Cupra Born 58kWh Review

Read Caroline’s Cupra Born review for everything you need to know about buying Cupra’s new electric car in Ireland.

The new Cupra Born makes Cupra one of the most exciting new entrants to the electric vehicle market in Ireland. A market we know is growing.

But the Born is a welcome addition, making a bold statement with its hot hatchback inspired looks. It’s a compact EV with presence that’s sure to turn heads.

The new Cupra Born goes on sale in Ireland in 2022 with a choice of two batteries: a 58kWh and a 77kWh, though a Born 45kWh is expected to join soon.

The new Cupra Born goes on sale priced from €36,360 (including grants and VRT relief) for the 58kWh version with a range of 425 kilometres measured to WLTP industry standards. Expect the Born 45kWh to be a bit cheaper when it arrives here and compromise some range for that too.

What’s so special about the Cupra Born?

First it’s electric. And anything with a battery is hot these days. But there’s clearly more to the Born than just being a BEV.

Rewind a little. Cupra began as the performance arm of the Seat brand. So you might remember hot hatchbacks like the Seat Leon Cupra and a personal favourite of mine, the Seat Ibiza Cupra.

But then Cupra became its own brand. And in 2021 they brought us their first car that wasn’t just a rebadged Seat, the Cupra Formentor, which turned out to be a really good car.

Now they’re back with this, the new Cupra Born, and it’s the Spanish brand’s first electric car. It shares a lot with the Volkswagen ID.3, because all these brands are part of the Volkswagen Group.

But the Cupra Born has been designed to be sportier and more dynamic. And it certainly looks the part.

The dimensions of the Born might be the same as the Volkswagen ID.3 but Cupra has really put their stamp on this car. It has a much more youthful and sportier appearance than the ID.3. Wheel sizes are available up to 20-inches; 18-inch come as standard. There’s a range of unique colours available including the signature Aurora Blue pictured.

The car is full of sporty details, like a flowing aerodynamic side sill element and copper accents, now a signature of the Cupra brand. The Born looks strong, unique and desirable, though the loud styling and big wheels won’t suit everyone. There are full LED headlamps at the front and a charismatic full length light signature at the back. A body-coloured, integrated diffuser adds a final sporty flourish.

Inside the Born

The cabin of the Born is very stylish and well-appointed. It’s quite a minimalist design – a small digital screen displays relevant battery and driving information to the driver, while a 12-inch infotainment screen comes as standard and takes centre stage in the centre of the dash. There are few buttons, which may or may not be your thing. There are also touch sensitive buttons on the steering wheel, but they are not the most satisfying to use.

Standard equipment levels are high including wireless smartphone charging, heated, Cupra-branded bucket seats, heated steering wheel, rear view camera and adaptive cruise control.

The car certainly has a high-end, sporty ambience with more signature Cupra brand copper accents inside, good quality materials, and those gorgeous bucket seats.

This is a compact car but it has been designed from the very beginning to be an electric vehicle – born to be a BEV if you will. So there’s a good use of space inside. You can sit three in the back and legroom is particularly good. Though the large bucket seats up front make it a little less friendly for children in the rear maybe.

There is a 385-litre boot, which is competitive for a hatchback like this one and a place for the charging cables under the boot floor.

Driving the Cupra Born

The Cupra Born uses Volkswagen Group’s MEB architecture and comes with a choice of batteries shared with the Volkswagen ID.3. I drove the Born 58kWh, and it’s a good compromise between price and range. It starts from about €36,000 and the real world driving range is about 350 kilometres, which makes every day driving very comfortable.

There’s also a Born 77kWh available at the moment. It costs a bit more to buy (from €44,100). But offers a longer range – 548 kilometres measured to WLTP industry standards.

The Born 58kWh is available with a choice of two electric motors that alter the performance somewhat. I was driving the standard 204hp version, but if you go for the e-Boost package you’ll have 231hp. The Born 77kWh is sold by default with the e-Boost package.

Cupra is keen to highlight the performance of the Born and it’s fair to say it’s quick regardless of which version you go for. It’s very responsive off the line, with the 204hp Born 58kWh hitting 100km/h in just 7.3 seconds. In all models, power goes to the rear wheels.

Yet this is hardly a hot hatchback. For sure Cupra has tuned the car somewhat and it does handle in a natural way, with good pedal feel. When the Performance mode is selected, there’s a more defined feel to the steering, which makes it a bit more fun to drive down a twisty rural road.

Out on the open road, the Born proves comfortable and refined. It is a good car but not as ‘racy’ from behind the wheel as what you might expect from those good looks.

The CUPRA Born can be plugged in to both AC (up to 11kW) and DC charging networks (up to 170kW depending on the model). The Born 58kWh can fast charge up to 125kW so you can get to 80% battery charge in about 35 minutes at a high power charging station. It will take about nine hours to charge the battery to full at home using a standard 7.4kW wallbox or about six hours at 11kW.

Did you like it?

If you’re looking for one of the coolest electric vehicles on the market right now, this might be it.

It’s not quite hot hatchback thrills behind the steering wheel. But for an electric car at this price point, the Cupra Born is fun to drive and super stylish.

If you’re just looking to drive an electric car that has a bit of style and charisma, then the Cupra Born fits the bill. It’s finished well inside and offers a spacious interior for a small family.

Cupra is growing in profile with a suite of exciting new models on the way and a strategic dealer network developing in Ireland. The Born should help accelerate growth of the Cupra brand in Ireland, in a market growing increasingly comfortable with an electric future.

Model tested: Cupra Born 58kWh
Price: €36,360
Battery: 58 kWh
Range: 427 km (WLTP)
Power: 204hp
Torque: 310Nm
Top speed: 160 km/h
Acceleration (0-100 km/h): 7.3 seconds
Motor Tax: €120 per year

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Written by Caroline Kidd

Founder and Editor of Changing Lanes