Not everyone's styling preferences suit every car but I think this looks great and a lot nicer than a old fashioned golf or it's equivalent VW id3 which really is dull looking.
Andrew, I agree with your conclusions. I'm lucky enough to have a VZ3 on lease but also own a mk3 TT Quattro. I like the Cupra, but love the TT. The interior of the Cupra is great, and I'm okay with the exterior looks too. I do like the headlights and rail lights. It's not a hot hatch as you say, but on a daily basis I think you'll find types of road which suit you and it really well, for example punching out of roundabouts. It's made for Milton Keynes in other words. Having some generated sound would be a big help I think. There is some, but only if you absolutely floor it and even then it's very subtle. My local dealer has a long row of these for sale, and I hear a lot about the EV market tanking, affecting residuals. Lease is the way to go i think on one of these.
I e got one on order on a lease, I'd not buy any EV. The dealer I went to in Liverpool, had a few there for sale, but I have to wait for one to be produced. I didn't even go for anything special, stock V3 58kwh e-boost, with no extras. But apparently there isn't one that matches that spec in the country. So I've got a 10 week wait! In 2018 I had a 5 month wait for a leon st fr so I don't think the vag group work that fast!
I drove one of these at gridserve yes it looks fat but felt very fast and smooth to drive, it’s def sporty and goes like a rocket or feels like it on normal road conditions.
Excellent review if one of the most interesting (relatively speaking, of course) EVs on the market. Your conclusions were pretty spot on too - if I was buying an EV (which I'm not), this would probably be the one I'd get (as a Porsche Taycan is a lottery win away 🤣). It isn't an SUV & it seems like a decent enough & easy to live with EV. Bit harsh with the styling comments, I thought - I don't think it's too bad (no worse than the Mk8 Golf at the front). It IS a bit too tall though. I like that you can get a premium audio setup - although the Beats isn't particularly good, it's better than most standard systems - why can't VW offer the Harmon Kardon system on the ID models? It shares that pretty rubbish playstation dash with the ID models too - give me a proper instrument binnacle any day! I suppose you get used to it. It sort of works as a daily drive with a touch of the "Warm Hatch" about it - which will suit a good few people. It's an EV that wouldn't be too hard to live with - it deserves praise for not being an SUV for one thing. It's a good try from Cupra, but needs more work. I won't be rushing to my local Cupra dealer to trade my 7.5 R estate in for one though!
Well all our neighbours like our silver 77kw Cupra Born V3 with the 20 inch wheels. So don't accept your view on looks. Which mode did you use, we like the drive with DCC set to performance.
I disagree, electric cars are not the future, more of a stop gap. Lithium for the battery is mined which has limited supply, charged by the national grid, when the battery is expired it's a chemical hazzard for years and lets not get on the subject of how volatile it is. I do agree with having an R32 any day, even more so my Golf TCR 😊
Trouble is the EV platform is VW and despite the stated charging speed figures, it doesn’t deliver those! When you complain they say it’s only a range (albeit it never gets in to the range!). My experience was DC charging 20-80% is more like 50-55 minutes not 35. AC charging about 80% of the time was only half charging due to some battery safe mode that apparently randomly cuts the charge so on a cheap overnight 6hr charge I was getting 20kw not 40! Big difference. I had mine for 4 months, it then spent 6 weeks in garage and I got a BM i4 instead which is brilliant and does exactly what it says
The simple fact is the performance let’s it down ..and without the 800 volt architecture of Kia, Porsche and Tesla it’s always second best, otherwise I like the concept from someone who doesn’t like EV’s
Own the 231 hp eboost version, with 58 kwh battery, 200 miles range is ok for me, 17 kwh average consumption is not Tesla niveau but not bad. 0-62 in 6.6 bc 200 kg lighter than the 77 kwh version, can’t complain so far! Would buy it again.
To compare it to a petrol powered hot hatch is missing the point. Nobody is going to buy one instead of a hot hatch. If you compare it against other EV's then it is noticeably sportier in the way it drives and especially how it looks. I looked at lots of EV's before I ordered one and it had the nicest feel of anything I looked at (my monthly allowance pegged me to about 55k ish).
