Cupra Born 2022 Review

Intro, Price, Options and Verdict

Introduction

Cupra used to be a hot hatch from SEAT, its name based on the Cupra Racing motorsport wing of the Spanish company. But in 2018, in a similar fashion to DS being spun out of Citroen, Cupra became its own brand, sitting alongside SEAT as the premium performance marque from the Spanish automaker. The company has had some success with the Formentor crossover, but the Born is Cupra’s first electric car. It’s basically a Spanish spin on the VW ID.3, but with a few subtle differentiations that could make all the difference.

Price and Options

Cupra had originally intended to release the same battery options as the ID.3 for the Born – 45kWh, 58kWh and 77kWh. However, at launch only the 58kWh unit will be available. This is allied with a 204PS motor. This is the same as the ID.3 Pro Performance. More interesting is the “e-Boost” option, which raises the peak power to 231PS (227bhp). The 77kWh car only appears to be available with e-Boost.

There are three trim levels available, called simply V1, V2 and V3. When (and if) the 45kWh battery arrives, it will only be available with V1 (with a 150PS motor), and the e-Boost models only with V2 and V3. But even the V1 is well equipped. The wheels are 18in Cyclone alloys, and you get LED headlights and taillights as standard, plus rain sensing wipers. The navigation screen is 12in, larger than the ID.3’s 10in unit, plus a rear parking camera, sport suspension, adaptive cruise control and a full range of safety features, which we will detail later in this review. There’s 11kW AC charging as standard too.

The V2 trim upgrades the wheels to 19in Typhoon alloys, adds tinted rear windows and heated washer nozzles, heated front seats and steering wheel, and a head-up display. The V3 trim, which our review car had, upgrades the wheels to 20in Hurricane alloys, and adds a more premium material for the seats (still not leather) as well as 12-way electric adjustment including lumbar support, plus a massage function.

Since the Cupra Born is a bit more premium than the ID.3, none of the launch options are cheap enough to get the government grant. Prices haven’t been announced for the 45kWh model, which may or may not arrive, so currently the range starts at £34,715 for the 58kWh V1, £36,635 for the V2, and £38,390 for the V3. The V2 e-Boost starts at £37,445, or £39,195 for the V3. Finally, with the 77kWh battery you are paying £40,215 for V2 and £41,975 for V3. That’s a bit more than the 77kWh Volkswagen ID.3 Pro S Tour, but you get a more powerful motor for a faster car.

A dark grey hue is the basic paint colour, and it’s a bit less “battleship” than the basic grey of the ID.3. Metallic, white, silver, a darker grey and red are £565 extra. Our test car was £39,230, including £840 for the Aurora Blue metallic paint, which is the most expensive option. One thing you don’t get with any of these trims as standard is a panoramic sunroof. You pay £925 extra for this. A heat pump is also £925. You can also get a dynamic chassis control pack for £790, a tech pack including a wireless phone charger and park assist for £740 or one without the latter for £515. There’s a BeatsAudio premium sound pack for £450, and finally a cargo pack including extra floor for £325.

Overall, the Cupra Born is a little more expensive than the VW ID.3, but you also get a little bit more as well, starting with the styling. However, we do wish that a few more of the options were included in the trim levels, particularly wireless phone charging, which is an essential option today.

Design, Comfort and Storage

Exterior Design

Although the overall side profile of the Born is almost identical to the ID.3, the styling is subtly different. The front looks fiercer, and although the windscreen stops in the same place, the bonnet looks longer due to not being broken up by a black-coloured section. The LED headlights also deliver a more aggressive appearance, alongside a taller and wider front duct, although this is almost certainly styling because there’s not much need of hefty air intakes for cooling with an EV.

There are a few more angles and styling motifs at the rear, too. Although this is still obviously the same platform underneath, the Cupra Born just manages to pull off a greater sense of dynamism. We particularly like the blend of blue and copper in the car we test drove. The alloys also look sportier. Sure, this is all cosmetics, but SEAT’s slogan used to be “Auto Emocion” and the Cupra Born’s look will make you feel a bit flashier and more Mediterranean than the ID.3. So far, so “muy bien”.

