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Cupra Born Review

  • The Cupra Born is based on the Volkswagen ID.3, but is more rewarding to drive

  • Sporty hot-hatch with great handling and striking looks

  • 'Real world' driving range of 215 miles

Cupra Born Static Hero

Cupra Born Design & Powertrain

The Cupra Born is based on the Volkswagen ID.3 in terms of both powertrain and body style. That means a 58 kWh battery, a 204 PS electric motor, and rear-wheel drive. There are more powerful models available with a 77 kWh battery and 230 PS electric motor - but more on those later. The body has had a number of cosmetic additions, with copper trim details added on the outside and in the interior. The styling changes do succeed in making the Born more interesting than the ID.3 – but if you prefer a car that doesn’t shout “look at me”, then the ID.3 may be the one to choose.

Cupra Born dynamic Hero

What's the Cupra Born like to drive?

Cupra has made three main – but relatively minor – engineering changes to the Born. Firstly, the Born sits slightly lower – 15mm lower at the front and 10mm lower at the rear. Secondly, Dynamic Chassis Control is standard. Thirdly, the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) has been tweaked to allow slightly more wheel slip than is the case with the ID.3 (which appears to display virtually zero slip).

These three changes sound – and are – relatively minor, yet the Born is more of a driver’s car. So is this because it offers more performance? No; the figures are exactly the same as for the ID.3, ie. 204 PS of power; 310 Nm of torque; 99 mph maximum speed; 0-62 mph in 7.3 seconds.

Is the Born better to drive because it’s lighter? No. If anything, with a kerb weight of 1811-1934 kg, it’s even slightly heavier than the ID.3.

The Born in ‘V3’ trim has 20-inch alloy wheels, which are larger than the typical ID.3 wheel size, so, based on many other cars, this is likely to result in an uncomfortable, firm ride. However this isn’t the case; the ride quality remains good – presumably thanks to the Dynamic Chassis Control.

The handling feels more fun than the ID.3, which is likely to be the result of slightly lower suspension and the greater adjustability of the car thanks to the more relaxed ESC settings. However as well as being fun to drive on country roads, the Born is refined at motorway speeds.

Cupra Born interior

The best can be extracted from the car in Sport mode; there’s also Comfort and Range mode. You might expect steering wheel-mounted paddles to adjust the level of brake regeneration, but instead there’s just a ‘B’ setting on the gear selector, which is positioned on the right-hand side of the driver’s display, somewhat hidden away behind the steering wheel rim.

Along with most new cars, virtually all controls have been moved to the touchscreen. There are shortcut buttons along the bottom of the screen, but you still need to press a total of four buttons to change the drive mode and then return to the original screen.

The Born’s head-up display is useful to provide driving information without looking away from the road.

Charging the Cupra Born

The Cupra Born has an official WLTP combined driving range of 263 miles. You can expect 210-220 miles in real-world driving.

The Born can rapid charge at up to 135 kW. This translates to a 10-80% charge at a 150 kW rapid charger taking around 30 minutes. Charging from 0-100% takes 6 hours 15 minutes using an 11kW AC wall charger, which is most likely to be found on a three-phase electricity supply at commercial premises.

Cupra Born charging port
Cupra Born wheel

Conclusion

The Volkswagen ID.3 is a refined and comfortable car but it’s not a particularly rewarding driver’s car. Cupra has taken the ID.3 and by making just a few relatively minor changes has produced a car that is more rewarding for people who enjoy driving. It’s all the more surprising that this has been achieved without any enhancement on the performance front. The Born is even more interesting in its higher power 231PS e-Boost guise.

Choose your Born car lease

Hatchback

Cupra Born 169kW e-Boost V1 58kWh 5dr Auto

  • £2,898.96 Initial rental (ex. VAT)
  • £3,478.76 Initial rental (inc. VAT)
  • 48 Month term
  • 5000 Annual mileage
  • Subject to status and conditions + arrangement fee
£322.11 Business contract hire per month (ex. VAT)
£386.53 Personal contract hire per month (inc. VAT)
HatchbackRange 215 miles

Cupra Born 169kW e-Boost V2 58kWh 5dr Auto

  • £3,054.62 Initial rental (ex. VAT)
  • £3,665.54 Initial rental (inc. VAT)
  • 48 Month term
  • 5000 Annual mileage
  • Subject to status and conditions + arrangement fee
£339.40 Business contract hire per month (ex. VAT)
£407.28 Personal contract hire per month (inc. VAT)
HatchbackRange 215 miles

Cupra Born 169kW e-Boost V3 58kWh 5dr Auto

  • £3,188.01 Initial rental (ex. VAT)
  • £3,825.61 Initial rental (inc. VAT)
  • 48 Month term
  • 5000 Annual mileage
  • Subject to status and conditions + arrangement fee
£354.22 Business contract hire per month (ex. VAT)
£425.07 Personal contract hire per month (inc. VAT)
HatchbackRange 280 miles

Cupra Born 169kW e-Boost V3 77kWh 5dr Auto

  • £3,370.26 Initial rental (ex. VAT)
  • £4,044.31 Initial rental (inc. VAT)
  • 48 Month term
  • 5000 Annual mileage
  • Subject to status and conditions + arrangement fee
£374.47 Business contract hire per month (ex. VAT)
£449.37 Personal contract hire per month (inc. VAT)
HatchbackRange 215 miles

Cupra Born 150kW V1 58kWh 5dr Auto

  • £3,572.92 Initial rental (ex. VAT)
  • £4,287.50 Initial rental (inc. VAT)
  • 48 Month term
  • 5000 Annual mileage
  • Subject to status and conditions + arrangement fee
£396.99 Business contract hire per month (ex. VAT)
£476.39 Personal contract hire per month (inc. VAT)
HatchbackRange 215 miles

Cupra Born 150kW V2 58kWh 5dr Auto

  • £3,804.03 Initial rental (ex. VAT)
  • £4,564.83 Initial rental (inc. VAT)
  • 48 Month term
  • 5000 Annual mileage
  • Subject to status and conditions + arrangement fee
£422.67 Business contract hire per month (ex. VAT)
£507.20 Personal contract hire per month (inc. VAT)
HatchbackRange 215 miles

Cupra Born 150kW V3 58kWh 5dr Auto

  • £3,962.33 Initial rental (ex. VAT)
  • £4,754.80 Initial rental (inc. VAT)
  • 48 Month term
  • 5000 Annual mileage
  • Subject to status and conditions + arrangement fee
£440.26 Business contract hire per month (ex. VAT)
£528.31 Personal contract hire per month (inc. VAT)
HatchbackRange 280 miles

Cupra Born 169kW e-Boost V2 77kWh 5dr Auto

  • £4,189.74 Initial rental (ex. VAT)
  • £5,027.69 Initial rental (inc. VAT)
  • 48 Month term
  • 5000 Annual mileage
  • Subject to status and conditions + arrangement fee
£465.53 Business contract hire per month (ex. VAT)
£558.63 Personal contract hire per month (inc. VAT)