fold down for more.
One niggle is a carry-over from the VW ID.3: fiddly ‘slider’ controls for air-con and other functions. Simple knobs or touch-screen function, please.