Interior Comfort

Another area where Cupra has diverged from the ID.3 with the Born is the interior. Although the design and layout are essentially the same, the use of materials isn’t. Where VW has made the use of synthetic materials obvious, Cupra’s interior is just that little bit more polished. The V1 and V2 trims get SEAQUAL material made from plastic recycled from marine waste. The V3 version we drove has a dynamic microfibre upholstery made of recycled polyester from clothing. The V3 seats also have electric adjustment, although not a memory function. There’s a £185 Aurora Blue interior design option with the V3 trim as well.

The central console is a different design to the ID.3. One thing that remains from the ID.3 – albeit under a sliding panel – is the pair of cupholders with spring loaded grips, which enable you to securely grasp a wide variety of bottle and container sizes. Where the ID.3 has individual armrests, with the cubby underneath covered by a sliding panel, the Cupra has a single armrest that lifts to reveal the cubby, containing a USB C port. There’s an angled space to rest your phone in front, but as we mentioned earlier this isn’t a wireless charger unless you pay for one of the tech pack options, which our review car didn’t have. But the design looks better than VW’s, with more space for airflow around the phone.

The front seats are comfortable, and the headroom is exactly the same as the ID.3 – so decent. However, also like the ID.3, only half the width of the glove box is available, so it’s a bit on the small side.

The rear seats are also reasonably comfortable. Head room is good for adults, but knee room will be more limiting if you’re over six foot or have long legs. It’s still better than a lot of hatchbacks in this class, however. As we already mentioned, no trim has a sunroof as standard. This costs £925 extra and our test car didn’t have it. There are ID.3 trims that include a sunroof, such as the Family and Max. The middle rear seat is obviously not as wide as the two outer ones, but it is decent, and you can pull the back down to make an armrest with two integrated cupholders.

One obvious deficiency shared with the ID.3 is the lack of air conditioning vents for the rear passengers, although they do get two central USB-C ports to charge their devices. The outer seats also have ISOfix points for child car systems, but the front passenger seat doesn’t.

Storage and Load Carrying

One area where the Born is identical to the Volkswagen ID.3 is boot space. The basic capacity is 385 litres, the same as the ID.3. There’s a little extra space for charging cables. However, the boot floor is low and has a pronounced lip. There is clearly a ledge for a raised floor, although you’d lose a fair bit of boot space as a result. The raised floor using this ledge is included with the £325 Cargo Pack, which also bundles a 2.3kW granny charger, something we think EVs should still all come with as standard.

The middle rear seat can be opened to provide a gap for a long item in the boot, while maintaining space for two rear passengers. If you drop the rear seats forwards – with the usual 60/40 split available – the boot expands to a decent 1,267 litres. This isn’t quite as much as an estate car, but better than most hatchbacks and even many crossovers. However, due to the lower main boot floor, there’s a noticeable step up to the extra boot space, making it not ideal for large flat items. You also get a 12V supply in the rear plus a couple of hooks to hang shopping bags from.

In-Car Entertainment and Controls

The Born’s controls are a mix between exactly the same as the ID.3 and subtly different. The most notable difference, which we’ll cover in more detail shortly, is the 12in central LCD, where the ID.3 only offers a 10in panel. In keeping with the general sense of greater style, the leather steering wheel is also better looking, with a higher quality feel.

The buttons are the same, though, with adaptive cruise on the left plus media and menu on the right. There are conventional stalks on the left for lights and on the right for windscreen wipers. There is a start/stop button, but like the ID.3 (and Teslas) you just have to press the brake pedal to turn the system on. A rotating knob above the steering wheel to the right selects drive, B-mode with extra regeneration, neutral and reverse, plus a button on the end enables park.

However, the small array of membrane buttons that are between the dashboard and media display on the ID.3 are on the right of the dashboard display on the Born, which seems a bit more accessible. Speaking of that dashboard display, it’s the same 5.3in panel that makes no pretence of looking like a conventional set of dials. But it’s simple and uncluttered, with speed in the middle, drive mode on the right, range on the bottom, and ADAS messages on the left. We think it’s well designed. With the V2 and V3 trims, you also get the head-up display, which provides speed, sat-nav directions, speed limits and ADAS messages right on the windscreen. It’s also well designed, and not distractingly bright either.

Finally, we get to the infotainment display. Because it’s a bit bigger than the ID.3’s, it doesn’t have the extra row of physical buttons on the bottom. But it does still have buttons for altering the temperature of the dual-zoned climate control, although you will need to go into the touchscreen to alter settings in more detail. There’s an audio volume control in the middle but strangely, like the ID.3, no mute button, and you don’t get one on the steering wheel either.

