Like Americans, Australians are keen to get into affordable electric cars. However, we keep getting offered ones that are a little rich for our blood, a little expensive for our wallets. The latest is the Cupra Born, which I am sure will sell well at between AUS$50,000–$60,000 because it is a very exciting machine. The impulse of the electric era indeed.
Cupra, an offshoot of SEAT, is owned by Volkswagen Group and has been described as sizzling, sporty, and sexy. Those are not words you would ascribe to the solid German made VW, but very appropriate to the Spanish SEAT.
Image courtesy of Cupra.
Although currently being tested in Australia, customers will probably not be able to get their hands on one until late 2022 or early 2023.
The Cupra Born is based on the Volkswagen ID.3, which is extremely popular in Europe and also sells fairly well in China. The Born is the very first Cupra EV and seen as a rival to the Nissan Leaf e+.
“The Born will look and drive sportier than the ID.3, though, with the battery packs coming in either 58kWh (just over 400km of range) or 77kWh (just over 500km of range) versions. The former has an optional e-boost package available that lifts the output of the rear-mounted motor to 170kW — a 20kW improvement on the ID.3 that has the Born hitting 100km/h from a standstill in 6.6 seconds (for comparison, the VW Golf GTI hot hatch does the same in 6.3 seconds),” Carsguide writes.
“Keeping with the eco-friendly theme, the standard seats in the Born are covered in Seaqual (a material made from recycled plastic retrieved from the sea, rather than being the working title for the movie Aquaman 2).”
In time, I am sure that this car will be opening wallets and turning heads as it races down Australian roads.
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