Cupra called it a hot hatch in their initial press information hence my reference to that, it's repeated in evo magazine when they justified having one on their long term fleet. I'm not saying it doesn't drive OK but £50k for 0-60 in 7 seconds when top spec £50k Golf R 20 years is 4.6, do you really want electric that much? If you PCP then you are immune to the massive depreciation a £50k Born will suffer so you will save on running costs but if you want to get out of your contract early because you don't get on with it or the lack of infrastructure, you'll get market value and have to foot any negative equity which could be huge.
Well, I own a 911 C2S and, having test driven most of the EVs out there, I think the Born probably ticks most of the boxes so, I’ll be ordering one. The biggest plus point is, it’s not a Ego Musk product 🤢
To be fair I quite like the look of these even if they are quite tall and a based on a mini-MPV profile. You see a few of them on the roads now and they seem to have that on-road punch that the 2.0TDI's have, and that's probably what they're more akin to performance wise, lots of torque but not much thrill. I do find the top speed thing curious, they have more than enough BHP to be 130MPH capable but they're obviously limited for some engineering reason, whether that's battery or motor related I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised if we ever get some "re-maps" for these they could increase the top speed limit unless there's a reason they'll disintegrate immediately. My thoughts on these are if I had to buy an EV I might get one of these but there's nothing to tempt me at the moment, and that's ignoring the high price!
The stated performance is 5-80% in 35 minutes on a 58(62) battery. So 75% of 58 is 43.5 so in 35 minutes it needs to average 75kwh over that range. The best I’ve ever achieved was 72 on ionity once - all this has been scheduled out to Listers and VWs solicitors in detail and none of my figures have ever been challenged at all! Not anything. Not one charge, one number: nothing. It simply doesn’t perform ever at that stated level. In contrast my BMW i4 just hits the numbers ever single time
How can any of these heavy EV's really be 'hot' or 'sporty'? The days of light fun cars are long gone. I drive a little electric hatch for work, not my choice but whatever, and whilst it's actually quite a nice place to be, there's no hiding that for such a (relatively) small vehicle it weighs a lot, and isn't fun to drive. A small hatchback that weighs only 300kg less than my old RS6...
It may not be saying a great deal, but I think the Born is the best-looking small electric car by some way. That said, I have no desire to buy any electric car and can't imagine I ever will. Roll on a viable synthetic fuel alternative!
Took the words out of my mouth there! As an EV, it's probably one of the only ones I'd even bother looking at. It's not an SUV, for which it deserves credit. It's not a patch on a proper ICE hot hatch though
We have had out for 12 months it’s a cracking daily for the mrs and feels quick around town coming from a ex 300st and a current e46 m3 driver I can confirm it’s no hot hatch
You were nearly in a bad mood lol reviewing the car .... looks way more interesting than the id3 . I get your point , what will a sporty car be in the future
I guess that we will have a different sort of relationship with E.V.s in the future than we have had with performance cars such as hot hatches in the past. ….. more of a hard headed approach maybe. None of these cars will bring a smile to your face like the cheap and cheerful hot hatches of old. There is still time to snap up a Hyundai i20N at £25K for your daily commute.
I do like the attempt by Cupra here and if I had to have an electric car this would be on the list - would like to see a comparison with the MG4 to see how these cars are to live with - however on your channel ICE content is spot on with your fleet of fun machines 👏🎯🏎
Great video Andrew, been wondering for a while what an EV hot hatch is like, and just as I thought, a bit pointless. Might as well buy something that looks great and practical with plenty of range
So youre having to juice it up more because instead of hauling say 1200kg around youve now got another 800kg to hsul around and in the main most dsily cars just have the driver....i feel EVs might have looked good if the ,weight had stayed the same or lower than an ICE......... And i just dont get the primer grey paints now being punted out in recent times....they look unfinished to me.
I remember driving my car with my mum in the passenger seat on a dual carriage way "what's that boxy car in front" "Volkswagen golf" said I. "What a boring looking car" said she. "yep" said I.