The basic infotainment screen is split three ways, with satnav, radio, and phone displays in three sections. There are icons along the bottom to call up frequent functions, such as entering a satnav destination, media, phone, Full Link smartphone connection (Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and MirrorLink), charging and car settings. If you go into the full menu, you can access more options, including changing the operation of Driver Assist functions, and changing the car power level via Drive Profile. Options include Range, Comfort and Performance, plus an Individual mode with finer controls. You can change the way the lighting and display is coloured and configure interior and exterior settings.

Performance, Running Costs, Range, and Safety

Performance and Driving

Since the battery size and motor of the 58kWh Cupra Born are the same as the ID.3 Pro Performance, the acceleration figure is the same too. It takes the same 7.3 seconds to reach 62mph, which is reasonably sprightly but not GTI quick, at least not current GTI quick. The 231PS e-Boost version drops this to 6.6 seconds, which is closer to a GTI, but the current VW Golf GTI and R are considerably faster. With the heavier 77kWh battery, 62mph is dispatched in 7 seconds, which is notably quicker than the VW ID.3 with this battery size.

Acceleration isn’t everything, though, and the Born is rear-wheel-drive with multilink rear suspension as well, so it is dynamically well poised. You don’t get the torque steer we often see with relatively powerful front-wheel-drive EVs, and the steering is light and responsive, with a firm feel. You can enjoy a vigorous drive on a windy British A-road. You won’t win a drag race with a Tesla, but this is more of a family hatchback with a bit of extra fun than a true sports hatch. In Performance mode, throttle response is quite immediate, which is great for traffic derbies. The e-Boost cars also have bigger brakes than the basic models, which will be handy since you might be going a bit faster in those.

The Born feels at home on dual carriageways and motorways. It’s very planted and sits at 70mph very firmly. Overall, the basic Born we drove isn’t a hugely different driving experience to the VW ID.3 Pro Performance, but the suspension is slightly firmer, and the e-Boost options will be a notch above.

Range and Charging

With the same battery size choices as the ID.3, the Born doesn’t differ in WLTP range either. With the 18in wheels of the V1, range is 263 miles for the 58kWh battery. This rises considerably to 340 miles for the 77kWh cars, which is very competitive.

With 11kW AC charging available on the car as standard, if you have access to this kind of supply, you can replenish the 58kWh car from empty to full in just over 6 hours, although the more normal 7kW home charger will take 9 hours. The 77kWh battery will take 7.5 hours to charge on 11kW AC and over 11 hours on 7kW AC.

There’s 120kW DC charging available, allowing you to charge the 58kWh car from 10 to 80% in 35 minutes, which will smooth out longer journeys. The DC maximum rises to 135kW with the 77kWh cars, so these don’t take any longer to recharge to 80% from 10%.

During road testing, we found the Cupra Born was quite realistic about remaining range. As we were driving quite vigorously, we weren’t achieving anything like the WLTP rating, but it’s good to be shown the truth.

Running Costs

Based on WLTP, the 58kWh Born is quite frugal, offering up to 4.5 miles per kWh. This drops to 4.4 miles per kWh for the 77kWh cars. That’s not as good as a Tesla Model 3, but still commendable. With home electricity now around 29p per kWh, that’s 6.4p and 6.6p per mile respectively – a major saving over any petrol or diesel car.

Insurance groups range from 25 for the 45kWh car, to 28 for the 77kWh e-Boost, so not terrible. However, the warranty isn’t up with Korean cars. The basic guarantee is for three years or 60,000 miles. The battery has an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty, for 70% capacity. The paintwork is guaranteed for three years, and there’s a 12-year anti-perforation warranty.

Safety

Although the warranty isn’t Korean level with the Cupra Born, the base level of safety tech is very competitive. We love the fact that adaptive cruise control is standard on all trims, as is a reversing camera. There’s road sign detection, forward collision warning and automatic braking, too. We presume this is the same system as the ID.3’s and we can confirm that it works effectively.

Lane departure warning and lane assist are available, although this isn’t as intrusive as, for example, the system in some Stellantis cars. We prefer a lighter touch because a pronounced response can be disconcerting. Apart from getting the ADAS messages on the HUD, there’s no extra safety tech at the higher trim levels. But safety really shouldn’t be an option on any car, so we’re pleased that the base level included on the Born is so comprehensive.

Key Specifications

*based on electricity costs of 29p per kWh