Ian drives a CUPRA Born V1 62kWh 2023.
This is Ian’s first electric car, he’s owned the CUPRA Born from new and drives 5,000-10,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 1,000-5,000 miles and he achieves 240 miles from a full charge.
Why did you choose the CUPRA Born?
Better for the environment, cheaper to run, quicker & better use of space. Golf-size on the outside, Passat-size on the inside (actually better than my old Passat as there’s no transmission tunnel). No visits to petrol stations either! I do have off-road parking though and I don’t think I’d have gone for an EV if I’d not got that.
Positives
- Quick
- economical
- agile
- looks.
Negatives
- The self-park didn’t spot a low wall (after parking perfectly, at exactly the same space, 60 times) it bashed the front near-side into said low wall.
Compared to when you first bought the car, does your battery still charge at the same rate & do you still get the same range?
It’s only 7 months old but it does still charge at the same rate and have the same range.
Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?
It went off-line in the first month but Google said take out fuse 19 for a bit and that got it back on-line. Only happened once.
What are the standout technological features of the car?
- Road-sign recognition is pretty perfect
- Sat nav with the status of all the public charging points is clever.
Surprise us! Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about this electric car
- The 4 x super fast USB C ports are great
- the handy space where the tyre pump is can fit more than you think
- defrosting the car from the App means no more car covers.
What’s the biggest or funniest myth you’ve heard about EVs?
- That they are more likely to catch fire than an ICE
- hydrogen fuel cell cars are the next big thing and will soon surpass EV sales
- even if you drive them like you stole them you still expect the same miles/kWh
- public chargers are sparse and unreliable.
What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?
Volvo EC40, BMW iX1 & the CUPRA Born.
Home charging unit
Ohme ePod – occasionally goes off-line, would have liked a clip to secure the cable. Charges well, app works well when you get used to it.
Electricity supplier & tariff
Octopus Intelligent Go – flexible charging, 2p per mile.
What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?
Electroverse gives so many options, only used a couple. EV point, Pod Point, SWARCO, never had any problem.
Please itemise where you’re saving money (or not) owning & running a CUPRA Born
About £500 a year on fuel. Servicing and insurance is already covered.
See other CUPRA Born Owner Reviews here
