Cupra has officially joined the electric ranks in Australia with the launch of its first dedicated
EV. This is the Cooper Born. It's a $60,000 EV hatchback designed to take on the likes
of the Tesla Model 3, the Polestar 2, and the award-winning Kia EV6. So the question is can
it compete with those established EVs and does it uphold Cupra's performance legacy? Let's find out.
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The Born is the first EV from the Volkswagen group to launch in Australia which in itself
is a pretty big deal. It's also the first of several EVs coming from the Spanish performance
brand all less than a year after it launched on the Australian market. The Born shares key
underpinnings with the Volkswagen ID.3 and is available in a solitary 77 kilowatt hour
variant priced at $59,990 plus on road costs. Buyers have the option of a $2,600 performance
package offering adaptive suspension, larger wheels and tires. In future,
Cupra says it will look at more affordable battery options, offering less range. The Cupra
Born doesn't really stray too far from petrol powered siblings when it comes to warranty or
servicing intervals which seems like a bit of a missed opportunity. Additionally, it also
misses out entirely on three year inclusive servicing offered on some Cupra stable mates.
Now, Cupra Australia rightly boasts that this is the only EV on the market with a
price starting with a number five and also range beginning with a number five as well.
So that is the real talking point with the Cupra Born, a range of more than 500
kilometers a little bit less if you opt for the performance pack which our car is wearing
at the moment. That's just as a result of the sportier Michelin rubber. But the other big
talking point is the fact that we are seeing the emergence of more rear wheel drive cars. That's
right. This has a rear mounted electric motor that's powered by a 77 kilowatt hour battery.
- The Born can charge from naught to 80% in as little as 30 minutes claimed using a fast charger
connection while a household power point will take 32 hours to fully replenish the battery.
- So the Cupra Born, not surprisingly, mirrors a lot of other existing combustion engine Cupra
models in terms of its interior layout and that is mostly good news. It's a very minimalist cabin
environment. It places a huge emphasis on design and there's a lot of pretty tactile surfaces that
are nice to touch, nice to look at, nice to feel, lots of, not surprisingly, copper accenting as
well which really buys into the whole Cupra design theme. I will say, in terms of the minimalism this
probably goes a step further again compared to most Cupra models. An example is the window
switch gear. Most new cars now if they've got electric windows which nearly all of them do,
has a set of switch gear for the front windows and a set of switch gear for the rear windows. Cupra
have deleted that in sort of a cost saving bid and now have a switch at the front there to convert
between the two. It sounds like a little gripe but I think it would be quite annoying in day-to-day
life. Otherwise though, it's a very minimalist layout inside the cabin. No physical buttons and
switch gear. I've kind of made that clear in the past. I'd prefer to have buttons and switch gear
any day over sole reliance on a touchscreen. But in terms of the storage and everything else it's
quite well thought out. You still have a transmission tunnel but there are little
cubbies little hidey holes everywhere you look. So I think quite a convenient little hatchback.
The Born orientates itself closely towards the driver with the positioning of its center
touchscreen while also offering ample storage and quality materials at the contact points. There is
a pretty big caveat with the interior. If you want powered front seats or seat
heating you need to stump up an additional $2,900 for an optional interior package.
- So a closer look at the infotainment system. As I said before, it is a 12 inch center touchscreen
display that is totally devoid of physical buttons and switch gear. So this center face here,
which would normally be covered in different buttons and things, that is now just a very
clean looking couple of vents. And then the screen itself, you've got some sliders here for things
like the volume if you wanna play with that but also some temperature controls as well. Otherwise,
it is sole reliance on the touchscreen to navigate the car's different features. I,
my argument there would be that it's probably more distracting than anything else because it's
more time spent away from taking your eyes off the road to delve through these different touchscreens
and menus and things like that. The system itself is quite quick to react to commands but I still
prefer a physical button any day. In terms of the instrument cluster, it's much cleaner. As I
said before, it kind of reminds me of a motorcycle pinnacle just with the simplicity of the layout,
the ease in which you can take your eyes off the road just to scan important information
and there's, it's just not overly complex. It's a very easy and effective system to use.
The standard infotainment suite here is strong with a head up display function the
only noticeable missing item. Additionally, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto only operate
via a wired connection. It's a similar story with safety,
with every feature except traffic sign recognition covered as standard.
- I have to say for a small hatchback the rear seat of the Cupra Born is quite impressive. You've
got a pretty wide door aperture to get in and out of and the rear seat space is pretty roomy,
I think, especially considering this thing's size and length. Being an EV you've got a
nice flat floor to contend with. Plenty of knee room, decent toe room and enough head room for a
couple of adults as well. That said, the space isn't perfect. There's lots of noticeable hard
scratchy plastics which doesn't really align with the $60,000 purchase price. No rear air events,
and if you opt for the performance package, your five seater suddenly becomes a four seater.
Now, just like the rear seat there is a surprising amount of boot space on offer with the Cupra Born.
You can see here I've got a full size suitcase, two carry-on suitcases and a bit of other stuff
going on and it has swallowed the whole lot. You've also got luggage hooks a 12 fold outlet and
a nice flat floor as well. About the only gripe, it's the absence of any kind of spare wheel.
