I’ve never seen Tom Barnard before. He is really good. Please let him review more cars. Very good presenter. Great review.

I like Tom's reviews! He has a calm demeanor and gets to the point without a bunch of fluff. More reviews just like this, please!

A rare video on this channel, a personable presenter giving a true account of a car.

Really good report and nice to see they let Tom Barnard out. Go on let him out more he's not just for Christmas.🖖

For someone who doesn't stand in front of a camera that often, well done. Do it some more. The car. VW said the chassis wasn't good enough to do a GTi (hot) version, so I'm disappointed this isn't the first mainstream EV hot hatch it looks like

Have covered 4500 miles in my V3 58kw e-boost version. Totally agree with what was said about the app being very modest about the range. Not a bad car at all, but the infotainment system seems to crash more often than not. Have also started to receive over the air updates.

I’ve had my born for three months now and I love it. Heat to drive and very practical. to change back to Miles on app. Go to account bottom right then units at the top

Had my V3 58kwh for nearly a month (after ~5 month wait) - only option panoramic roof. Really like the car, it's quiet and drives well 😁. It feels a lot bigger than my previous Golf mk7 (on paper a similar size), particularly as you sit a lot higher due to the underfloor batteries (does give excellent visibility, though). The only cons so far; inability to switch off lane assist permanently, which is a real pain ☹️, and using touchscreen/haptic buttons is distracting when driving. Appreciated the ability to warm/defrost the cabin remotely + heated seats and steering wheel during the recent cold snap, were brilliant 😁.

Never knew about the tyres being a special size and the wiper blades being for LHD cars! Sadly these two issues would be enough for me to not touch it with a barge pole. Only buying top grade Continental Tyres!! Notice that the tyre "price" wasn't mentioned.... I bet it was around £200 each.

A very balanced and fair review. I have had my Born V1 since last July. Yes it is a very comfortable and easy car to drive and yes it looks heaps better than the ID3. There are, however, a number of very irritating things. Two are ones Tom mentioned, the A pillar which, for me, is a problem on some right hand turns, and the windscreen wipers being the wrong way round and how they add another inch of width to the A pillar. I find the infotainment system a nightmare. You cannot use this at all while driving full stop. It's a distraction and could be dangerous. Maybe that's just me but I would very much like to have the option of shutting it off altogether. The rear of the car has been designed for aerodynamic efficiency which sounds good but in reality means that you have to keep using the rear wash wipe to be able to see through the back window. It also means that everyday I have to wash the back of the car as it gets so dirty. Also, unbeknown to me, the car was fitted with summer tyres when I got it. Fine through to November but then with the bad snow we have had up here in the Highlands the car just could not cope. I had to spend another £500+ on getting some all season tyres. At first the Cupra app was great but then nobody can tell me how you access any notifications that are indicated in the little red circle. Also, for no apparent reason, it has stopped showing total mileage in the driving data and again nobody at the dealership can tell me why this has happened or how to get it back. My car also has the 58 kW battery but I do not get anything like the mileage Tom gets, especially in winter (colder) weather. When I was taking delivery of the car I was told in no uncertain terms to never charge the car above 80% and to never ever go below 20%. This effectively cuts the range down further from the claimed figures. My efficiency since getting the car and having done 5,500 miles is at 3.3, so well done to Tom for getting 3.9. Perhaps he could offer some advice as to how to do that. To sum up, the Cupra Born is a very nice and smart car to drive in many ways but I will not be getting another one unless all the above irritations are sorted with any future model.

To change back to miles in My Cupra App go to Profile / Account / Units....took me ages to find it!!! I agree with every one of your comments with the A pillar blind spot being my biggest moan. Other than that and the very hit and miss App, I love my V3!! By the way, my colleague received her V2 a few weeks ago and within 3 days the battery had blown leaving her stranded on a winding unlit back road...have been told a battery module has blown but Seat can't look at it until early Feb because it needs to go to a specialist battery centre.

Maybe the reason why several cars from different brands have 202hp is just the conversion from 150kW. Electric motors are usually rated with "round" values in W or kW. 100kW, 110kW, 150kW...300kW... are tipical values of power of electric motors.

We drive our Born since December and are absolutely loving it. It's the same model with 58kw Battery and that's just enough for everyday use. For me it's the smoothest car I ever owned and it's just fun to drive.

