Cupra, the Spanish high-performance brand now owned by VW, launched the Born, an electric hatchback back with a range exceeding 500 km into the Australian market in 2022.
To date, that model has sold over 1250 units, making it the best-selling European electric hatch in the market, and now the company is looking to offer a second electric vehicle to Australian consumer, the Tavascan SUV, which is due on these shores later this year.
The Cupra Tavascan will come in rear-wheel-drive and dual-motor all-wheel-drive variants, although details of the final specs and prices have yet to be released. We do know that the top-spec variant will be able to sprint from 0-100 km/h in 5.5 seconds, while offering up to 534 km of WLTP range.
Cupra is the only brand within the VW umbrella to have launched EVs in the market since we are yet to see any VW electric products land in the country.
Last week, I got to see a Tavascan in person at a Cupra garage in Melbourne so here are some details of what to expect from the car.
The Barcelona-designed SUV has some unique style points, such as the accents of copper-like features on the logo, front bumper and wheel add to the uniqueness of this, and some illumination around the logo thatĀ would help the car stand out when driving in low light or night conditions.Ā
This design language continued on the inside with the interior as it had lots of copper design elements along with the sportier cockpit found in the companyās first EV, the Born.
With the Tavascan, there is now a much larger infotainment screen that ever-so faces the driver, making it a driver-focused cabin.
There is also quite a bit of storage space in the centre with USB charging ports, cup holders and cubbies in the centre console.
Around the interior, there is also ambient lighting which runs in the door panels as well as the front dash. In the Tavascan, it was one of the better implementations of this feature that I have come across.
Sitting in the driver seat, the new seat materials and different support levels for the back, made it quite a comfortable place to be in.Ā
Given it was a static viewing of the car, itās not yet clear how the seats would perform on longer drives but initial impressions around its supportiveness were positive.
There was plenty of room in the back seats, thanks to the flat floor and a cleverly designed rear cabin.
There are controllable air vents and charging ports for the rear passengers along with ambient lighting found in the rear door trims as well.
The boot is quite deep with a small section underneath the flat floor but nothing like the storage seen in the back of the Tesla Model Y which incorporates a deep storage compartment.
RizĀ is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.
I still have no idea of what it looks like from the photos supplied. š
Google it then, eg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe4H4wVT2gs
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From the picture that I saw at the top of the article, the vehicle comes in grey, without a front bumper, with racing tyres (50 or less profile), making it useless as an SUV (I would not like to drive something without proper tyres, on an off-road track with speed dips about a foot or so deep, like some of the streets around here), and, the ground clearance appears to be, under the front overhang in front of the front wheels, about six inches – about the same as a Hyundai Getz. I can see that the vehicle would likely get stuck, trying to cross speed bumps and speed dips, apart from getting stuck in potholes.
What is named an “SUV” in electric cars, is simply a glorified hatchback – not suitable for taking bush, or, on hunting trips , or, even, through paddocks on farms – more a shopping or street racing vehicle for making housewives feel macho, because their new hatchback is named an “SUV”.
And, when parking that, or, one of the other electric pretend “SUV’s”, the driver would need to be careful, when parking, to avoid it getting stuck on kerbing, apart from having to avoid speed bumps, in case the car gets stuck on them.I suppose that, because it does not have proper tyres, the wheels must be cheap, so that, when they break from impact with uneven roads and going over speed bumps (if they manage to not get stuck on the speed bumps), replacing the wheels should not cost much. Oops, I forgot – it probably does not have a spare wheel, so that, when a wheel breaks, because it does not have proper tyres (proper tyres would be expected, on a proper SUV), so, the driver would have to call a tow truck. That would be fun, if the driver would be silly enough, to use the vehicle as an SUV, and, take it into the bush, a hundred or so miles from “civilisation”…
The vast majority of ICE SUVs are āpretend SUVsā that I wouldnāt takeāa hundred or so miles from civilisationā. So what is your point?
What do you mean “pretend SUVs”?
They were never real to begin with.
A marketing campaign that put the con back into concept.
Very true. We drive a range of vehicles in my workplace and several suburban ‘SUVs’ include in their manuals that they’re not recommended for off-road activity. So people are paying extra for a vehicle with higher running costs, obviously harder for many to drive (based on observation) – that is functionally equivalent to a sedan or, at best, a station wagon.
As PT Barnum put it, there’s one born every minute…..
I have a lot of fun in my Kona on bush tracks around where I live.
It’s instructive that the author spends so much time on the ‘features’ designed to attract the witless.
Plastic bling.
No doubt Hurry will order one and harass the govt if she is not first on the list.
Good to see more competition in the BSUV spectrum.
Yes.
Suv enthusiasts would be very familiar with the spectrum.
Great.
Another outlet for a bunch of distracted screen addicts on our roads, who may or may not be in control of a lethal weapon.
Driving a car is not meant to be entertainment. It’s dull and requires full attention. Of course passengers can please themselves as long as they do not interfere with the driver.
Terrible lead photo. Then, to complicate matters, the vehicle is described as an SUV and a hatchback. This is NOT technical journalism. Please do better.
What weight can it legally tow?
Perfect for those who need a euro badge on their Chinese made EV.