Cupra Born (2023-2025)

Efficient and fun to drive but with one annoying flaw – I was a little skeptical of the new Cupra Born's EV performance (as I am with most new electric cars from traditional manufacturers), so I drove from Sydney to Bathurst and back in a day to verify if you could comfortably live and complete a small road trip in Cupra's first-ever EV. The stats are impressive on paper. Over 500km of claimed range and a 0-100km/h time of 7 seconds - a solid start for a daily driver EV hatchback.

I was immediately impressed with the packaging of the Born for the most part. The choice of materials and colours for the interior felt far more engaging than some other EVs in this space. It feels like an event when you drive in this Cupra, especially thanks to these large sports seats up front.

There's an even bigger centre touch screen which is great for Apple CarPlay/Android Auto but sadly lacks any native navigation (at least in the car I tested).

The car looks great from the outside too. It can't hide the fact it's a little tall and wide, but a sporty body kit and a lovely set of wheels help with the visual appeal.

There are a set of disc brakes up front, but this car comes with a set of drum brakes on the rear. The Volkswagen Group has done this to several EV's in its portfolio as it claims it's cheaper to service/manufacture and you don't need to all the braking performance in an EV like this thanks to regenerative braking.

I found the claimed range to be traditionally German in the way it was easy to achieve and if you are heading on a general downhill decent for a long period of time, you will find you will earn a lot of range back.

The Born is RWD and has its rear motor mounted between the rear wheels. That allows for lighter, more reactive steering up front, and a more playful driving experience in corners. It also helps when your vehicle mass is below the car in the form of a large battery pack.

It's not that fast sadly. So even though Cupra calls this an electric hot hatch, a Leon VZ would happily outperform this in most scenarios.

You can opt for a few option packs, including a 'Track Pack'. But the major flaw is, if you tick any of these options you lose the middle seat! And the Born becomes a strict 4 seater thanks to some technical reasons.

Meaning if you want a 5 seat option, you'll need to forgo any cool options...lame.

Other than that caveat, you might not care that you lose the middle seat if you're someone who rarely ever has someone seated there. And you can still enjoy the Cupra with 5 seats, but really you only options would be what paint colour you'd prefer.

It's a brilliant EV for those not looking for a sedan or small SUV. It's has great regenerative braking, plenty of range and actually fun to drive.

*Disclaimer - I work for ProductReview as their independent car and motorbike expert. I borrow new cars and motorbikes from manufacturers and owners to review. I am not paid or incentivised by these brands to post reviews. I write and create content to provide insight and information about any new or used vehicle I can get my hands on.