Just starting month 3 with my Born . A 77kw V3 with e boost. First electric car, as a company car , to make the benefit of cheap BIK taxes. Anxiety from distance soon faded away with the larger battery,. Its a great car to drive and with the cars in the household, would always be the first key to get snatched by any driver needing transport. As all have said the software and infotainment is not fun at all. Cupra dealer changed my car to miles on the app on one of my visits , but they had issues with head offices servers , so its still not totally working on the app. Also, I have had irregular keyless entry issues. No real drama but should work. The alarm also works , as sometimes I open the door from locked, it unlocks and sets the alarm off. Cue hunting for the key in my pocket to shut it up and its ear piercing loud. Ask my neighbours. Range wise , I am getting 3.6miles/kw through the winter , that I have had the vehicle. Thats on comfort mode, heater, lights and pre-heat if required. So, hopefully make 4miles/ kw when it warms and I use less heating etc. Quick off the line with the e-boost button. Does surprise and make a difference. Wife , after I showed her to press it , took off like a scalded cat and then swore and hit the brakes and she isnt scared of power or speed, but took her by surprise. The dealer I bought it from sold me a tyre insurance ( gave him some pocket money) and judging by yourself and Top Gears long term cars both getting punctures, should work well in the term I am covered at the price of the tyres to what I ( well my boss) paid. Agree on the paint. Now 6k miles in and I had a stone hit the front 'bronze banana' which will be interesting to touch up and also the nose near the badge and a wing has chips already. Same issue with mileage randomly showing a shortfall of distance , weirdly mostly after charging. App does disconnect from the car sometimes when I need to pre-heat to defrost. So , I have to go into the car, connect the phone, go back indoors and turn the ac on. So, conclusion ( I didnt mention steering wheel sliders or dark volume sliders on the screen as everyone else does) is that its a lovely car to drive. Does get a bit fidgety on uneven road surfaces. Smooth tarmac at speed it like a quiet limo ride with a small hint of tyre noise. Peppy to take off from the lights. Good build quality. Feel the vents slide, just solid. No squeaks or rattle. In a way , a bit of a game changer for us with ICE cars . I dont believe I will get an ICE company car again.

KUdos for minor but key points like the A pillar and wipers which in the longer term can make or break the driving experience longer term

The paint is because all manufacturers are/required to move to low VOC paint, so they are water based. We all know that several years ago Tesla had a problem, then Kia, Hyundai group and now VW. It takes a few years for each company to sort out their water based paints but they get much better as the companies refine it.

I have a 58kWh V2 with e-Boost... Really great car, not perfect by any means (ID software, I'm looking at you!), but the drive is lovely. My household also has a LR AWD Model 3 and I'd take the Born any day.

I Have a white V2 with sunroof & heat pump, got it at the end of June, done 6800 miles, use it mainly for work (62 mile round trip) had a few day trips e.g. lakes etc. Firstly love its looks & its comfort & space, for such a heavy car it handles pretty well. I found it a little tricky going up hard knot pass in the lakes probably due to its rear wheel drive not sure! It was pretty steep every car i have gone up there in have been diesel front wheel drive! I Have had 5.1 mile/kw when driving on country & town roads using its regen. At about 60miles/hr on motor way it drops to 3.5-3.8 miles/KW. In the extremely cold weather we had recently my range on 80% dropped from 220 (summer) to 145miles with the heater on at 25 deg C (since i have a heat pump it might be less in one with out) its now running at 165miles at aprox 6-7 deg. Also I followed Manuals advice at sub zero temp by keeping it at 40% & above, this meant recharging it every night during this period! I have a home Charger (Hypervolt) and I have Octupus go tarrif currently 7.5p/kw 12:30am to 4:30am I calculated its saving me aprox £2500/year on fuel not to mention no road tax & first service is after 2 years! Conclusion: Range drops considerably in Winter especially in extreme cold! Love the way it drives, comfort space & looks. Only charged it once at a public charger (120kw) in lakes took aprox 35/40 mins, I think if your doing lots of short journeys with the occasional long one, this car would suffice, if your doing high mileage I don't really know! My one concern is the public charging network, I have considered a PHEV since there have been times when I have let the battery run down so that I am not charging it to often to preserve the battery life, and that point I thought but what if I need to go on a journey and I had to wait for the car to charge or find a public one to get it charged quickly etc. Anyway that's my experience.