Hi Andrew a great review as ever I think VW Group are making too many similar models to get the most out of the expense of the technology like you I don’t like the colour but I do like the style of the car and they have tried but they haven’t gone far enough on the performance side of things Cupra js meant to be sporty and Latin passion aka Alfa Romeo. A missed opportunity sadly
I’m really not anti EV. We have a Polestar 2 that we run along side some ICE cars and it’s brilliant. We had a Cupra Born for a couple of weeks and it was absolutely rubbish, build quality was poor, range and efficiency was useless and overall felt cheap and nasty…no wonder EVs are getting a bad name when the likes of the VAG group are turning out this tripe.
The Cupra sub-brand is a masterclass in muddled thinking and confused identity. This pointless and oddball mishmash just adds to the pile. I saw one on the M40 a few weeks ago and had to read up on what it actually was. Is there any reason to buy this struggling outlier over anything similar apart from the snazzy floor mats?
Original hot hatches were beacons on so many levels, amongst a plethora of otherwise hum-drum cars. Does the Cupra Born feel like that? Your reactions (unscripted too) say no. I get the feeling that the public are being only drip-fed by legacy car manufacturers with what the electric car is potentially capable of. Marketing guys and accountants rule perhaps - and not to forget, there is plenty of investment in the ICE car manufacturing/tooling that still has to be recouped, so maybe electric cannot be allowed to be too good for a while yet…
I'm sorry but i have no interest in these vw group electric vehicles... 😢 or any electric nonsense really.... electric vehicles generally look awkward..😅
VW has too many off shoot brands these days and with Skoda and Cupra using a lot of the same internals but not looking as good as the VW’s and Audi’s it makes no sense. They’re spreading their resources too thin, even the new VW ICE cars have glitches that should not exist considering how expensive they’ve gotten. Dropping car brands from their now bloated lineup would help them focus on making their VW’s more refined and perfect
I think the main reason about EV regardless of who makes them, the total lack of engine noise is the killer, the ambience of this makes them all so boring.
Cupra have not long been here in Australia I think there to expensive and there’s only one car showroom here in Brisbane probably won’t be around for long i haven’t seen one Cupra yet 👍🇦🇺
Well that would be absolutely dire at the Nurburgring. Heavy, slow and a top speed that my Nans Suzuki Alto can beat. And I thought SEAT was the sporty and edgy sector of the VAG group. If this is the future of hot hatches I’m getting an electric sports bike.
A hot hatch?.. 0-60.. 7 seconds. Top speed 99mph. 😂😂 This so-called electric future is so controlled and boring.... Same can be said for abarth 500 similar figures..BUT.. Sorry vw but at least that looks normal for a electric car.. not this bloated, odd shaped look of nearly every electric vehicle nowadays.
Snazzy advertising with a kid driving it, should sell like hotcakes unless you have driven an id3 which tbh is feckin terrible and made me buy a toyota
Not everyone's styling preferences suit every car but I think this looks great and a lot nicer than a old fashioned golf or it's equivalent VW id3 which really is dull looking.
Andrew, I agree with your conclusions. I'm lucky enough to have a VZ3 on lease but also own a mk3 TT Quattro. I like the Cupra, but love the TT. The interior of the Cupra is great, and I'm okay with the exterior looks too. I do like the headlights and rail lights. It's not a hot hatch as you say, but on a daily basis I think you'll find types of road which suit you and it really well, for example punching out of roundabouts. It's made for Milton Keynes in other words. Having some generated sound would be a big help I think. There is some, but only if you absolutely floor it and even then it's very subtle. My local dealer has a long row of these for sale, and I hear a lot about the EV market tanking, affecting residuals. Lease is the way to go i think on one of these.
I e got one on order on a lease, I'd not buy any EV.
The dealer I went to in Liverpool, had a few there for sale, but I have to wait for one to be produced. I didn't even go for anything special, stock V3 58kwh e-boost, with no extras. But apparently there isn't one that matches that spec in the country. So I've got a 10 week wait!
In 2018 I had a 5 month wait for a leon st fr so I don't think the vag group work that fast!
Times change, the current Golf GTi feels heavy and boring compared to 80s and 90s stuff
Only the 8.5 ST retains old-school fun and that's being discontinued! Glad I bought one in time.
