Cupra Born

Have mine over a year now and have to say i love it .I left it in there recently for software update and battery module check , took 2 days and unfortunately it had battery module fault , so they had to order parts and i had to leave in for another 2 days , was given a loaner of another Cupra Born so Wasn't a problem. I find the car very comfortable and over all i'm very happy i bought it , so yea go for it .

Had mine since last September, overall very happy with the car.

Apologies if this is a long read!

Coming from a high spec Mk7.5 Golf 1.0 petrol DSG wanting something with a bit more power, by the time I was ordering everything sporty was out of my €40-45k price range and the Born fit the bill nicely.

I think a lot of people were overly critical on some things. Reviewers all complained about the steering wheel buttons but they're fine. They're touch sensitive but with haptic feedback so there's a click and I very rarely something by mistake.

The interior quality is fine, people think it's not up to par for the price you're paying which is true to an extent but the cost of cars has gone up so it's not like you're paying premium brand prices. There's a few small negatives like no rear vents and no sunglasses holder in the roof but there's ample storage behind the cupholders and under the armrest.

The standard seats don't have adjustable lumbar support, if you have a bad back you might want to upgrade to the electric alcantara seats which also have a tilt adjustable base and extendable thigh support.

There's no rear speakers but I barely noticed it on my test drive and even removed the Beats upgrade from my order. There's 5 speakers in the front.

Some people have complained about ride comfort, I'm on 20" wheels and I don't have an issue as it's very similar to my Golf that's also on sport suspension. There's optional adaptive suspension which softens/stiffens depending on the road you're on, you can also use the custom drive profile to leave it in full comfort. Don't be put off by the bigger 19/20" wheels, the 20" wheels have a similar tire profile to the 17" on my Golf so it's not like you're driving around on super low profile tyres.

The car drives nice, power is more than adequate especially with the instant acceleration when overtaking. I would say avoid the eboost as it's not worth the extra cost. The HUD is a gimmick. There's no blind spot as standard but visibility is decent, the rear window is a bit narrow but reversing camera has a very good view. The car has park assist as standard which gives it extra parking sensors on the wheel arches.

The rear camera is unfortunately uncovered so it gets dirty, there's a camera washer but it won't get rid of dried in dirt. Sometimes when driving in the rain it gets covered in droplets and I need to use the washer to clear them, not a big deal as it becomes muscle memory. I just give it a quick wipe with my finger when getting into the car every now and then.

Very happy with the car. Nice styling inside and out, nice spec as standard. Comfortable seats, nice driving position and good power.

Another big advantage is being on an EV platform is more interior space. I can fit a baby seat behind my driving position with room to spare and I'm 6'4, I definitely can't do that in my Golf.

Since when? I'm looking at a few nearly new models and thought they were all the same as the original layout.

Good to know, I have haptic buttons in my ID.3. They're not as terrible as some people make out but I would prefer actual buttons.

The speakers in the rear makes no difference to me. I have often disconnected them in other cars.

Ah feck sake...

Is that after the software update? I got that all the time before update, but dont anymore thankfully. Hope its a thing of the past for me?

I look forward to it so!!

I am looking to change my car in the new year and toying with making the switch to an EV and in particular the Born.

I am hoping the current owners can answer a few questions.

Motorway driving I read you should keep speeds to a minimum of 100kph and not 120kph to conserve the battery. Has anyone here done long trips doing the max speed who can give feedback on the battery performance?

In the winter and colder spells, how much deterioration do you see in your battery when fully charged from say a range of 425km max? I have seen people mention that 20% is expected across all Evs.

I do long work trips in it. Antrim, limerick and cork. All from Dublin. Have chargers at some destinations now but didn't for a while and it was grand, chargers on all routes with a 20 to 30 min stop seemed to be always enough. I'd say the Tesla is a better EV and has the better network for now, I just don't particularly like them.

I've never actually had to queue myself maybe I'm just lucky. I use the ionity or apple green on the n7 near Dublin or use Cashel sometimes, ionity again.

Buddy Bubs pretty much summed it up. Basically, if you're looking for a hatchback sized car with that budget and don't want a Tesla it's a strong contender.

I see around 25% loss in Winter. I can just about squeeze 400km in Summer and get around 300km in Winter. That's with heat on at 20C, heated seats/steering wheel on regularly and handful of 120kph trips. If you're driving across the country, doing mostly 120kph you'd see even less range.

Obviously doing 100kph helps a lot but if you're on a long drive it can be a painful experience. Dropping the cabin temperature can help too, let the heated seat and steering wheel do the work. I set my Golf to 20C and in the Born I can get away with 18C, the heated steering wheel is a huge plus for me when driving as I get cold hands.