Interesting Cupra are only bringing in the 77kWh version to Australia with orders opening on the 20th Dec with orders arriving in March/April next year. I like it over the ID.3, looks so much better almost hot hatch looking, they just need to give it hot hatch performance and fix the software.

I know it's based on the ID3 but it looks an awful lot better. Funny how subtle body shape changes can make or break a car in terms of desirability. I think it's a great looking EV and the efficiency you've got from the 58kW battery pack is pretty good; comparable to many of the other EV's on sale in the UK at the moment.

Some really good practical insights. The wipers, for example. That would about the bejesus out of me. Thanks for that. Still an interesting proposition. Will be Interested to see how they be received here in Australia, with our long distances and crappy charging infrastructure! The rest of the cupra brand cars are doing very well, having just been launched here. Great content. Keep it up!

Very good report. Like Tom Barnard I've done a similar mileage in almost 6 months. It's a really engaging car to drive and I enjoy the RWD push feeling. I had a '96 Renault Laguna which also had a steeply raked A pillar. I had a blind spot accident when turning right and I hit an on coming car. I quickly learned Tom's double head bob and it came back to me instinctively when I test drove the Born. ( Tom, BTW the App has a built in kms to miles 1.603 conversion factor, incorrectly applied, which goes away the next time the phone connects directly to the car. Oh and I was amazed how few problems you experienced with the hateful Infotainment system, but I still love mine.)

A fair assessment. We have one sat on the driveway now and I agree with you main points. The car is mechanically great; looks great, drives great but the software is less than great but that's well documented. Evidence, I feel, of the VW Group execs overriding engineering advice in the rush to get something to market. Of course the CUPRA sadly inherits a lot of that code. To be fair to CUPRA, they seem to be taking steps to address the bugs. And yes, that A Pillar blind spot is dangerous. Driver need to be 100% aware on right hand bends. Overall a great car though, despite the niggles.

I’m still not sold on ev’s. Enjoyed your review though, so thanks for uploading.

Had mine (73 plate) for 6 weeks ish and i love it. Last car was a Ateca cupra and before that leon estate cupra, both 300 This is my first ev and i absolutely love it. Love how it (she) drives She's plenty quick enough. Very comfy and looks great A lot of people ask about it and as you said people seem to love it Infotainment and steering wheel has been fine. Had no issues. Took a couple of days to get used to it but thats the same with all new cars Love her

Rode my bike past a Born today and I found myself smiling. It really is a nice little car.

I'm 8000 miles into my V1 in Vapour Grey and it's a truly brilliant car with software coded by chimps.

Torn between the Born and new Megane, love the appearance of the born but Megane tech seems way ahead.

I bought the 58KWh V3 e-boost model and I absolutely LOVE the car. The drive is really nice, it’s comfortable, it has lots of space inside, looks miles better than the ID3. I originally looked at Tesla’s, the EV6 and the Ionic 5 and I don’t regret my descision at all. It looks tasty but it’s practical too - a great combination. Also some reviewers have moaned about the touch controls on the wheel, personally I think they are all just copying each other or they flap their hands around wildly whilst driving. The touch controls are perfectly fine after a couple of days with the car and I have never pressed any of the accidentally. Really love the CUPRA brand and maybe the Tavascan will be my next car.

I love My Born. Best car I've ever had. My critic would be the rear view. It's tight under that spoiler.

Coming back to this review after a few months of having my ID.3 but wanting something nicer to drive (ID.3 GTX?) which I can fit my tall frame in to - I find the same issue with the A-Pillar and thought it was just me having the driving seat too far back - thanks for that. Also finding the same issue with paint - I've got almost the same on a crease at the front of my ID.3 under the headlight - almost invisible but noticeable on a white car. Thanks for the review Tom!

You probably already do this for Conversions of Kilometres to Miles but the magic number is 6. So 100 K's multiply first two numbers by 6 = 60 M.P.H, 80K's First number = 48 M.P.H. It's obviously just a rough guide. In Australia we transitioned to metric when I was still young so had a long time to learn.

Anyone who has seen both this colour and the white can you please give your opinion on which is best. I’m ready to order a V3 but keep flip flopping between the 2 colours. They use the white more in the show room which leads me to believe it’s the best looking and compliments the rest black accents better but I think the grey compliments the copper accents better

Great honest review,thanks for posting.Great seeing you up front for a change, but would it tempt you away from your old leaf?

