New Cupra Born review: the first electric hot hatch?

It literally just takes off cupra as a brand hasnt been around all that long. The cars started out as souped up seats, but now theyre a standalone brand with stand alone products. The first was a cooper for mentor, and this is the second, the all electric cupra born. Originally, it was supposed to be a seat. The siat el born no less very espanol, but when push came to shove, the powers that be decided it needed a sportier, more premium edge, and so the cupraborn was born. If it looks familiar dimensionally at least then thats, because underneath its almost identical to the volkswagen id3, it uses the same batteries electric motors, its got the same wheelbase, similar interior features and similar space inside. So why should you pick one of these over one of those theres? No easy answer to that right now, however, at the time of filming the lead times on, these was a hell of a lot shorter. So if youre in the market for an all electric family hatch check out one of these, my top ev buying tip seriously, though what separates this from the id3 well styling for one. This is more angular, its more aggressive and even though theres an element of cringe. When i say the word aggressive when referring to a car, i think you know what i mean right: the id3 its more cute, its more round its more cuddly and well its a bit like a bubble, and this is anything but and actually that sporty aggressive interior Continues once you get inside the car when we were outside, you probably noticed the copper detailing, and there are flashes of that that continue once youre inside the car here here, even the stitching on the dash.

You can see its that lovely coppery color, so theyve really thought about the design once youre inside i dont know if youve ever, driven or even sat in an id3. But if you have youll sit in this car and youre immediately. Youll feel its familiar. The gear selector thats the same digital instrument, selection, similar and this infotainment system, unfortunately, is still very similar. I mean its got its own graphics and layout looks very swish, looks very lovely, but basically its just a bit of a fiddly user interface. If im being honest, having said that, you sit in here – and you do feel, this is a more upmarket car than the vw lovely materials here on the dash and the seats, they just feel really lovely theyre made from recycled clothing and single use plastic. So again, thats another great reason to pick the cupra. There are currently three specs available to order, as well as a choice of batteries and motors. The range starts with v1, which gets alloy, wheels, led lights and that 12 inch infotainment display prices start from around 35 000 pounds. But thanks to strong residual values, you might end up paying less per month for the cupra than you would for the equivalent volkswagen v2 and v3 up the kit count. But, as usual, you can find everything you need to know at carbuyer.co.uk. Just use the search bar to find our cooper borne six point review. Music copra is known for its sporty models, and some have said that this is the first all electric hot hatch, but is it true well a straight line: speed youre not going to be disappointed.

0 to 62 miles per hour takes 7.3 seconds, but thats not unusual in an electric car. You get that instant hit of acceleration, no matter how fast youre going and you dont even need to be in one of the racial driving modes. It literally just whoa takes off oh and theres an eboo setting as well. If you want to go even faster, but honestly i wouldnt bother. There are two batteries to choose from lifted from guess what the id3, the entry level 58 kilowatt hour battery is good for 259 miles according to cooper. In our experience, 200 miles is easily achievable in normal driving a bit more if youre, careful or the weathers on your side. If you need more range theres, a 77 kilowatt hour battery, which will do up to 340 miles but again bank on 260 to 270 in day to day use more than most will ever need, but straight line. Speed alone does not make a hot hatch. It needs to feel agile, alert and most of all fun to drive and although im not disappointed, i dont know i just wanted it to feel better than the id3. I just dont think it does thats not to say the bournes, not a fun car to drive its, not a light car but thats, negated by the fact that the battery sits really low down. So its got a good weight distribution, it doesnt roll around a lot. The steering is a bit light and lifeless at lower speeds, but speed up and things weight up, so it doesnt really matter then theres the brakes.

They can often feel a bit odd in electric cars whereby the regenerative brakes which feed power back into the battery when you slow down kind of conflict or feel at odds with the normal brakes, but theres, no such issue here seasoned ev drivers might like a bit More regenerative braking it wont, bring you to a complete stop, for example, but its intuitive, and it will suit those coming from a petrol or diesel car. I guess overall theres little to pick holes in when it comes to the driving experience. The id3 is a lovely car to drive. I guess, like i said i just wanted the cooper to offer a little bit more zing, of course, as with any electric car as much as range is important. Youll also want to know a thing or two about charging, and while the cooper born cant match a hyundai, ioniq 5 for sheer charging speed is still pretty competitive as such. If you connect it to an ultra rapid charger, itll go from 5 to 80 percent in around 35 minutes. If you do most of your charging at home, itll easily top up overnight in around seven and a half hours using a seven kilowatt wall box. So what about practicality? Well! This is one area where you line up the vw and the cooper next to each other and the cupra doesnt quite cut the mustard theres, not a huge amount in it, but roofline is slightly lower.

Obviously, more of a problem for tall adults than for me and these lovely looking but immovable headrests. That means the view is quite obscured. The electric platform still means theres a lot of space back here, but its definitely better for legs than heads there. Arent many toys or tricks back here either nothing fun to play with no climate controls either, but given how frustrating the ones are up front, maybe thats not such a bad thing, eh boot space. So, on the face of it, not that bad and actually its five liters bigger than a volkswagen golf or a sea at leon for that matter. But the issue is the floors all the way down there. So youve got load things up and over the bumper to get stuff in not the end of the world, just a bit of a niggle. There is a ski hatch if you want to load in longer items, but, unlike some electric cars, including the kia niro theres no space in the nose, so youve got to keep your charging cables back here, not a deal breaker, but it could be better speaking of Which should we round things up where the vw can feel cheap? The cupra is just a bit more premium and its not like youll, be paying any more for the privilege. True, some rivals will charge faster or offer more range, but the bourne is still more than competitive. In this respect, even the smaller battery will be big enough for most it handles nicely too.

Performance is strong and it drives nicely, but well also put that down. As a deal breaker, we wanted it to feel a bit more special, its billed as one of the first electric hot hatchbacks, but it doesnt feel that different to the volkswagen rd3 and last, but by no means least when will the volkswagen group get their message? Their touch, sensitive, slider controls are just awful theyre impossible to use on the move. Theres loads to love about the coop reborn, all right theres a lot of similarities with the id3, but they are based on the same platform and thats, not a bad thing. It drives. Well, its got a decent range and the interior is quite a bit better.