CUPRA Born - UK Reviews out now

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Rob
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Post by Rob »

The first batch of UK reviews for the CUPRA Born are now out, round up below:

Cupra Born 2021.jpg

Auto Express:
The Cupra Born stands out thanks to its successful, eye-catching design, and the driving experience is also subtly different from that of its ID.3 sibling. It carves out the company’s first EV as a genuine Cupra with a sporty edge. It’s a more emotional alternative to the VW ID.3, and while you pay a premium for this, as electrification takes over it’s nice to know there are options that offer something different from each other. The Cupra Born is a convincing EV.
Read the full review here: https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/cupra/bor ... 021-review

Driving Electric:
More adventurous styling and a better-quality interior help set the Spanish brand's first electric car apart from the Volkswagen ID.3 it's based on
Read the full review here: https://www.drivingelectric.com/cupra/b ... orn-review

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Rob
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Post by Rob »

Couple more reviews now out:

1-cupra-born-2021-first-drive-review-hero-front.jpg

AutoCar:
All of this is largely the same as the ID 3: there might be slight differences in the steering, but it would take a back-to-back test to reveal those. And that’s where Cupra comes unstuck. It’s claiming to be the emotional one of the VW Group, but the drive experience can’t back up the jazzier looks and doesn’t feel vastly different from its ID 3 sibling.

Does that make it a bad car? Certainly not. But does that give any reason to buy a Cupra over an ID 3? That’s where it gets more awkward for the Spanish brand. Doubtless the platform will save VW’s bacon, but at what cost to individual character?
Read the full review here: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/cu ... ign=Review

What Car?:
So, the Cupra Born does indeed take all the good bits from the class-leading Volkswagen ID.3 then add a more polished interior and a slight upgrade to the tech. It is likely to cost more money, though.

How much more remains unclear. If, when prices are announced later this year, it turns out that you will have to spend quite a few thousand pounds extra to have a Born instead of an ID.3, that will strip away some of the new model's appeal.

If the pricing is still competitive, though, the underpinnings that have already brought us not only the ID.3, but also the impressive Audi Q4 e-tron, Skoda Enyaq and Volkswagen ID.4 will have produced another car that thoroughly deserves a place on your small electric car shortlist.

What Car? rating 5 stars out of 5
Read the full review here: https://www.whatcar.com/news/2022-cupra ... ate/n23583
srmusic
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Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2022 11:43 pm

Post by srmusic »

How many people are aware that the Cupra Born comes with DRUM Brakes at the rear?
This technology was superseded literally decades ago! Dreadful things that overheat and fade when you most need them!
The professional car reviews seem to have missed this fact other than one mentioning that the brake peddle seemed "spongy".
Even more questionable as the Cupra Born is marketing itself as a more performance orientated EV Hatch.
kerupra
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Post by kerupra »

srmusic wrote: Thu Feb 17, 2022 12:54 am How many people are aware that the Cupra Born comes with DRUM Brakes at the rear?
My current car is I3, and I test drove the ID.3 which has the same braking system as it's more or less the same car.

I did feel that the brakes felt a bit weird in how they came on once or twice. Overall package was best for that size that's available so I'm willing to give that, and the threat of the tech being a bit wonky a chance, seeing as the car's been out for over a year now they hopefully have ironed out a few kinks.

Drum brakes don't seem to be a bad choice because longer lasting and less maintenance, so cheaper, and most rear braking is done by motor anyway - and most braking is achieved by front brakes anyway..

I also don't see it as a hot hatch, even with the planned models that are coming later in the year. Still it's a great size, possibly no wait times if you order now, and I really didn't like the colours of the id3 but the vapor grey and the blue are really good.
srmusic
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Post by srmusic »

Further to my concerns about the braking capability on the Cupra Born I have just come across a reviewer on You Tube who has reported that in his opinion "the brakes are not great".
YouTube Stef ABtv (11th Nov 2021).
Until now every review I've seen has completely over looked the fact that the Cupra Born is using out of date drum brakes on the rear.
Have a look if this concerns you as much as me. I was seriously considering this vehicle but poor braking performance may be the deal breaker.
This is an important and in the worst case possibly crucial factor - come on Cupra we (and the Born) deserve better - this is 2022!.
kerupra
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Post by kerupra »

srmusic wrote: Mon Feb 21, 2022 11:02 pm Further to my concerns about the braking capability on the Cupra Born I have just come across a reviewer on You Tube who has reported that in his opinion "the brakes are not great".
YouTube Stef ABtv (11th Nov 2021).
Until now every review I've seen has completely over looked the fact that the Cupra Born is using out of date drum brakes on the rear.
Have a look if this concerns you as much as me. I was seriously considering this vehicle but poor braking performance may be the deal breaker.
This is an important and in the worst case possibly crucial factor - come on Cupra we (and the Born) deserve better - this is 2022!.

I had a test drive of the EV6 and was shocked about how effective the brakes were compared to the other EVs I'd tried. So there is quite a bit of variation. Personally as long as they can stop effectively - which is of course a legal requirement, and I very much doubt that this car is not compliant with that - here's a discussion on speakev - I don't have a problem. The less braking and more regen that happens the better.

But for some these might take a bit of getting used to. Stef ABtv did complain about the brakes. But he didn't even have the car for 24 hours, so he may have got used to them after a while. It's not a light car and accelerates quickly at low speeds, giving the impression of being light, so it might be a bit deceptive at first.

JimNel
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Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2022 4:19 pm

Post by JimNel »

I currently have an ID.3 and the brakes are the same on the Born, I quickly learned to flick the drive to B from D and make use of the electric motor braking in regenerative mode. I agree it can be a little disconcerting at first when you don't appear to be going to stop, I agree with comment about the reviewer having only 24 hours with the Born.
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