Cupra Born review | Is it better than ID.3?

[@PierreSimonsson]

Not just for the young i am 52 and i love it.. This car may be the nicest looking Ev there is, at least for me.

[@kieranegan6207]

I must have watched 50 born reviews on youtube having recently purchased one and your review is by far the most insightful, honest and entertaining review ive watched to date, well done !!!!

[@NobbyOnCars]

Thanks Kieran !

[@paulty27]

I've test driven both the Born and the ID3 and i agree this car is slightly sharper and also looks cooler than the ID3. The version i took out for a spin had the HUD and also a massage feature in the seat which was amazing (€1200) extra. They told me there were no models available until early next year and i heard also that the price might be changing (up no doubt). Spot on review as always mate.

[@Mustangboss76]

I saw this car on a stand in the pavilions shopping centre today & to say it's eye catching is an under statement. Superb lines, a proper Gt look about it, not been a huge fan of full electric cars (Mustang GT 350) being the dream😁, I'd gladly drive the Cupra.. Great review as always Nobby 👌

[@chrisnewman7281]

It’s great that you focused on things that other reviewers have skipped over

[@spirostampakis7221]

Great review mate, keep it up!

[@domtdoodar99]

I’m 18 and would absolutely have one if I could afford it. Looks really cool

[@echoindiajuliet]

Nice review nobby! I’m waiting for my seat leon FR, not ready to take the leap to electric just yet but this Born is nice and fresh! If they could knock about €10k off the price i would consider. Hopefully by 2030 we might be closer to those figures!

[@NobbyOnCars]

I wouldn’t hold out for that price 😎

[@papah5552]

Great review. What an amazing colour.

[@DrMacCandless]

The car is OK, Nobby, but your manner of reviewing is marvellous. You make it entertaining and relevant for everyone. Eat your heart out, Chris Harris and other tyre-burning reviewers.

[@NobbyOnCars]

Thanks Ian, appreciate that.

[@Simon8ken103]

Great review. I have cancelled my order for an id.3, it was supposed to come in Feb and the most recent update is it might be built in October! There are a few new ones of these in stock at the moment so I'm hoping to snap one up in the next few days, test driving it tomorrow. I didn't like the fact my Max spec Id.3 was going to have steel wheels and a very drab interior.

[@NobbyOnCars]

Shame about ID.3 delays but Born is 👌🏻

[@ajmeehan86]

Just ordered an E Boost in Grey

[@adyp]

Hey Nobby, good update review since the last one, nice work. I drove a Born recently as well as the ID3, and the VW left me very cold in terms of the experience. Interior quality is miles behind our 7.5 Golf! The Born is a much nicer car to be in and the software has improved, but it’s still a bit laggy in fairness. Also looking forward to trying the Megane E-Tech, as it looks good, appears to drive well, and that could be the one to beat at a reasonable price.

[@bruts82]

Having owned a mk8 Gti with horrific software issues and whilst being fixed given an id3 with even more software issues and then having to sell the Gti back to the dealership. I would advise anyone considering this range of vag group cars 2021 onwards to avoid at all cost

[@L3AF]

Even the MK8? i had huge software issues with my 7.5 facelift GTE, ive only been plagued with software problems never a mechanical one.

[@bruts82]

@@L3AF my mk8 clubsport would throw up 20 warning lights a day , jam on twice a day with nothing in front of me. Horrific. I’m back in a mk 7.5 Gti now for the past 3 months not one problem

[@L3AF]

@@bruts82 thats good to hear that ur 7.5 is working proper. mine for now have been behaving. but its been such a bad experience for me since its a first car i bought and driven that i own. i am not really thinking VW but tempted by cupra but still not sure.

[@bruts82]

@@L3AF I would hold tuff a while till the next mark.

[@declancoughlan9081]

Hi Mark drove this car few weeks ago very impressed with the handling and torque, seemed very fast, only problem forget about ordering one as it will be next year before they become available in numbers and particularly with the eboost

[@davyboy4515]

I ordered an E boost model at the beginning of april, just had an allocated build date in July

[@mtumasz]

Range is a funny subject. What people do not understand is that you as the driver control the range. I have ca. 350km in my beemer. On a recent trip thru Germany (a tad over 1000km) I chose to charge every 200km and go pedal to the metal wherever possible. I could have stayed below 120km/h and have enough range to stop every 300-350km.

[@enyaq_gorm]

and what people don't realise is that the driver's range is normally shorter than the car's range these days :-)

[@Mike_Vlogs_YT]

I think this car looks really good, I like the colour too

[@kansaschief4390]

Answer: YES 🙌🏽

[@paulkinz1]

Hi Nobby, another great review. I'm holding out for the Megane, but this is tempting. I know you haven't fully reviewed the Megane yet but which way would you go ?

[@NobbyOnCars]

Haven’t seen it at all apart from images really so it would be hard for me to say. It looks impressive though!

[@mtumasz]

Megane might be a better deal overall but I think it’s FWD vs. RWD on the Born. It matters only if U like to push that pedal

[@DaraM73]

Great review. Don’t think the design works from the side profile, and I actually prefer the simpler id3. Re Sport Mode, it only unlocks the rear differential (as far as I can tell).

[@enyaq_gorm]

Haptic switches on all the vw group cars? How very dare you sir? 🤣 Seriously good looking car that. I have a colleague who has one on order!

[@RozzoRules]

Hi Nobby, I have a Cupra Formenter and I love it, I am slow to get an an electric car but this one looks tempting

[@NobbyOnCars]

Great looking car what colour did you get ?

