Cupra Born review

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.

Why? Well, under the metal, the Born is essentially a VW ID 3 and, like that car, it's a five-door electric hatchback that's about the same size as a Ford Focus.

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

Cupra Born video review

The Born has other rivals beyond the ID 3, of course. Alternatives include the Renault Megane E-Tech, the MG4 EV and – if you're considering models in the Born VZ's price range – the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.

Read on to find out how the Cupra Born squares up against the best electric cars...

There's a choice of three Cupra Born battery sizes – 59kWh, 77kWh and 79kWh – and whichever you go for, one electric motor drives the rear wheels. Since a 2024 update, all versions have a more powerful e-Boost motor, with an extra 27bhp over earlier entry-level versions.

The 59kWh Born now officially manages the 0-62mph sprint in 6.7 seconds, which is noticeably sprightlier than a Renault Megane E-Tech (7.5 seconds) but slower than an MG4 EV Trophy Extended Range (6.1 seconds).

The heavier 77kWh version take a little longer – 7.1 seconds – while the flagship "electric hot hatch" version, the VZ (79kWh), cuts the sprint time to a rapid 5.6 seconds. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and the MG4 EV XPower are even faster, covering the same run in 3.4 and 3.8 seconds respectively.

The Born's official range is 264 miles in 59kWh form, 342 miles for the 77kWh and 366 miles for the VZ (depending on trim). You won't get that far in everyday driving, but to give you an idea, a VZ model managed 294 miles in our summer real-range test.

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. It's more settled than an MG4, for example.

The VZ (79kWh) version gets adaptive suspension as standard, allowing you to adjust how firm or soft it is by switching driving modes. As such, comfort is decent in the VZ, even on its larger 20in alloy wheels.

While the Born's ride compares well with direct rivals, it's not quite a match for non-electric family cars such as the Seat Leon and VW Golf. It can get a little choppier over potholes and there's a bit more fidget on a motorway.

Being more focused on sportiness than comfort means the Born offers tidy and precise handling. It won't exactly thrill you on every journey but it’s an absolute breeze to steer through town and easy to thread smoothly down a B-road.

Thanks to accurate, well-weighted steering and decent body control, every Born is more engaging than the MG4 EV (which loses its composure a little when pushed hard) and the Renault Megane E-Tech.

If you want the most engaging Born, go for the VZ. In its sportiest mode, which firms up the suspension, it has sharp handling, and the steering gives you confidence in corners. The Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce has even more feelsome steering.

The Born is very quiet at town speeds, with just a bit of suspension noise spoiling the serene experience. At 70mph, there's a bit more road and wind noise than in a Megane, but the Born is still impressively hushed – and far more so than the MG4.

The brake pedal is heavier and more naturally weighted than the set-up in the ID 3 and Megane, making it easier to judge how much pressure is required to slow down smoothly. That said, the pedal feels a little spongier than in the best electric cars, including the Tesla Model 3.

The Born VZ is slightly better, with a more progressive feel, but it’s by no means as easy to modulate as a petrol hot hatchback. That's largely because electric cars' combination of regenerative braking and mechanical brakes can make the pedal feel a bit spongy.

"The Cupra Born manages to show its fun side without compromising everyday comfort too much, which is a combination I'm very keen on." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

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.

Annoyingly, like in many VW car models, you adjust the air-con using fiddly touch-sensitive sliders below the infotainment screen. They're illuminated in the Born VZ but not on other versions, so they're even more of a pain at night. Likewise, the touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel are fiddly to use and their inaccurate response can be very annoying.

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, so it's helpful that you get front parking sensors, rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera as standard. Opting for the Tech (L) pack adds Intelligent Park Assist (IPA), which enables the Born to steer into spaces for you.

The Born has bright LED headlights with an auto-dipping feature, but not matrix LEDs (which automatically shape their beam to avoid dazzling oncoming drivers).

A 12.9in infotainment touchscreen comes as standard on all Borns, with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring included. The MG4 EV gets smartphone mirroring too, but it's not wireless. 

The screen itself is bright and clear, with a fairly logical operating system, although some basic settings are awkwardly buried in sub-menus. We prefer the more logical lay-out in the Kia EV6 and Renault Megane E-Tech, which are even easier to use. That said, at least the Born’s system offers a few customisable shortcuts at the top of the screen to help out with usability.

The Born's interior has the same basic lay-out as a VW ID 3 but it's not just a copy-and-paste job. A slightly different mix of materials means it looks and feels classier inside, especially around the centre console and arm rests.