I drove one of these at gridserve yes it looks fat but felt very fast and smooth to drive, it’s def sporty and goes like a rocket or feels like it on normal road conditions.
Excellent review if one of the most interesting (relatively speaking, of course) EVs on the market.
Your conclusions were pretty spot on too - if I was buying an EV (which I'm not), this would probably be the one I'd get (as a Porsche Taycan is a lottery win away 🤣). It isn't an SUV & it seems like a decent enough & easy to live with EV.
Bit harsh with the styling comments, I thought - I don't think it's too bad (no worse than the Mk8 Golf at the front). It IS a bit too tall though. I like that you can get a premium audio setup - although the Beats isn't particularly good, it's better than most standard systems - why can't VW offer the Harmon Kardon system on the ID models?
It shares that pretty rubbish playstation dash with the ID models too - give me a proper instrument binnacle any day! I suppose you get used to it.
It sort of works as a daily drive with a touch of the "Warm Hatch" about it - which will suit a good few people. It's an EV that wouldn't be too hard to live with - it deserves praise for not being an SUV for one thing. It's a good try from Cupra, but needs more work. I won't be rushing to my local Cupra dealer to trade my 7.5 R estate in for one though!
Well all our neighbours like our silver 77kw Cupra Born V3 with the 20 inch wheels. So don't accept your view on looks. Which mode did you use, we like the drive with DCC set to performance.
Great video
Electric cars are the future and we will have to embrace them one day.
But give me my golf r32 any day :)
Vdub
I disagree, electric cars are not the future, more of a stop gap. Lithium for the battery is mined which has limited supply, charged by the national grid, when the battery is expired it's a chemical hazzard for years and lets not get on the subject of how volatile it is.
I do agree with having an R32 any day, even more so my Golf TCR 😊
Trouble is the EV platform is VW and despite the stated charging speed figures, it doesn’t deliver those! When you complain they say it’s only a range (albeit it never gets in to the range!). My experience was DC charging 20-80% is more like 50-55 minutes not 35. AC charging about 80% of the time was only half charging due to some battery safe mode that apparently randomly cuts the charge so on a cheap overnight 6hr charge I was getting 20kw not 40! Big difference. I had mine for 4 months, it then spent 6 weeks in garage and I got a BM i4 instead which is brilliant and does exactly what it says
"A bit Skoda-ry". How insulting for Skoda 😂
The simple fact is the performance let’s it down ..and without the 800 volt architecture of Kia, Porsche and Tesla it’s always second best, otherwise I like the concept from someone who doesn’t like EV’s
Own the 231 hp eboost version, with 58 kwh battery, 200 miles range is ok for me, 17 kwh average consumption is not Tesla niveau but not bad. 0-62 in 6.6 bc 200 kg lighter than the 77 kwh version, can’t complain so far! Would buy it again.
To compare it to a petrol powered hot hatch is missing the point. Nobody is going to buy one instead of a hot hatch. If you compare it against other EV's then it is noticeably sportier in the way it drives and especially how it looks. I looked at lots of EV's before I ordered one and it had the nicest feel of anything I looked at (my monthly allowance pegged me to about 55k ish).
Cupra called it a hot hatch in their initial press information hence my reference to that, it's repeated in evo magazine when they justified having one on their long term fleet. I'm not saying it doesn't drive OK but £50k for 0-60 in 7 seconds when top spec £50k Golf R 20 years is 4.6, do you really want electric that much? If you PCP then you are immune to the massive depreciation a £50k Born will suffer so you will save on running costs but if you want to get out of your contract early because you don't get on with it or the lack of infrastructure, you'll get market value and have to foot any negative equity which could be huge.
Well, I own a 911 C2S and, having test driven most of the EVs out there, I think the Born probably ticks most of the boxes so, I’ll be ordering one. The biggest plus point is, it’s not a Ego Musk product 🤢
To be fair I quite like the look of these even if they are quite tall and a based on a mini-MPV profile. You see a few of them on the roads now and they seem to have that on-road punch that the 2.0TDI's have, and that's probably what they're more akin to performance wise, lots of torque but not much thrill.
