CUPRA

Born

The CUPRA Born is the company’s first fully electrified car. It looks dynamic in its styling, is competitively priced, boasts a wealth of on-board tech and has an impressive driving range too.

The good

Design, handling and driving range

The bad

Up against strong opposition

Tech Specs

Price from

£34,715

Combined Fuel up to

Driving range up to 340 miles

0-62 from

6.6 seconds

max speed up to

99mph

co2 from

0g/km

Test Drive

CUPRA Born 58kWh V3 204PS (2022)

It was back in 2019 that we first caught a glimpse of the CUPRA Born when it was shown in early form and called the Seat el Born.

Fast forward to 2022 and the Born has officially landed. It’s now wearing CUPRA badging – the sporting arm of Seat – and it is the marque’s first fully electrified car.

There is a choice of three powertrains – a 58kWh 204PS, 58kWh 230PS e-Boost and a 77kWh 230PS e-Boost with an EV driving range of up to 261, 264 or 340 miles depending on the model. And customers can also select from three well-equipped trim levels called V1, V2 and V3.

We opted for the CUPRA Born powered by the smaller 58kWh 204PS battery in top V3 specification, costing £38,390. With 310Nm of torque, this five-door, rear-wheel drive car can reach from 0-62mph in 7.3 seconds and tops out at 99mph.

The CUPRA Born certainly has plenty of road presence with a sportier design than the VW ID.3 with which it shares a platform. It boasts dynamic lines, a light bar at the rear connecting the taillights, lots of copper-coloured trim, sweeping light clusters, dark tinted rear windows, plus 20-inch alloys to complete the strong styling.

Moving inside, the interior is upmarket and minimalist in its layout. A smart 12-inch touchscreen acts as the nerve centre and is the access point to the navigation system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, audio, climate control and lots more besides.

In addition, a small 5.3-inch digital display offers information about the existing driving range, battery charge level, gear selector and current speed. There is also a head-up display which is another upmarket feature.

Comfort levels are simply sublime with sports seats that are heated, 12-way power-adjustable and even have a massage function. And the cabin is exquisitely designed with neat copper stitching to the dashboard, steering wheel and seats, along with copper trim on the air vents, doors and centre console. Even the CUPRA logo on the steering wheel is copper-coloured.

Like most EVs, the Born is quick out the starting blocks with instant power at your disposal and good acceleration through the single-speed automatic transmission. It quickly reaches the 70mph cruising limit on motorways, but offers edgier handling through the country lanes with good grip and balance.

Drive modes called Range, Comfort, Performance and Individual alter the characteristics of the car and there is a B mode that increases the strength of the regenerative braking. Single pedal driving is not quite achievable but it gets very close.

The handling is crisp with well-weighted steering and cabin space also impresses inside the Born. Two adults can sit one behind the other provided the front seats are not pushed right back and a trio of youngsters will easily fit in the back.

The boot can swallow 385 litres of kit, a capacity that increases further with the 60:40 split-folding rear seats dropped flat. Up front, a cover slides back in the centre console to offer access to a very deep tray and double cup holders. And for convenience, there is a wireless charging pad, glovebox, practical door bins with a bottle holder, a cubby box, seat back pockets and two additional cup holders in the fold-down rear central armrest.

Charging the Born’s battery from 0 to 100 per cent takes six hours, 15 minutes via an AC 11kW point or 35 minutes from five to 80 per cent on a DC 135kW charger.

All in all, the new CUPRA Born is a fabulous EV with a very decent driving range. It looks stunning, drives beautifully and is also kind on the pocket.