Anthony Hibbs took a test drive of the CUPRA Born 58kWh V1.

Anthony was contacted by CUPRA Crewe within 1 hour of making his initial enquiry and took his test drive on 17th January 2024.

Please provide an OVERALL RATING for the electric car

Rate the electric car on its exterior

What did you like/dislike like about the exterior?

The styling is best described as a sporty version of the VW ID.3. The build quality is good, tight panel gaps and a good paint depth of colour. The 19” wheels suited the car well. I disliked the rear view although I can’t quite say why.

Rate the electric car on its interior

What did you like/dislike like about the interior?

The car felt spacious. Seats were firm and supportive. The ubiquitous centre screen was in landscape, I felt portrait aspect would have made it feel less dominant. The driver screen seemed tiny in comparison.
The storage was quite remarkable, every nook and cranny was utilised. A sliding cover on the front section was a good feature in my opinion.

There was a lot of plastic but it seemed of reasonable quality but gave the interior a hard feel to me. The rear seats had sufficient head and leg room for me, I’m over 6 ft but the rear headrests made the seats uncomfortable as they were too far forward.

Rate the electric car for its tech features

What did you like/dislike about the tech features?

The Born didn’t have any outstanding features in its V1 guise. I was surprised by the lack of regen control. In any of the 3 drive modes regen felt light. The test car was 95% charged so maybe that could explain it. All the usual functions were available in the central screen. I was very underwhelmed.

Rate the electric car for how it drives

What did you like/dislike like about how it drove?

Now the drive was the Born’s standout feature, I was very impressed. Smooth acceleration, tight steering and Mini-like ‘on rails’ handling made for an enjoyable 30 minutes of driving. If you like the feel of driving maybe this is the car for you. Most electric cars I’ve driven lack this feel. CUPRA have made some EV magic here.

Rate the dealership for their knowledge

Rate the dealership for their professionalism

Did you purchase the make & model you test drove or another electric car?

No

See other test drive reviews here