Victory over the ID 3 is by a slim margin, and you’ll still find some hard, cheap-feeling plastic in places. The overall feel of quality inside the Born is much better than in an MG4 EV or Nissan Leaf but the EV6 feels better all round. That said, most versions of the EV6 are a lot more expensive than the Born.

"I like that the Cupra Born's interior feels a little more premium than that of the VW ID 3, with a broader mixture of materials and colours, although it’s darker overall." – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

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 more than 6ft tall will have plenty of 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.

The Born is roughly the same length as a VW Golf and is just as roomy 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.

To give you some context, space in the back is very similar to that in the VW ID 3. That means the Tesla Model 3 is much roomier and the Nissan Leaf has more leg room, but less head room. The Renault Megane E-Tech is tighter in the back.

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. All Borns now get three rear head rests (the MG4 EV has two).

There’s not a huge amount to report here. You get 60/40 split rear seats as standard, which, while not as useful as having 40/20/40 seats, is par for the course in smaller electric cars.

You don’t have the option of sliding or reclining rear seats, which you can get in some slightly pricier electric SUVs including the Hyundai Ioniq 5. To get a Born with a ski hatch and a fold-down rear centre armrest, you’ll need V3 or VZ trim.

The Born's 385-litre boot is about the same size as a VW Golf’s and will be fine for transporting a small buggy, doing your shopping for the week or going on a weekend break. There's no front boot.

The Nissan Leaf has a bigger boot (except in models with a Bose subwoofer that robs space) as does the Renault Megane E-Tech. The Tesla Model 3 is in a different league, with much more capacity in its front and rear boots.

We managed to squeeze six carry-on suitcases into the Born's boot, one fewer than in the Megane and one more than we squeezed into an MG4. An optional height-adjustable boot floor removes any load lip when placed in its highest position and has space underneath for smaller items.

"The Cupra Born's boot space is on a par with the VW ID 3's, but its different shape meant I was able to cram in an extra carry-on suitcase, which was useful on a couple of airport pick-ups." – Darren Moss, Deputy Digital Editor

The entry-level Cupra Born 58kWh is more expensive than a top-of-the-range MG4 EV. Meanwhile, the other two versions (77kWh and 79kWh VZ) are a similar price to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Tesla Model 3. That's why we think the 58kWh Born in V1 trim makes the most sense.

Like any electric car the Born is tempting as a company car because it will attract very low BIK tax rates.

The 58kWh Born has the ability to fast charge at up to 165kW while the 79kWh VZ Born can charge at up to 185kW, which means a 10-80% top-up will take around half an hour for both versions. The 77kWh version can accept 175kW and takes a similar time. With a 7kW home wall box, you’re looking at empty to full in around nine hours in the 58kWh version, and 12 hours in the 77kWh.

Entry-level V1 trim gets you LED headlights, climate control, parking aids, adaptive cruise control and 19in alloy wheels. It's all you really need, and if you want more, you can add various option packs.

V2 comes with privacy glass, heated windscreen washer nozzles and a head-up display to project your speed on to the windscreen. It also gets heated seats and a heated steering wheel, so is worth considering if you like your creature comforts.

V3 is too expensive to recommend, but comes with 20in wheels and electric front-seat adjustment with a built-in massage function.

Top-of-the-range VZ is similarly equipped to V3 but adds bespoke 20in wheels and sports bucket seats up front.

Cupra did okay in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey, finishing 17th out of 31 car makers – a big improvement on its last-place finish in 2023.

The Born itself did much better, finishing in seventh place out of 18 electric car models, with a reliability rating of 92.5%. The majority of issues were due to the sat-nav or infotainment and other non-motor electrical systems.

For peace of mind, Cupra now gives you a five years, 90,000 miles warranty (until April 2024 it was three years). That’s better than many rivals, although Kia gives you seven years. The Born's battery is covered for eight years (like most electric cars).

The Born gets an extensive suite of safety kit. That includes automatic emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane-keeping assistance, a driver fatigue monitor and traffic-sign recognition, which shows you the speed limit of the road you're driving on. 

Just like the closely-related VW ID 3, the Born scored a full five stars when it was tested for safety by Euro NCAP. Looking deeper into the results, the Born actually scored better than the ID 3, but as the Born was tested more recently and in harder tests, it’s impossible to directly compare.

The Renault Megane E-Tech was tested by Euro NCAP at the same time and scored less than the Born in every area.

"I reckon the Cupra Born should work out a few hundred pounds cheaper than a VW ID 3 over three years due to its slightly lower predicted depreciation and electricity costs." – Claire Evans, Consumer Editor

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