Okay, so when the Cupra brand first launched in Australia about 10 months ago, mid 2022, it really
did set itself apart from other products including Volkswagen product and with which it shares its
key underpinnings. As being, I guess, in terms of design, a really youthful, cool edgy design
especially with the copper touches inside and out. But also in terms of driving dynamics, it really
set itself apart quite immediately with quite a characterful and enjoyable driving experience.
Lots of theater, lots of noise, really nice raw dynamics coming through the key controls. So
my question with the Born, the brand's first EV is whether it upholds that performance reputation
as well. Clearly the design looks great inside and out. It's very practical. It's a well thought out
typical Volkswagen style vehicle but driving dynamics, that's the real unknown. I have to say
from the outset the answer to that question is a bit of yes, little bit of no. Yes to the
fact that this feels balanced. The drive train is quite effective, it's enjoyable to drive.
It's comfortable as well, and it gets in terms of feedback and things like that, it gets most of the
basics right but doesn't quite get all the basics right. The big standout for me and it's quite
a little bit puzzling really for a Cupra model, for a Volkswagen model is the brake pedal. Yes,
you have to facilitate and cater for regen brakes on an electric car but this feels like the brake
pedal action out of a 2000 and something Toyota Prius. It's really long. It's really inconsistent
with the pedal action and just driving some of the back roads we're on at the moment just outside of
Canberra lots of big stopping moments and with something is sort of positioned as that premium
performance oriented model I'm not quite getting the brake pedal action that I want. So I'm just
coming into a long sweeping right-hander now, I'll dive in a little bit late with the brakes
and I've almost got to touch the floor with the brake pedal before it gives any kind of meaningful
reaction or bite which is a little bit at odds with the rest of this car because it is relatively
well polished. Couple of other little missing features that I kind of expected. The regen brake
pedals are always really handy in an electric car. It means you can control the amount of regen
braking on the go. You still can do this with this car with the different drive modes. Also this
rotating shifter on the side of the instrument pinnacle here, but it's just not as convenient
as having dedicated traditional shifters. The other real question mark with this car so if
I drive a VZx version of the Cupra Leon or the Cooper Formentor SUV and I press this little Cura
button on the steering wheel, you know, suddenly that you are in the most aggressive setting.
When I press it in the Born, comes up, drive profile Cupra, it adds maybe a little bit more
bite to the accelerator. It definitely adds more regen braking but there's not that signature
growl, that signature bark or aggression that you're kind of getting from other Cupra models,
which to me, I think, is a bit of a missed opportunity. Like yes, not everyone likes
synthesized sound coming through the cabin, but if you look at EV models
like the Porsche Taycan I feel like they've actually done that to pretty good effect.
You don't get that with the Cupra Born, which is, you know, as a performance brand, it's,
yeah, a little bit at odds with the positioning of the car.
Cupra has made plenty of noise around the Born's performance credentials, but in honesty we are
expecting a little bit more for the price point and the performance positioning. Acceleration is
brisk, but hardly neck breaking and the curb weight is a constant dynamic consideration.
Otherwise though, basics, I feel like the steering in this car is pretty well sorted.
The body control and the suspension are a really nice balance between outright performance and
comfort. Even on these rugged back roads around Canberra you can hear now I'm on the course to
Batemans I'm getting a nice amount of feedback through the steering wheel. I can feel what the
road's doing underneath me. Sharp edges are kind of reflected through the chassis accordingly,
and even big wallowy bumps. It's keeping all this mass in check, which is a considerable
feat considering this is a 1.9 ton hatchback. The exception to the rule probably is longer
corners or even sharper corners where there are mid-corner undulations. I'd really like to know
the split in weight between this car, between the front axle and the rear axle because it is
rear driven and it feels like the weight, a lot of it is concentrated at the rear of the
vehicle. So when you come into a corner and there's particularly an extended wallowy bump
you can feel a little bit of extra shimmying in the rear. It upsets the balance of this
car. Doesn't quite feel as well tied down as other Cupra models. Yeah, yes, granted, this is an EV,
but it's just not quite as athletic, agile and quick to recover from those bumps
as other EVs on the market. But all in all it is quite a strong, well-rounded package dynamically.
Perhaps the most redeeming feature with the Born is its real world range. We
found the 500 kilometer claim was feasible based on our preliminary drive but you'd
need to be in optimum conditions and pretty conservative behind the wheel to achieve it.
All in all the Born is another strong EV contender, but the lack of free servicing,
a fiddly infotainment system, and a lofty starting price, are key considerations.
There's also the fundamental matter of whether it is actually a performance hatch as claimed.
So the Cupra Born EV, there is no doubt that it definitely deserves to be cross
shopped against established EV players. Great real world range,
great technology on board and quite enjoyable to drive. There is no doubt though that it has
a few little shortfalls that could definitely be addressed. The other key question here,
does it uphold Cupra's performance legacy? Probably not in the same vein as existing
Combustion Cupra models but being the first EV, there's definitely room for growth.