Cupra Born VZ: what is the value of the sporty Volkswagen ID.3?

Coat of arms Cupra made a name for itself by designating the smartest version of Ibiza and Leon. Then became a brand in its own right, always bringing together sporty versions of Seat models but also some unpublished. Born is one of them. This electric compact, first presented in the form of a concept car with the Seat logo, ultimately intends to put its dynamism within the Cupra range. In profile, the newcomer can’t hide its cousin with the Volkswagen ID.3 that serves as its base, the glazing being identical between the two models. The frowny look and the taillight strip, however, give the Spaniard a certain personality.

More importantly, Cupra won’t be content with offering the same mechanicals as its Volkswagen cousin. So appeared the VZ-version, for Veloz (fast, in Spanish), standard registration number for the most powerful models in the range. Nothing can compete with the fastest Leon, a true 300 hp sports car. Here, we have to be content 230 hp, just 26 hp more than the entry-level version. And this is subject to conditions, because the full cavalry is available only if the battery is charged more than 88%, provided that the Cupra driving mode is selected. Find the error, while it is advisable, to save the life of the batteries, to avoid charging more than 80% as much as possible…

The Cupra Born is more fun to drive than the Volkswagen ID.3

Anyway, the Cupra Born really shows higher dynamism than the Volkswagen ID.3. We measured a recovery from 80 to 120 km/h in 4.8 seconds, fully charged battery, which is more than noble. At 25% load, the vitality loses its luster: it takes 5.3 seconds for the same exercise. Like all other Volkswagen Group models, the Born sees its health wither away as you drive. But, in any case, the covers remain flattering. There is also a mapping of the accelerator pedal that is more sensitive than the Volkswagen ID.3, which gives from the first meters a feeling of quite pleasant reactivity. Cupra has done everything to differentiate, with few technical changes, its Born. And it was quite successful.

Coat of arms Cupra made a name for itself by designating the smartest version of Ibiza and Leon. Then became a separately, always bringing together the sporty versions of Seat models but also some unpublished ones. Born is one of them.

This electric compact, first presented in the form of a concept car with the Seat logo, ultimately intends to put its dynamism within the Cupra range. In profile, the newcomer can’t hide its cousin with the Volkswagen ID.3 that serves as its base, the glazing being identical between the two models. The frowny look and the taillight strip, however, give the Spaniard a certain personality.

More importantly, Cupra won’t be content with offering the same mechanicals as its Volkswagen cousin. So appeared the VZ-version, for Veloz (fast, in Spanish), standard registration number for the most powerful models in the range. Nothing can compete with the fastest Leon, a true 300 hp sports car. Here, we have to be content 230 hp, just 26 hp more than the entry-level version.

And this is subject to conditions, because the full cavalry is available only if the battery is charged more than 88%, provided that the Cupra driving mode is selected. Find the error, while it is advisable, to save the life of the batteries, to avoid charging more than 80% as much as possible…

The Cupra Born is more fun to drive than the Volkswagen ID.3

Anyway, the Cupra Born really shows higher dynamism than the Volkswagen ID.3. We measured a recovery from 80 to 120 km/h in 4.8 seconds, fully charged battery, which is more than noble. At 25% load, the vitality loses its luster: it takes 5.3 seconds for the same exercise. Like all other Volkswagen Group models, the Born sees its health wither away as you drive.

But, in any case, the covers remain flattering.

There is also a mapping of the accelerator pedal that is more sensitive than the Volkswagen ID.3, which gives from the first meters a feeling of quite pleasant reactivity. Cupra has done everything to differentiate, with few technical changes, its Born. And it was quite successful.

The behavior on the road, too, is satisfactory. We certainly regret that the steering, which is an advantage of most Cupra models, is not more different from the ID.3 in its consistency. But the propulsion temperament is a bit more liberated than the Volkswagen; The Born admits to a bit more willing roll in corners when accelerating. There is no point in hoping to beat a lap time on the circuit, especially since the top speed is limited to 160 km/h. This electric Spanish still delivers a great driving experience. That’s the main thing.

A less spectacular update than the 82 kWh versions

As was the case with other electric models based on the MEB platform, the Cupra Born is entitled to a software update this year, improve charging performance. This concerns the large 82 kWh battery, whose rather impressive improvements we measured in the Volkswagen ID.5, but also the smaller one, 62 kWh (including 58 kWh useful), which we test here.

Which means that the Volkswagen ID.3 is also entitled to this improvement. Charging speed is slightly improved: we clocked 37 minutes to go from 10% to 80%, and we saw a maximum charge of 106kW. It is better than before (97 kW max and 40 minutes to reach 80%) but a little worse than what Cupra announced (120 kW max and 35 minutes to go from 5% to 80%) .

The fault was probably in our charging session, which was carried out during rush hour at an Ellectra station (in Maurepas), where the power was never very high. Our curve below shows two abnormal voltage drops. Even considering the official numbers, the progress is real, but it is less amazing than the bigger battery.

We we haven’t noticed any reduction in consumption linked to this update: we always stay at around 17 kWh / 100 km on the road and 22.5 kWh / 100 km on the highway, for a respective autonomy of 340 km and 250 km. That’s respectable given the size of the battery.

The Cupra Born has the colossal mistake of an as-yet unknown badge. Because this electric compact puts real arguments, with a more personal appearance than its cousin Volkswagen ID.3 and more driving pleasure.

The icing on the cake, him cheaper than German: our trial version is shown at 45,500 € when the ID.3, less powerful, starts at 46,100 €. But, if we detail the Cupra catalog, our fascinating test Born on paper shows only limited interest. For only 1,000 € more, we have the version with the largest 82 kWh battery (including 77 kWh useful), which offers a range of more than 300 km on the motorway… Which is simply one of the best which are price/price ratios. versatility of today’s electric car market.