There are those who still decry electric cars as soulless conveyances, machines unsuited to providing any thrills, and the thin end of the wedge when it comes to taking driving enjoyment away from us.
There’s something of a kernel of truth in that – after all, if cars aren’t fun to drive, many people might drive less, which some would see as an absolute victory.
I’m less sure on both fronts. For a start, there’s nothing to stop an EV being huge fun to drive, which has been repeatedly proven by now. Equally, we need exciting, enticing, enjoyable electric cars because without such models driving interest in the new technology, uptake will be slower and more reluctant.
Which brings us to the Cupra Born, and specifically to the Cupra Born VZ, the hot-hatch version of the Spanish brand’s sporty-ish electric hatchback. Just as the Volkswagen ID.3 is getting a big upgrade this year, converting it to ID.3 Neo status (pinching badge strategies from Airbus, are we VW?), so too the Born is getting a round of updates to keep it fresh.
RM Block
Hence, you can see new headlights with Cupra’s new triangular light motif front and rear. There are new bumpers with more aggressive holes through which air can enter or bypass the bodywork, new alloy wheels, and a new colour option which is, alas, metallic dark grey (ho-hum).
Inside, the changes are a touch more profound, and include a whizz-bang-looking new digital instrument panel measuring 10 inches, Google Android-based software for the big touchscreen (much better, much faster) and a general improvement in quality that puts some clear (clearer, anyway) air between Cupra and its humble Seat-based roots.
Buttons are also back. Not for the heating and stereo volume, I’m sad to say – you still must grapple with the awful slider touch-sensitive controls – but there are real buttons on the new steering wheel, and four individual buttons for the electric windows, rather than two and a front/rear selection switch.
This sporty VZ version also gets gorgeous “CupBucket” front seats clad in lots of recycled thread and cloth, with hard-shell backs made from flax, rather than carbon fibre panels. Rear seat space remains decent, if nothing more, and the same applies to the 385 litre boot with its adjustable floor. The Born has no storage area in the nose, so you’ll have to disentangle your charging cable from your luggage each time.
Under the floor of the Born, Cupra has been busy. There’s a new entry-level Urban model, priced from €37,565, which uses a lithium-iron-phosphate (cheaper, more robust, less efficient) battery and a 190hp rear-mounted electric motor for a range of 483km.
You can upgrade that to a more sophisticated Endurance version, with a 231hp motor and a pricier 79kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt battery giving a range of 627km, which will cost you €41,985.
Finally, there’s our high-performance flagship test car, the €48,225 VZ (from the Spanish “veloz”, or speed), which packs 326hp and squeezes an impressive 631km from the same 79kWh battery.
The VZ’s range in real-world conditions is good too. On our test, we averaged 16kWh/100km, suggesting a real-world range of around 500km, give or take, which is especially impressive when you consider the performance on offer.
It also means that, if you cover the average annual Irish mileage of 16,000km, and charge at home using Electric Ireland’s basic night rate of 18c per kWh, you can charge – and some quick back-of-the-napkin calculations take place – from 10-100 per cent for about €13 each time, giving you an annual “fuel” bill of €416. Let’s say €550 to allow for some pricey public charging. Performance never came so cheaply.
That performance is positively explosive for the first few seconds, as the Born VZ races to hit 100km/h in 5.6 seconds, but it does tail off after that (and the rival MG4 Xpower with its 435hp and all-wheel drive has that well beaten). While the Born VZ isn’t a tower of power, though, it is a really impressive all-rounder. The steering is nicely balanced, and you can keep up a brisk pace across country. There’s even a touch of rear-wheel drive adjustability in really tight corners, which raises a giggle or two.
The secret sauce to the Born VZ’s recipe, though, is the DCC adaptive dampers. This electronically controlled suspension allows you to slink around town with comfort akin to being wrapped in a duvet, or tighten and firm everything up when you find a twisty road (and even then, the suspension never crashes and bangs). True, the Born VZ’s chunky two-tonne kerb weight ultimately dampens the fun, but it can’t squash the VZ’s ability as a genuinely talented all-rounder.
If you want more visceral thrills in an electric hot-hatch, pick an Alpine A290, which isn’t wildly different in pricing terms, but which has far sharper steering and a much more enthusiastic attitude to corners. However, what the Born VZ’s loses to the Alpine in the thrill stakes, it gains back – hand over fist – in usability terms, as not only is it much more spacious than the French car, it also effectively doubles the Alpine’s daily usable range of 250km.
