“AN electric car that I love to drive.”
Damned. I don’t say these words often.
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The Cupra Born is bubbly, looks aggressive, but doesn’t cost stupid money
But the new EV from Seat’s sporty splinter brand Cupra has been on the back of my mind since it was announced.
The Cupra Born tickles many of my lucky places, at least on paper.
It’s bubbly, looks aggressive, but doesn’t cost stupid money.
All the key points from Cupra, except that this time they will be applied to an electric vehicle, the brand’s first.
The Cupra Born could be said to be an electric hot hatch, or if you fitted it with the right battery.
Because for all the excitement, the Born is still based on the Volkswagen ID 3 – a car that is just as practical and cheap to drive as a soulless milk truck, in which car dreams are electrocuted.
If you equip your Born with the 45 kWh entry-level battery, you’re basically buying a better looking ID 3 with a 150 hp motor and a sleepy 8.9 second time of 0-100 km / h. It’s still a very polished EV, but Hot Hatch isn’t.
But the 58 kWh version makes 204 hp.
You can buy an ID 3 with the same nudge, but what it doesn’t have is Cupra’s optional “E-Boost” button, which increases power to 231 horsepower and means it goes from 0 to 100 km in 6.6 seconds / h drives.
That is only two tenths slower than the Golf GTI.
Hot air
So Hot Hatch EV.
Of course there is more to it than that.
The Born sits 30 mm lower than the ID 3, has its own Cupra suspension setting and a steering system with a variable ratio that changes speed depending on driving style and road.
Thanks to the battery housed in the belly of the car, it also has a 50:50 weight distribution and a very low center of gravity, as well as rear-wheel drive – things that even the best hot hatch can’t say about itself.
The good news is that the Born is an exciting car.
It has the typical point-and-squirt chops that all have EVs, but also feels lively in turns.
It’s easy on your feet – surprisingly since electric vehicles are heavy thanks to the battery and motors – and if provoked, the rear will oversteer.
If you don’t want to hit the gas pedal right in the middle to look like a hooligan, then the Born will zip confidently from corner to corner and before you know it you’ll have fun in an electric car that isn’t made by Tesla or costs £ 60,000-plus.
It does the boring stuff well too.
Key facts: Cupra Born
Price: £ 38,000
Battery: 58kWh
Power: 231 hp
0-100 km / h: 6.6 sec.
Top speed: 99 km / h
Area: 260 miles
CO2: 0g / km
The end: February
It’s quiet and quiet in town, and even on 20-inch wheels it soaks up potholes and bumpy stuff well.
Recycled switching devices of the ID 3 can be seen inside, which means that it has those annoying haptic feedback buttons on the steering wheel.
But Cupra worked hard to distinguish it from its more desolate cousin.
There are bucket seats and lots of textured “3D” trim like the dashboard.
What else can I tell you. . . oh, it has its own 12-inch infotainment system, which is probably because the ID 3’s system feels about as advanced as one of those Casio computer watches from the nineties.
The 45 kWh entry-level model promises a range of up to 211 miles, while the 58 kWh model creates 260 miles.
A long-haul version with a 77 kWh battery has legs for 335 miles.
Finally, the Born supports charging with 125 kW, which means that you can charge 100 kilometers of range in just seven minutes.
However, that’s when you can find a quick charger in the wild.
The last time I saw one of those who wasn’t hooked up to a Tesla, I saw Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder holding hands and discussing vacation plans.
Ten things that YOU as a car owner should know
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Recycled switchgear from the ID 3 can be seen inside, which means the car has those annoying haptic feedback buttons on the steering wheel
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The Born is exciting to drive and easy on your feet – surprising as electric vehicles are heavy thanks to the large battery and motors
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The Cupra Born is an electric hot hatch – or if you equip it with the right battery
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