I do find the top speed thing curious, they have more than enough BHP to be 130MPH capable but they're obviously limited for some engineering reason, whether that's battery or motor related I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised if we ever get some "re-maps" for these they could increase the top speed limit unless there's a reason they'll disintegrate immediately.
My thoughts on these are if I had to buy an EV I might get one of these but there's nothing to tempt me at the moment, and that's ignoring the high price!
When you gonna go over 130 in uk
When reviewing a car don’t care what the colour is or the fact you don’t like the emblem. It’s the review in general that is most important.
The stated performance is 5-80% in 35 minutes on a 58(62) battery. So 75% of 58 is 43.5 so in 35 minutes it needs to average 75kwh over that range. The best I’ve ever achieved was 72 on ionity once - all this has been scheduled out to Listers and VWs solicitors in detail and none of my figures have ever been challenged at all! Not anything. Not one charge, one number: nothing. It simply doesn’t perform ever at that stated level. In contrast my BMW i4 just hits the numbers ever single time
How can any of these heavy EV's really be 'hot' or 'sporty'? The days of light fun cars are long gone. I drive a little electric hatch for work, not my choice but whatever, and whilst it's actually quite a nice place to be, there's no hiding that for such a (relatively) small vehicle it weighs a lot, and isn't fun to drive. A small hatchback that weighs only 300kg less than my old RS6...
Massively better than the ID3
That test track looks like a good bit of fun
It may not be saying a great deal, but I think the Born is the best-looking small electric car by some way. That said, I have no desire to buy any electric car and can't imagine I ever will. Roll on a viable synthetic fuel alternative!
Took the words out of my mouth there! As an EV, it's probably one of the only ones I'd even bother looking at. It's not an SUV, for which it deserves credit. It's not a patch on a proper ICE hot hatch though
We have had out for 12 months it’s a cracking daily for the mrs and feels quick around town coming from a ex 300st and a current e46 m3 driver I can confirm it’s no hot hatch
Too heavy in the corners. No getting around that.
You were nearly in a bad mood lol reviewing the car .... looks way more interesting than the id3 . I get your point , what will a sporty car be in the future
I guess that we will have a different sort of relationship with E.V.s in the future than we have had with performance cars such as hot hatches in the past. ….. more of a hard headed approach maybe. None of these cars will bring a smile to your face like the cheap and cheerful hot hatches of old. There is still time to snap up a Hyundai i20N at £25K for your daily commute.
43grand for a tinnitus sound in my ears... Great review but I'll keep my mk7 performance. 😀
I do like the attempt by Cupra here and if I had to have an electric car this would be on the list - would like to see a comparison with the MG4 to see how these cars are to live with - however on your channel ICE content is spot on with your fleet of fun machines 👏🎯🏎
Great video Andrew, been wondering for a while what an EV hot hatch is like, and just as I thought, a bit pointless. Might as well buy something that looks great and practical with plenty of range
You didn’t floor it once
The design for me is a bit of a Seat Altea throwback 😬 That grey primer colour doesnt do it any favours either. I like the interior tho 😉
No sound, no fun ! Ev's are dead boring. Petrol cars are what I like.
Electric cars seem like the most boring way of travelling fast.
@@Zero_Ninety And most certain to give range anxiety.
You Sadist driving another EV you will upset them again 😂😂😂
Get back in the i20N and have some fun on a budget and 5 year warranty
So youre having to juice it up more because instead of hauling say 1200kg around youve now got another 800kg to hsul around and in the main most dsily cars just have the driver....i feel EVs might have looked good if the ,weight had stayed the same or lower than an ICE.........
And i just dont get the primer grey paints now being punted out in recent times....they look unfinished to me.
I get the impression that it is not the smiles per mile compared to a Clubsport Golf!
I remember driving my car with my mum in the passenger seat on a dual carriage way "what's that boxy car in front" "Volkswagen golf" said I. "What a boring looking car" said she. "yep" said I.
