Cupra Born e-boost

Once again I had the pleasure to drive around in one of the latest hot hatchbacks available and this time it was an electric one. So let’s see!

Right off the start, I can definitely say that it looks incredibly hot. It’s sort of the cooler brother of the ID3. You know, the one who always dresses in the latest fashion trends and is the fun one at parties.

The overall design is very angular and a lot sharper than your average EV, making it stand out from all the aerodynamically optimized cars you see nowadays. It still is pretty aerodynamic, but the extra lines and edges cut down a bit on air-slipperiness. I give up some range for that. Some very noticeable design highlights are the sporty side skirts, the beautiful black and bronze wheels, and definitely the lights. As I’m not a fan of all those front light bars you find on other ID products, the Born goes a more traditional way which is consistent with the rest of the Cupra line-up. What further improves the design is the colour combination of the bronze accents and the stunning-looking Vapor Grey. Every time I looked at the car it filled my heart with joy. I seriously think that the Born is one of the hottest-looking EVs out there. Definitely the best-looking one on the Volkswagen MEB platform. 

But it’s not just the outside that looks phenomenal. On the interior, you’ll find some lovely sports seats and many elements throughout the cabin covered in Alcantara. And it’s that combination of soft plastics and Alcantara which makes the interior feel sporty and quite luxurious.

The Born is supposed to be the sporty alternative to the ID3 and as I already mentioned you can already see that by just looking at it. On paper, the car also develops a bit more power than an ID3. But the peak 231 HP probably feel very similar to the ID3’s 204 HP. So no huge differences there. What definitely can be felt though are the different driving modes of which there are plenty to choose from. Comfort gives you the best overall feel, making your daily trips comfy and fun, as the drivetrain still remains incredibly responsive. With the press of the Cupra Button, which is conveniently mounted on the steering wheel, you’ll enter “Cupra Mode”, which essentially makes everything a tad sharper. The throttle response is more instant and the car overall feels more alive. Regular roads suddenly become thrilling and are guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

And that’s the thing I love most about EVs. Accelerating to 50 is always fun in an electric car. And knowing that little Johnny at the side of the road doesn’t get any CO2 thrown at his face while doing so, makes you feel even better about driving an EV. Even the old folks won’t judge you as they won’t hear a thing. It’s the harmless joy, that can just be recharged by plugging it into a socket and letting it replenish with some clean energy. 

For many people charging an EV is still considered to be troublesome and annoying, so let’s quickly get to the topic of range. I got roughly 300km out of a full charge, but considering that I drove like an idiot for 3 days straight and didn’t really care about range, I’d say that 350km should be realistic on the 53kW battery. It’s supposed to be charged from 5-80% in around half an hour when charged at a 100kw/h charger. But getting peak charging power from those fast chargers rarely is the case, you should just charge it at your own wall box. I luckily had the chance to do so at my workplace and managed to get the car from 20-100% by the end of my shift. If you don’t have a wall box at home or no real convenient place to charge your car, you’ll survive charging it for a few hours on a public charger.

Usually, I try to go on a small trip with every car I review, but as time was short and I had other things to do, I just used it as my regular daily as one normally would. It’s a great daily that does many things incredibly well, but it does come with some really annoying flaws. First off, the speed of the infotainment system has nothing to do with the word “speed” at all. It’s incredibly slow and so unresponsive to the point where I just gave up and let the sat-nav take me to wherever. The controls on the steering wheel are highly confusing and possibly the worst ones I’ve ever touched in any car. Seriously. Some buttons are nice and clicky and some are “swipey”. The “swipey” ones are impossible to slide in the exact right way so just changing the volume makes me lose all of my patience before I even started my trip. Up next is the A-Pillar, which in my seating position, is constantly in the way, making me have to check more rigorously for pedestrians and oncoming traffic hiding in that blind spot. And last but not least: handling. Yes, a bummer I know. I expected the car to be pretty solid as a sporty EV, but the weight, traction control, and probably the winter tires made the car feel a bit spongy and weird.

But if I look past those few flaws and take the car for what it is, it still is one of the hottest EVs currently on the market. It’s definitely a hot hatch in the sense of a twisty-road-muncher, but more of a sporty-city-cruiser. The attention to detail in the whole design of the car and the looks make it stand out from the masses while still nicely fitting in. So if you’re currently planning on getting a small EV and like the ID3’s drivetrain but want some sportier looks, then look no further and have a go in the Cupra Born. And you might want to get the bigger 77kW battery because why not?

Learn more about the Cupra Born.