[@RozzoRules]

I have a sliver one and I constantly get asked “what car is that” 😀

[@Majikal_Mike]

Great review. Test drove one on Saturday and frankly blown away by it. Ordered a V1 which was on it's way to stock and ETA is a fortnight! Struck lucky and excited for it's arrival :) And yes, it's absolutely and unashamedly a mid life crisis car for me.

[@NobbyOnCars]

Incredible delivery time wow ! Enjoy

[@Majikal_Mike]

Yep. Very lucky and I’ll only believe it once the keys are in my hand!

[@MrDestructiveGaming]

Love the colour of the car

[@johnheffernan7508]

Base model ID3 and Cupra Born are now in excess of €40k. Same price as a Tesla Model 3 . For an EV at the 40 grand mark, nothing beats the model 3

[@grentheoldun]

enjoyed the review and holey agree it does look a lot better than the id3

[@terrydelahunt842]

Thats a pretty low bar in fairness.

[@robertvanzant2653]

I like the looks , I’m in my 40s so it would look like a mid life crisis .

[@davyboy4515]

Don’t talk rubbish lol age is just a number, who cares what people think, life is short have what you like

[@gesp5151]

Cupra Official website has a technical drop down page which sets out charging performance. For DC it should charge 5-80% in 35 minutes. Actually it took 50-55mins. Worse still it never even peaked at the rate it would need to average to achieve 35mins. The specification is not caveated. A courtesy Cupra did the same. I have detailed charge info but neither VW or retailer Listers have challenged the accuracy of the information. VW Cupra website doesn’t say that the battery safe mode will impact on AC charging performance. Rather it advertises cheap overnight charging and recommends Ohme and Octopus: I purchased both. If the AC charging depends on the battery safe mode then it should state that. It doesn’t. Indeed there is no explanation of battery safe mode and why/when and on what criteria it will be activated. So 75/80% of time it half charged overnight which means I could not get to work and back!

[@CarlvsTravel]

It's a thing of beauty but I would never be paying 40k for a hatchback regardless of electric range.

[@Edvard.Munchkin]

Cupra Born any day over ID3 in the looks department for me

[@savedfaves]

Hyundai Ionic (saloon) used do those copper trims too. Don't like the copper trim bits. Nor the blue crap BMW does. Cheapens an otherwise decent looking exterior.

[@simonbcity]

Only 280km range ? That's way off their claims unreal

[@wayneheyes904]

Car makers need to get around the weather variables we’re it effects the cars range why pay £35-40K for a car you can’t achieve the “range” but buy a petrol or hybrid with a full 300-400 miles per tank

[@badhairday_247]

Hybrids have the same service costs as ICE cars, pollute and suffer piffling energy storage.

[@davyboy4515]

Yeah and pay what £1.70 per litre of fuel 🤣 it’s only going to go up to, so that 300 miles is costing assuming a 60 litre tank £102 😳 300 miles in a 77kw battery car if charged at home at the price cap of 28p per kWh is £21

[@liamhearne146]

How are these car companies allowed to get away with the quoted range of 417km . 250-270 driving range seems more realistic cold weather aircon lights and all the other gadgets affect range including driving style. Anybody I see driving an electric car is always flooring it to the max not driving them to extend the range.

[@NobbyOnCars]

It can vary a lot depending on many factors not least the right foot but temperature in particular does give the range quite a variance

[@AC_Milan1899]

Cupra...chav fest normally but this looks good.

[@badhairday_247]

It’s not difficult to be better than an ID3.

[@justinstephenson9360]

ID3 interior is truly awful and reminds me in cheapness feel of something like the quality of a Austin Allegro or even worse Morris Marina. I can only assume that the people at VW who specified the masses of glossy black plastic either have never driven a car, do not have children or have a driver who buffs the car interior every few hours. As for Born, the wheels look a bit too big to me, haptic buttons remind me of the story that NASA spent millions designing a biro that would work in space and the Russians used a pencil - just get rid of the haptic buttons. Finally whilst the software might be a bit better than the ID3 (which is a classic example of everything that is wrong with car manufacturers trying to be software designers), it is still slow and not as usable as it should be. Clearly a better car than an ID3 but I am waiting to see the European launch of the Ora Cat in top spec and largest battery.

[@jonpetter8921]

Many ID 3 owners would disagree with you. There is maybe some plastic but the interior layout is well put giving the car roomy and futuristic feeling, also the plastic are not "cheap" plastic so the build quality is there, no squishing or rattling like in other cars cough cough Elon Musk..... ID 3 is a steady and comfortable car also relative quiet compared to for instance Model 3

[@justinstephenson9360]

@@jonpetter8921 Everyone is entitled to their views particularly where looks of cars are concerned and your view is as valid as mine. I have only seen not driven the ID3 so maybe it is better than it looks to me but it is worth highlighting that it is not just me but most of the more professional car reviewers who commented on how cheap the interior looked and felt. I understand that there is a refresh coming next year which will address some maybe even all of the perceived issues with the interior. I will be interested to see the Seat because by all accounts that it a much better interior - but nothing excuses VW group using haptic buttons, a classic "solution in search of a problem" error

[@terrydelahunt842]

Wouldnt be my cup of tea at all, it'll age very badly in my opinion, the interior looks naff and the whole cupra brand just doesnt make sense to me, its as much a performance brand as dacia at this stage. Its just a lifestyle brand now.

[@bogadebkdahl3960]

Who thought it was a Tesla?😆😆😆

[@DirtyCorn69]

Heated steering wheel and seats are only "as standard" if you get the top spec V3.