When we first tested the Cupra Born we were so impressed that we named it Small Electric Car of the Year. But does it continue to impress when you live with it every day?...

cupra born long-term test

The car Cupra Born 58kWh V3 150kW Run by James Tute, senior sub-editor

Why we’re running it To see if our Small Electric Car of the Year still makes sense as commuter and leisure transport if you don’t have access to a home charger

Needs to Deliver on the promise of a fun driving experience, low running costs and good practicality, while having enough range for weekend getaways

Mileage 547 List price £38,390 Target Price £38,390 Price as tested £38,390 Official range 263 miles Test range 260 miles Options fitted Vapor Grey paint (£0), Granite Grey Dinamica bucket seats (£0), Tool kit for 19in and 20in wheels (£0)

2 June 2022 – Born to run

Be honest, did you ever expect to see electric cars buzzing around the streets in the numbers they do now? I certainly didn’t – yet here I am, running a Cupra Born as a company car.

In case you haven’t been introduced, the Born is a small electric car built by sporty Spanish brand Cupra around the same structure as the Volkswagen ID.3. Since January, it’s also been What Car?’s Small Electric Car of the Year. In other words, it’s top of its class, and if you buy one, it’s a safe bet you’ll be chuffed with it.

cupra born long-term test

Our Car of the Year judges praised the model’s combination of practicality and driving fun, and over the next few months I’ll be testing both those and more during day-to-day city centre driving and on weekend trips away.

But the Born needs to tick another box for me. Or, to put it another way, it needs to answer a crucial question: if (like me) you can’t have a home charger, why on Earth would you want to run a small electric car? After all, there’s no end of cheap and efficient conventional small cars knocking around that’ll cost you a lot less to buy than a Born. They’re all compatible with good old-fashioned petrol pumps, too.

Well, if (again, like me) your routine takes in Central London, it’s not that simple. In the least polluting conventional cars, you pay £15 a day for the Congestion Charge. If your vehicle isn’t clean enough to be exempt from the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone fee, you can double that. Electric cars dodge both charges at the moment, so for some drivers they make hundreds of pounds a month worth of sense.

cupra born long-term test

Of course, I might discover that the quirks of the public charging network make it impossible to top up the Born’s battery regularly enough for the journeys I do. That seems unlikely, though – my early experiences suggest that while there’ll be some hassle, it probably won’t be enough to outweigh the gains.

I’ll address the charging question in a future report, and in the meantime, it brings us neatly on to my car’s spec… It has a 58kWh battery (you can also have a 77kWh one), giving the car an official range of more than 250 miles. That powers a 150kW (201bhp) motor that’s good for a 0-62mph time of just 7.3sec.

You can have the Born in three trim levels, V1, V2 and V3, and I’ve got a V3 for one simple reason: my back. I’m 6ft 3in, and if I don’t get the right seating position sorted before a long drive, I pay the price for days. The V3 gets front bucket seats with 12-way electric adjustment, pneumatic lumbar support and a massage function.

cupra born long-term test

On top of the funky chairs, the Born has loads of what I call ‘stress-reduction kit’ – i.e. gadgets that help take the strain out of sharing chaotic London roads with pedestrians, cyclists and mopeds, while avoiding slipping over the 20mph (camera-enforced) speed limits or getting stuck in the wrong lane.

Impressively, even the entry-level V1 gets many of my favourites, including adaptive cruise control with a speed limiter, sat-nav, lane assist, a dynamic road-sign display and automatic emergency braking. The V2 adds a head-up display, which projects your speed, the speed limit and sat-nav instructions on the windscreen in front of you.

The interior itself looks smart, feels good, and has plenty of space for four adults, while the boot is easily big enough for weekends away with my partner. In fact, the only negative so far is a blind-spot to my left as I pull out of T-junctions. I might be able to resolve this by fiddling with the seating position (again), so watch this space.

cupra born long-term test

In other words, so far, so good. The electric future I never expected is definitely here – and it’s winning me over, one motor-driven journey at a time.

