Cupra Born Introduction

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The Cupra Born needs an introduction. It is a new brand with a new model. Cupra is really a sub-brand of SEAT, one of the Volkswagen Group brands. SEAT is a brand for younger, more fun loving customers — at least, judging by the marketing materials. Cupra is its sporty variant. Younger, fun loving people are supposed to be sporty, but SEAT is also a low-budget brand. Cupra is less low budget. It is a young, sporty brand between the Audi and Volkswagen brands.

But with the Cupra Born priced above the ID.3, there is no SEAT ID.3 clone priced well below it. Both Skoda and SEAT should have an ID.3 competitor. That is why Volkswagen Group has its market segregation. Every market segment has its own brand with models just right for that market. The Skoda Enyaq iV competitor to the VW ID.4 is doing better in some markets and Skoda now also has an Enyaq coupe competing with the ID.5.

I have no doubt that we will see SEAT, Skoda, and Cupra competitors to all ID.# models in the near future.

Birth of the BEV

The Born was first introduced as a SEAT model, and is transitioning to the Cupra brand when Cupra is introduced in a new market. In Germany, the Born is still sold as a SEAT model. In most other markets, it is now the Cupra Born.

This history makes the origin of the Born a bit chaotic. But a cousin of the ID.3 is not really hard to make or to place in the market.

Specs at EV-Database.org:

• Battery: 58 kWh, with about 217 miles of range.
• Battery: 77 kWh, with about 280 miles of range.
• Motor: 150 kW and 310 Nm of torque, rear-wheel drive.
• Motor: 170 kW and 310 Nm of torque, rear-wheel drive.
• Charging: 124 kW DC and 11 kW AC.
• Euro NCAP: ***** (5 stars)
• Length * Width * Height: 170.2” * 71.2” * 60.6”
• Top speed: 160 km/h (100 mph).
• List prices between €41,000 and €50,000 (sales tax and delivery costs included).

Driving Machine

The Cupra Born is technically very much like the ID.3 Pro Performance. Both have a 150 kW motor and about the same external dimensions. But the Cupra Born also has the option of a 170 kW motor with the standard battery and with the larger 77 kWh long range battery. As you can expect from a sportier brand, it is just a bit more costly than the VW ID.3 cousins. To show it is sporty and luxurious, it has copper-colored accents inside and out.

Infotainment & Driving Assist

Being later to join the market, it is not hampered like the ID.3 by a history of production problems and missing software. The creative user interface designers have given the Cupra software a slightly different interface, but as far as I understand the Volkswagen and SEAT/Cupra salespeople, it is functionally identical.

Usability

For young families, the prime target for this model, it will perform the same role that the VW Golf has performed for the past nearly 50 years. Only, again, a bit better, as every generation of the Golf was just a bit better. Switching to a fully electric powertrain increases the specs and benefits more than any previous generation did. But this is not something to explain to CleanTechnica readers. 😊

I will write a Cupra Born 1^st impressions article in a few weeks. I hope to do right by this car. However, I am not a young, sporty person. Instead, I am old and lazy, looking for comfort and usability. But I will do my best to consider it all and report back appropriately.

All pictures courtesy of Cupra.