Is this the most fun you can have in an EV? Cupra Born hot hatch tested

We’ve done plenty of talking about Volkswagen’s plug-in vehicle MEB platform and all the different models that share it. Heck, we reviewed one of those models earlier this week. The Audi Q4 e-tron, Skoda Enyaq, and Volkswagen ID.4 – they’ve all got their own little quirks and idiosyncrasies, but it’s hard not to feel like they’re all clear blood relations. All scooped from the same tub of ice cream.

Shhh … don’t tell them I said that.

The Cupra Born is also built on this MEB platform. But, it claims to serve up something rather different. Fitting, in a way, given Cupra’s quite bespoke positioning within the Volkswagen Group Marvel Cinematic Universe. Cupra’s ‘electric hot hatch’ claims are more than just claims, too. We briefly sampled a Born at launch in May, with my colleague Nile giving the electric an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Just one Born is on sale in New Zealand; the flagship V+. If you read our launch piece you’ll be familiar with the spiel by now. From a single permanent-magnet synchronous motor it produces 170kW/310Nm, which it sends in instant electric bursts to its rear wheels, knocking off the 0–100kph sprint in 7.0 seconds. A 77kWh li-ion battery is built into the chassis, capable of up to 548km on the WLTP cycle.

Something that’s changed since our aforementioned launch article is the Born’s price, dropped from $77,900 to $74,900 … or $67,885 once you rattle off the Clean Car Discount rebate (while you still can).

What’s that all mean, then? Well, the Born gets 20kW more than the single-motor versions of all of its aforementioned MEB-based cousins. It also sheds roughly 300kg of kerb weight relative to an iD.4, more than 100mm in height and 260mm in length, whilst keeping almost all of the same enormous wheelbase. If the Born is more fun to drive than its MEB mates – spoiler alert, it is – then these differences have a lot to do with it.

That pricing tweak is pretty interesting if you think about it. Having previously spawned smack bang in the meat of the hot hatch segment, the Born now undercuts the likes of the Volkswagen Golf GTI, Honda Civic Type R, and Hyundai i30 N DCT. Again, this only applies if you can snap one up before the Clean Car rebate goes bye-byes.

As those familiar with Cupra might expect, it’s quite a nice thing inside. The huge wheelbase means there’s plenty of room for a pair of adults in the back, the 385L boot is generous enough (there’s a handy ski hatch, too), and the presentation is first-rate thanks to Cupra’s signature copper highlights.

As with other Cupra models, the infotainment screen takes quite a bit of getting used to thanks to its busy layouts. ‘Hard button’ shortcuts along as many as three different axes often make it difficult to traverse. Unfotunately, as with all other MEB models in the country right now, the Born does not have any internet-based services. So, no over-the-air updates and no app. These aren’t things that can be retrofitted in at a later date, either.

Now, the very notion of an electric hot hatch is likely to cause enthusiasts with a penchant for the small and snorty genre to scrunch their faces in disgust. As a pilgrim devoted to the temple of hot hatchedom myself, I get it. But, for what it’s worth, Cupra has done a remarkable job at giving the Born proper hot hatch creds – held back in the most part by the laws of physics.

Having pedalled its big-boned Veedub and Audi mates in the recent past, the Born immediately sets a very different tone the moment you sit inside. You’re much lower to the ground and the car’s corners are all much closer to you. Being closer to the tarmac and having improved sight lines all round makes it all the more easier to feel confident in the Born when trying to be precise.

And precision is more than possible here. Its 215 rubber is a little more narrow than what you’d find on an ID.4, but the Continental EcoContacts are stickier than the Bridgestones and Hankooks inherited by the other MEB products, and with less sidewall. More to the point, the Born has its own unique chassis and steering tune, angled towards improving cornering prowess.

It rides lower with a lower centre of gravity, whilst retaining a relatively long wheelbase and wide stance. This means it’s a properly stable thing when being thrown around at speed. The thrills here are more grown up than what you’d expect from a typical hot hatch with less distance between the wheels.

The Born’s model-specific suspension strikes a good usability balance, too. Comfy in suburbia and on the motorway, while also doing plenty to mask the Born’s biggest performance car vice (we’ll get to that) when you’re having a dip.

The Born does two things very differently to any other hot hatch. Obviously, being electric, there is no cheeky exhaust backfire or turbo spooling nuance to speak of. It delivers peak power instantly, pushing you back into the recycled marine waste bucket seats and feeling just a tad quicker than the 7.0 second claimed 0–100kph time would suggest, although only after you hit the ‘Cupra’ boost button on the steering wheel to access the full 170kW.

The other key difference is where the power is sent to. This is the only rear-driven hot hatch you can buy, and with enough encouragement you can most definitely feel it.

Driven at seven tenths or so, the Cupra is defiantly neutral. Ratchet up the pace and lean into the throttle more mid-corner, and you’re rewarded with genuine rear-wheel drive fun. Adding dollops of throttle where you ordinarily wouldn’t in a hot hatch, triggering added rotation and attitude, becomes pretty infectious pretty quickly.

There is a limit to all the fun-having, led largely by the Born’s weight. Tipping the scales at around 1.9 tonnes, it is roughly 400kg beefier than the hot hatch majors. Whilst the Born can claim that almost all of this weight is tucked away nice and low, ultimately, this is the biggest barrier preventing it from encroaching further on the Golf GTIs and Focus STs of the world.

Not that I can imagine that many internal combustion engine hot hatch die-hards are likely to factor the Born into their cross-shopping equations. This is one of the most engaging EVs money can buy, but it’s still no match for its more analogue rivals. Instead, the Born has the potential to introduce the joy of the hot hatch genre to a totally new group of people, while ensuring that the segment has plenty of years left in the tank.

I mean, battery.

Bonus images