CUPRA BORN

The Cupra Born electric car takes its name from a district in Barcelona but is built in Germany and arguably has closer links to Wolfsburg, home of Volkswagen's HQ

Cupra has positioned the Born as a sportier option than the ID 3, giving it sharper steering, suspension and brakes plus more aggressive styling. There's also a hot VZ version that has those elements enhanced (and, as a bonus, has a longer electric range).

Performance, drive & handling

With the arrival of the VZ "electric hot hatch" version, you can have the Cupra Born with one of three different battery sizes: 59kWh, 77kWh or 79kWh. Whichever one you go for, an electric motor drives the rear wheels. All models offer a good range, from 424 up to 591 kms, which is coupled with a fun handling.

The Born is a reasonably comfortable electric car and does a good job of absorbing lumps and bumps in the road. The ride height has been lowered slightly compared with the VW ID 3, making the car a little firmer, but the difference isn’t huge and it's more settled than the MG4. Being more focused on sportiness than comfort means the Born offers tidy and precise handling. If you want the most engaging Born, the VZ is the one to go for. It gets a stiffer suspension set-up for sharper, more playful handling, and gives you more confidence through corners.

The VZ version gets adaptive suspension as standard, which means you can adjust the set-up via the driving modes to better suit the road you’re on. As such, the suspension is comfortable in the VZ, even with its large 20in alloy wheels.

Interior

Regardless of the trim you go for, you’ll find two things in the Cupra Born: a rotating gear selector and a digital pod behind the steering wheel with a small but clear 5.3in driver's display that shows your speed and remaining range.

The position of the driver’s seat in relation to the steering wheel and pedals is very good, leaving you feeling relaxed, and the well-bolstered seats are comfortable. That’s especially true of the VZ’s bucket seats, which look great and are really supportive. Seeing out of the front of the Born is pretty easy. Its deep windscreen and slim front pillars afford you a largely unobstructed view of the road ahead, although they're heavily angled so taller drivers might find they get in the way a little at T-junctions.

The rear pillars are wide and the rear screen is a little shallow, making the standard front and rear parking sensors, and rear-view camera welcome additions when trying to park. Making life even easier, opting for the Tech (L) pack gives the Born Intelligent Park Assist (IPA), which enables the car to steer into spaces for you.

Bright LED headlights are standard, and while they do come with an auto-dipping feature, you can’t get fancier matrix lights that shape their beam to avoid dazzling other drivers. The basic layout is the same as the ID 3's, but the Born’s interior is not just a copy-and-paste job and feels a little more premium. A slightly different mix of materials means it looks and feels classier inside, especially around the centre console and arm rests.

Passenger & boot space

Even if you’re blessed in the height department, you won’t find yourself struggling for space in the front of the Cupra Born. Indeed, even those measuring north of six feet tall will enjoy ample head and leg room. On top of that, the Born feels surprisingly wide inside, which means you won’t be rubbing shoulders with your front-seat passenger, even if you’re both quite broad.

There’s pretty good storage space available too. A large chunk of that is in the centre console, which has various cubbies and the ubiquitous cup-holders. The glovebox is a decent size, as are the door bins. In the back there’s space for at least a 6ft passenger to sit behind someone equally tall without feeling squished, although there's not a lot of head or leg room going spare.

With three rear adult passengers on board, there won’t be a lot of shoulder room to spare, but the middle passenger will appreciate the flat floor with no central tunnel to straddle. All Borns get three rear head restraints and a 60/40 split rear seats as standard. At 385 litres, the Born's boot is on a par with the ID 3's and will be fine for such daily duties as carrying a small buggy, the weekly shop or a weekend away. An optional height-adjustable boot floor removes any load lip when placed in its highest position and has space underneath for smaller items.

With three rear adult passengers on board, there won’t be a lot of shoulder room to spare, but the middle passenger will appreciate the flat floor with no central tunnel to straddle. All Borns get three rear head restraints and a 60/40 split rear seats as standard. At 385 litres, the Born's boot is on a par with the ID 3's and will be fine for such daily duties as carrying a small buggy, the weekly shop or a weekend away. An optional height-adjustable boot floor removes any load lip when placed in its highest position and has space underneath for smaller items.

Overall

The Born is a sportier take on the VW ID 3, with a better interior and sharper handling.