Cupra Born Review

If the Volkswagen ID.3 is a hot dog, the Cupra Born is a hot dog with mustard and ketchup and maybe a dash of sriracha. The two cars are clearly related, with an almost identical side profile, but the Cupra is the spicier, sportier one of the two.

While it’s taller than you might expect a hot hatch to be, the Born certainly looks the part. It has more sharply angled headlights than the ID.3, a few more design flourishes and copper detailing – the 2020s equivalent of a go-faster stripe.

The Born sits on VW’s exclusively electric car platform, which allows for a clean-sheet design and maximised interior space – each wheel is pushed out to its respective corner and you don’t need as much space under the bonnet. Several different powertrains are available; some are shared with the ID.3, but the Cupra also gets its own hotted up options.

Like many electric cars at the moment, the Born is a bit steeply priced as a new car, but excellent value as a nearly new or used car. The only fly in the ointment is that the ID.3 is a bit cheaper than the Born, so you can save even more by going for the VW if you don’t really care about the sportier bits.

The copper detailing continues on the inside, and it’s quite well judged – it lifts the interior ambience without feeling chintzy or over-the-top. With some textured trim, copper stitching and some lovely cloth on the seats, the Born has a more premium-feeling interior than the ID.3 – even though all the hardware is carried over from the VW.

That means you get a 5.3-inch digital driver’s display and a 12-inch infotainment display. Both are easily readable and clear, but the touchscreen isn’t particularly intuitive. Everything just takes too many presses and the layouts of some menus are frustrating. So much so that the SEAT-developed system has a walkthrough guide to show you how to use it. A good system wouldn’t need that.

Luckily, in 2024 Cupra updated the Born with the fresh infotainment system from the latest VW Golf and Tiguan. Not only is it a bigger screen at 12.9 inches, but it’s faster, easier to use and can be configured to show your most-used functions without resorting to prodding aimlessly at the different menus.

Along with better materials than the ID.3, the Born has more standard equipment than the VW equivalent. A reversing camera, 18-inch alloy wheels, adaptive cruise control, LED headlights and ambient lighting are all included. Stepping up from the V1 trim to the V2 adds larger wheels in a two-tone design, an augmented-reality head-up display, heated front seats and a heated steering wheel. V3 brings 20-inch wheels and massaging front seats.

VW and Cupra have made the most of using an electric-only powertrain. With no engine or gearbox to package, there’s more room inside – and the car’s slim battery pack is stashed away under the floor.

Interior space is far greater than a similarly sized petrol hatchback like the Golf or the Cupra Leon. Back-seat space is particularly impressive, with plenty of legroom for tall adults or plenty of space for bulky rear-facing child seats. Incidentally, the clearly located Isofix points make it easy to get child seats – and the children that go in them – into the Born.

The rear seats are quite reclined, which makes the Born comfortable for passengers even on long journeys. Additionally, the electric powertrain removes the need for a transmission tunnel, so it’s a bit easier to fit three people across the rear bench than in a Leon. There are a couple of USB sockets to charge devices, map pockets for storage and big door bins.

The 385-litre boot is merely average for the class – it’s beaten by the Renault Megane E-Tech and Nissan Leaf, but is slightly bigger than the Citroen e-C4 and MG 4. It’s plenty for a pushchair or for a weekly shop, and there are a couple of hooks that can support light items. The boot is a useful, square shape, although the high load lip could make it tricky to put big items in. As with its rivals, you can fold the seats down in a 60:40 split to free up a lot more space.

When the Born launched it shared its powertrains with the ID.3. Most buyers go for the 58kWh battery – the cheapest, smallest one – which is good for a 259-mile official range. Expect more like 210 miles in the real world, which will be enough for the majority of drivers. Above that is a 77kWh battery that enables up to 340 miles on a charge, although this powertrain is rare – and it’s only a four-seater.

Exclusive to the Cupra version is e-Boost, which adds a dollop of extra power in short bursts for faster acceleration. e-Boost is optional on the 58kWh battery and standard on the bigger one. Whereas the standard 58kWh version takes 7.3 seconds to hit 0-62mph, the e-Boost knocks just over half a second off that time for a bit more hot hatch pace.

But for real hot hatch thrills, you need the new Born VZ. Power is boosted to 326hp (up from 204hp in the standard car), and the 0-62mph time drops to 5.6 seconds. And even that feels like a conservative estimate, because all the power is served up instantly and it shoots from 0-40mph like a rocket. And yet, thanks to a 79kWh battery, the Born VZ has the longest range figure in the lineup. Cupra says you’ll manage up to 372 miles on a full charge.

All cars can charge at at least 120kW, while newer cars get faster charging. The VZ also boasts uprated 185kW charging, for a 10-80% charge in 26 minutes if you find a powerful enough charger.

Even the standard powertrain pins you back in your seat when you fully floor the throttle, and around town it certainly feels as quick as a hot hatch. At higher speeds it tails off a bit but there’s still more than enough power for speeding up on the motorway or a backroad overtake.

The steering is agile and the Born feels darty, again a bit like a petrol hatch. There’s something about it that makes you want to drive like a hooligan, which you don’t quite get in an ID.3.

The Born’s ride is firm, as you’d expect from a sporty car, but it shaves away harsh impacts so it’s not uncomfortable. Stick with the smallest 18-inch wheels for the best ride comfort, although this isn’t really what the Born’s about – if you wanted comfort you’d probably get a Megane E-Tech or a Volvo EX30 instead.

It’s fair to say that the VZ doesn’t sound enormously quicker on paper, but it’s the best electric hot hatch currently on sale. The accelerator response is even stronger and more insistent, there’s more resistance to the steering and there’s a huge amount of grip. New Sabelt bucket seats keep you firmly in place through fast corners.

But, again, the Born VZ surprises. With standard-fit adaptive dampers – DCC in Cupra speak – the ride is more polished than lesser versions of the Born, and the VZ can handle bumps in a more sophisticated way than the standard car.