Buy a new car with What Car?

Like the sound of the Cupra Born?

They use our Target Price discounts as the basis for their savings. Target Price is the price we think you should pay based on research by our team of mystery shoppers.

Keyword: Cupra Born long-term test

CAR'S NEWS RELATED

Cupra Born EV Hatch Spied With Redesigned Front Bumper, Weird Wheel Sensors

It might debut before the end of the year.

View more: Cupra Born EV Hatch Spied With Redesigned Front Bumper, Weird Wheel Sensors

VW Group delivers over 300,000 BEVs in the first half-year

The Volkswagen Group increased its deliveries of all-electric vehicles in the first half of the year by 48 per cent year-on-year to 321,600 units. The BEV share of total deliveries rose to 7.4 per cent, after 5.6 per cent in the first six months of the previous year. In ...

View more: VW Group delivers over 300,000 BEVs in the first half-year

Cupra's most popular model is getting a facelift

Cupra’s best-selling model, the Formentor, is getting a mid-life update that will bring some bolder design cues. While this prototype is wearing camouflage, we already know what the updated Formentor will look like thanks to Cupra’s teasing of the vehicle all the way back in June 2022. Updates include a ...

View more: Cupra's most popular model is getting a facelift

Germany: subsidy reform slows order volume across the board

Demand for electric cars has plummeted in Germany following the reform of the environmental bonus with reduced purchase premiums that came into force at the beginning of 2023, a media report suggests. The situation is said to be particularly explosive for one manufacturer: Volkswagen. The German Federal Motor Transport ...

View more: Germany: subsidy reform slows order volume across the board

2023 Cupra Leon V review

The rain is coming down in buckets and it’s not letting up. I know because I’m charging along in country NSW in the Cupra Leon V, and I’ve had to switch from auto wipers to the all-out setting. Only a couple of hours before I’d been sitting through a brief ...

View more: 2023 Cupra Leon V review

Cupra Leon V 2023 review

The Cupra Leon V adds up to far more than the sum of its reasonably-priced parts. It’s brimming with charm and sophistication

View more: Cupra Leon V 2023 review

2024 Cupra Leon price and specs

Cupra has increased Leon pricing by up to $1700, and added DAB+ radio to the spec sheet to help offset it. Pricing now starts at $49,190 drive-away for the Leon V and extends to $67,690 drive-away for the Western Australian customers purchasing the VZe. The VZe plug-in hybrid now has an optional Leather and ...

View more: 2024 Cupra Leon price and specs

Cupra Leon Estate long term test: report 1

Our chief photographer needs a practical car that can cope with heavy lifting during the week, but knows how to have fun after working hours. Does the Cupra Leon Estate deliver?...

View more: Cupra Leon Estate long term test: report 1

Formentor VZx Picks up Akrapovic Exhaust, Added Tech Across the Cupra MY24 Range  

2024 Cupra Ateca price and specs

2024 Cupra Formentor price and specs

Cupra Formentor gains crackle-and-pop Akrapovic titanium exhaust option in Australia

More kit, higher prices for Cupra Formentor, Leon and Ateca in 2024

Price and spec increases for MY24 Cupra range

Would you pay $6300 to make your Cupra Formentor louder?

