Nor'West News: February 29, 2024
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8<br />
Thursday <strong>February</strong> <strong>29</strong> <strong>2024</strong><br />
Cupra Born the wild child of the EV world<br />
VIBRANCY, FLAIR, and<br />
passion are deeply embedded into<br />
the DNA of the Spanish, and its<br />
only automotive manufacturer,<br />
Volkswagen owned Seat, have<br />
created an electric car, that is an<br />
automotive expression of those<br />
qualities.<br />
It’s the small to mid-size Cupra<br />
Born, the performance division<br />
of Seat and sits on Volkswagen’s<br />
impressive MEB platform<br />
designed exclusively for EVs.<br />
This compact Spanish dynamo<br />
shares this platform with the<br />
Skoda Enyaq and Volkswagen<br />
ID.4 and soon to be launched<br />
here smaller ID.3, that’s similar<br />
in size to the Cupra Born.<br />
The Cupra Born is the wild<br />
child of the Seat family and<br />
putting brand on the map here,<br />
www.drivesouth.co.nz<br />
Motoring with Bob Nettleton<br />
after years of living in the shadow<br />
of its higher profile Volkswagen<br />
and Skoda siblings.<br />
A fun, affordable, quality<br />
European performance hatch<br />
brimming with personality,<br />
the $74,990 Cupra Born EV is a<br />
genuine x-factor vehicle, without<br />
the usual mega price tag.<br />
It looks the part with LED<br />
Daytime Running Lights<br />
with unique signature Full<br />
LED headlights, and 19-inch<br />
Copper Typhoon alloy wheels.<br />
Completing the picture are<br />
aerodynamic side sills, floating<br />
C-pillar and Copper CUPRA<br />
badging. All this made the<br />
test vehicle a bit of a people<br />
magnet when it was parked up,<br />
most knowingly nodding their<br />
approval.<br />
Ratings out of 10: Performance 9 Handling 8; Build Quality<br />
8; Comfort 7; Passenger and Load Space 7; Value for money<br />
7; Safety – Five Star ANCAP crash rating.<br />
Overall points out of 10: 8.5<br />
Incorporating<br />
best motorbuys<br />
The test car had heaps of heft<br />
from a beefy 77kWh battery<br />
and an electric motor producing<br />
150 kW of power and 310 Nm<br />
of torque. However, the Cupra<br />
has a performance trick up its<br />
sleeve with E-Boost that its ID.4<br />
and Enyaq siblings miss out on.<br />
This maximises acceleration and<br />
enhances all round performance.<br />
The vehicles standard battery<br />
is good for a healthy 150kW, but<br />
with e-Boost standard on Born<br />
models sold here, that figure<br />
surges to 170kW, enough to<br />
propel the car from 0-100 km/h<br />
in a snappy 6.6 seconds. This<br />
is activated via a Drive Profile<br />
button. E-Boost works its magic<br />
for a maximum of 30 seconds to<br />
protect the battery, but accessible<br />
at any time, depending on the<br />
charge state of the battery and its<br />
temperature.<br />
There’s a genuine performance<br />
edge to the Born with its rapid<br />
acceleration both off the mark,<br />
and once on the move, and boy<br />
does it move!<br />
With an undeniable energy and<br />
urgency about this electric power<br />
train it’s one that performance<br />
car enthusiast driver are Born to<br />
love.<br />
The cabin is smaller than both<br />
the ID.4 and Enyaq, with this<br />
pair a better choice if load and<br />
people carrying capacity are<br />
important. However, it is well<br />
appointed with a floating 12-<br />
inch touchscreen, multi-colour<br />
ambient lighting, dual-zone<br />
climate control air conditioning<br />
and split folding rear seats<br />
with ski hatch. Keeping you<br />
connected is a 12-inch colour<br />
touchscreen including Bluetooth,<br />
2 USB-C ports and integrated<br />
voice control wireless phone<br />
charger.<br />
Having the high-voltage<br />
battery located in the floor<br />
between the axles provides the<br />
almost perfect low centre of<br />
gravity, for optimum agility and<br />
balance that under pins this cars<br />
next level road holding. Grip<br />
and stability through even the<br />
tightest corners is masterfully<br />
tenacious and among the best I<br />
have experienced in an EV.<br />
The trade-off is low speed<br />
ride comfort that isn’t that well<br />
cushioned, and suspension<br />
noise, while not over bearing<br />
it still makes it presence heard.<br />
Annoying at times in town<br />
driving, but a concession I<br />
would happily make for this car’s<br />
sublime handling.<br />
Vaughan Pirie<br />
owner operator<br />
027 565 5577<br />
vpbaeries@gmail.com<br />
www.vpbaeries.co.nz<br />
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