Hi Andrew a great review as ever I think VW Group are making too many similar models to get the most out of the expense of the technology like you I don’t like the colour but I do like the style of the car and they have tried but they haven’t gone far enough on the performance side of things Cupra js meant to be sporty and Latin passion aka Alfa Romeo. A missed opportunity sadly
Any update on your rattle/knocking noise on your mk7 clubsport?
Looks like an old Honda Jazz 😂
I’m really not anti EV. We have a Polestar 2 that we run along side some ICE cars and it’s brilliant.
We had a Cupra Born for a couple of weeks and it was absolutely rubbish, build quality was poor, range and efficiency was useless and overall felt cheap and nasty…no wonder EVs are getting a bad name when the likes of the VAG group are turning out this tripe.
I like the look of it and the cabin but it’s not hot hatch territory
Maybe they will do an R
I still don't get the point of Cupra being it's own brand.
Agree and much like Citroen and DS
Sad this is the way cars are going. And they call this a “hot hatch”
The Cupra sub-brand is a masterclass in muddled thinking and confused identity. This pointless and oddball mishmash just adds to the pile. I saw one on the M40 a few weeks ago and had to read up on what it actually was. Is there any reason to buy this struggling outlier over anything similar apart from the snazzy floor mats?
Born Legacy, Born Supremacy, Born Ultimatum, Born Free or Born to be Wild?
Surely it’s Born Lethargy and Born To Be Mild.
Yeah BORING .
Original hot hatches were beacons on so many levels, amongst a plethora of otherwise hum-drum cars. Does the Cupra Born feel like that?
Your reactions (unscripted too) say no.
I get the feeling that the public are being only drip-fed by legacy car manufacturers with what the electric car is potentially capable of. Marketing guys and accountants rule perhaps - and not to forget, there is plenty of investment in the ICE car manufacturing/tooling that still has to be recouped, so maybe electric cannot be allowed to be too good for a while yet…
I'm sorry but i have no interest in these vw group electric vehicles... 😢 or any electric nonsense really.... electric vehicles generally look awkward..😅
VW has too many off shoot brands these days and with Skoda and Cupra using a lot of the same internals but not looking as good as the VW’s and Audi’s it makes no sense. They’re spreading their resources too thin, even the new VW ICE cars have glitches that should not exist considering how expensive they’ve gotten. Dropping car brands from their now bloated lineup would help them focus on making their VW’s more refined and perfect
Execrable!
I think the main reason about EV regardless of who makes them, the total lack of engine noise is the killer, the ambience of this makes them all so boring.
VW have really dropped the ball with their styling of the ID range, this SEAT is slightly better but still leaves me cold, like all electric cars.
It must be really difficult to positively review something that reminds me of a vehicle that delivered milk in the 1970's
Cupra have not long been here in Australia I think there to expensive and there’s only one car showroom here in Brisbane probably won’t be around for long i haven’t seen one Cupra yet 👍🇦🇺
Another great video but stick to what we all love . Electric cars have no soul
Would you say its what the ID3 should have been like inside?
I knew electric cars were heavier than a petrol powered equivalent. But nearly 2 tonne? My mk3 leon cupra is under 1400 and I thought that was heavy 😂
Everything electric is boring. The last good Cupras were the Leon mk3s. The "Born" shouldn't have the Cupra name
I’ll take this one No! 😂 It looks like a grandads slipper on wheels.
Take a look at your styling or should I say no style 😂
You try and review 4 cars in a day and try and be stylish
Well that would be absolutely dire at the Nurburgring. Heavy, slow and a top speed that my Nans Suzuki Alto can beat. And I thought SEAT was the sporty and edgy sector of the VAG group. If this is the future of hot hatches I’m getting an electric sports bike.
A hot hatch?.. 0-60.. 7 seconds. Top speed 99mph. 😂😂 This so-called electric future is so controlled and boring....
Same can be said for abarth 500 similar figures..BUT..
Sorry vw but at least that looks normal for a electric car.. not this bloated, odd shaped look of nearly every electric vehicle nowadays.
Snazzy advertising with a kid driving it, should sell like hotcakes unless you have driven an id3 which tbh is feckin terrible and made me buy a toyota
🐕💩