Cupra increases pricing on 2024 Ateca, Formentor, Leon

Cupra celebrates more than 1000 electrified vehicle sales

Cupra won't bring cheaper Ateca models to Australia

1 in 3 orders for Cupra Australia are electrified

2023 Cupra Leon VZe review

OTHER CAR NEWS

; Top List in the World https://www.pinterest.com/newstopcar/pins/
Top Best Sushi Restaurants in SeoulTop Best Caribbean HoneymoonsTop Most Beautiful Islands in PeruTop Best Outdoor Grill BrandsTop Best Global Seafood RestaurantsTop Foods to Boost Your Immune SystemTop Best Foods to Fight HemorrhoidsTop Foods That Pack More Potassium Than a BananaTop Best Healthy Foods to Gain Weight FastTop Best Cosmetic Brands in the U.STop Best Destinations for Food Lovers in EuropeTop Best Foods High in Vitamin ATop Best Foods to Lower Your Blood SugarTop Best Things to Do in LouisianaTop Best Cities to Visit in New YorkTop Best Makeup Addresses In PennsylvaniaTop Reasons to Visit NorwayTop Most Beautiful Islands In The WorldTop Best Law Universities in the WorldTop Richest Sportsmen In The WorldTop Biggest Aquariums In The WorldTop Best Peruvian Restaurants In MiamiTop Best Road Trips From MiamiTop Best Places to Visit in MarylandTop Best Places to Visit in North CarolinaTop Best Electric Cars For KidsTop Best Swedish Brands in The USTop Best Skincare Brands in AmericaTop Best American Lipstick BrandsTop Michelin-starred Restaurants in MiamiTop Best Secluded Getaways From MiamiTop Best Things To Do On A Rainy Day In MiamiTop Most Instagrammable Places In MiamiTop Interesting Facts about FlorenceTop Facts About The First Roman Emperor - AugustusTop Best Japanese FoodsTop Most Beautiful Historical Sites in IsraelTop Best Places To Visit In Holy SeeTop Best Hawaiian IslandsTop Reasons to Visit PortugalTop Best Hotels In L.A. With Free Wi-FiTop Best Scenic Drives in MiamiTop Best Vegan Restaurants in BerlinTop Most Interesting Attractions In WalesTop Health Benefits of a Vegan DietTop Best Thai Restaurant in Las VegasTop Most Beautiful Forests in SwitzerlandTop Best Global Universities in GermanyTop Most Beautiful Lakes in GuyanaTop Best Things To Do in IdahoTop Things to Know Before Traveling to North MacedoniaTop Best German Sunglasses BrandsTop Highest Mountains In FranceTop Biggest Hydroelectric Plants in AmericaTop Best Spa Hotels in NYCTop The World's Scariest BridgeTop Largest Hotels In AmericaTop Most Famous Festivals in JordanTop Best European Restaurants in MunichTop Best Japanese Hiking Boot BrandsTop Best Universities in PolandTop Best Tips for Surfing the Web Safely and AnonymouslyTop Most Valuable Football Clubs in EuropeTop Highest Mountains In ColombiaTop Real-Life Characters of Texas RisingTop Best Beaches in GuatelamaTop Things About DR Congo You Should KnowTop Best Korean Reality & Variety ShowsTop Best RockstarsTop Most Beautiful Waterfalls in GermanyTop Best Fountain Pen Ink BrandsTop Best European Restaurants in ChicagoTop Best Fighter Jets in the WorldTop Best Three-Wheel MotorcyclesTop Most Beautiful Lakes in ManitobaTop Best Dive Sites in VenezuelaTop Best Websites For Art StudentsTop Best Japanese Instant Noodle BrandsTop Best Comedy Manhwa (Webtoons)Top Best Japanese Sunglasses BrandsTop Most Expensive Air Jordan SneakersTop Health Benefits of CucumberTop Famous Universities in SwedenTop Most Popular Films Starring Jo Jung-sukTop Interesting Facts about CougarsTop Best Hospitals for Hip Replacement in the USATop Most Expensive DefendersTop Health Benefits of GooseberriesTop Health Benefits of ParsnipsTop Best Foods and Drinks in LondonTop Health Benefits of Rosehip TeaTop Best Air Fryers for Low-fat CookingTop Most Asked Teacher Interview Questions with AnswersTop Best Shopping Malls in ZurichTop The Most Beautiful Botanical Gardens In L.A.Top Best Mexican Restaurants in Miami for Carb-loading rightTop Best Energy Companies in GermanyTop Best Garage HeatersTop Largest Banks in IrelandTop Leading Provider - Audit and Assurance In The USTop Best Jewelry Brands in IndiaTop Prettiest Streets in the UKTop Best Lakes to Visit in TunisiaTop Highest Mountains in Israel