I own this Cupra Born and I actually started to doubt myself a little bit with visibility, I didn't even think about that the pillar is positioned differently compared to the previous cars I've owned. I've been mastering the shuffle though, it's just a pity that you have to do it in the first place.

I recently sat into a Cupra Born, in that particular one the rear passenger doors plastic door cards moved and creaked not sure why however what really put me off was the lack of headroom in the back, I'm 6'1 and was wedged in, legroom was ok though, the dealer also had an MG4 which I had about an inch of headspace in the back seat also no rattles. Most of my family and friends are tall so the born wouldn't work unfortunately, also you mentioned the polestar 2, that was a disaster for headroom in the back, pity since it was fun to drive.

Thanks, looks much better than the ID3. Nearly all EVs are fast enough without boost buttons. Mine has sports mode which will take you to 60 in under 5 secs, I almost never use it, it is actually a bit unpleasant in most UK traffic situations. Thanks for a good video.

A helpful, balanced review I agree it is annoying that the wipers are set for left hand drive. Have heard a rumour that the latest cars have this properly set for RHD?

Great vid. just bought one. expecting in July so this vid has defo helped with any byuers remorse ... refreshing straight to the point approach to the review too.. just the right amount of humour

I think its abit of a myth that you will get one fast from the factory. I ordered mine late june and delivery is March 2022. Thats for the V1 with no options. If a dealer has stock then you can get hold of one quickly but people getting one through a company car scheme will have a long wait.

I'm in the market for a small hatchback EV to replace my current Corolla/Auris. No other reviewer has mentioned the wipers issue (for RHD markets). Thanks for the long term perspective!

I have done 15K KM in 2.5 months Now with the 58KW Version It rides well, looks nice, but honestly the software SUX, the app is a 1 out of 10, the V3.0 software is buggy. dont have the massage seats , just the normal manual bucket seats. Would I get it again, as a 2nd electro car : yes, still waiting for my KIA EV^ GT to arrive. re visibility : yes.. the blind spot at the A Pilar.. is big Mine has the charging Pad, but my Phone (S20 Note Plus ) overheats when wireless charging AND wireless android auto, and then stops charging al together. I prefer to use the USB cable. The charge Curve of the car is not linear, but starts at 120KW ( when Battery warm and Low SOC) and then gradually drops towards 35KW. a 10-80 full charge will take about 35-40 Minutes I tend to charge 80% at Fast/Hyper chargers as FASTNED and IONITY as these are currently cheaper than homecharging. In Summer I will use the Homecharger from the solar

Great review. The car great looks and I love a cupra... BUT it fell apart for me on the wiper issue + blind spot. AND the paint work I expect to last. I Dragon once said 'I'm out' Shame but that would stop me spending my hard earned cash....

I can deffo agree with the blind spot and wipers.. Quite annoying

Really good review! Even handed, didn’t shy away for criticism or praise where due. Some really insightful points and not just the copy and paste review from the likes of Car Wow which talks about irrelevant and ill-judged nonsense

you should be able to adjust the wiper to swing closer to to the pillar

ive been waiting for more fun electric cars to come out

Got a 77kw V3 coming next week as a company car. First foray into electric cars. 77 kw just because of range anxiety, distance drives and also that my charger is the supercharger at the office , which I will now share with my boss and his Etron GT. So, even though I have pulled the trigger, I am now looking at reviews, in a sort of 'wrong way to do it'. But reviews seem to be more positive than negative , so I look forward to its arrival at the end of next week. Mine was an ex demo , so have 4 k miles on it and immediate delivery . For the BIK situation its a no brainer. From hybrid cars to electric my BIK was reduced by about 75% . Just got to get on with panic charge movement until I wonder what the fuss was about ..................

You guys in the UK should finally switch to driving on the right side and have the steering wheel on the left. Then, the Cupra will have amazing view through the windshield :)

More videos with Tom please

The wireless charging pad is only included with the Tech Pack L even on the V3 car. My V1 has it as it was optioned with that pack.

Very good review. Stuff like the RHD wiper flaw is really useful stuff.

In my SEAT app the selection of units miles/ kilometres is under the Account button and Settings, not where I would expect to find it....

Looks nice but I am not convinced about the quality here. How does it compare to the Volvo EX30 or the KIA e-Niro?

I’ve had my 58kWh V3 for a couple of weeks now, it’s an ex-demonstrator, so no waiting! Coming from Leaf Tekna the drive and interior are a big improvement. To get wireless phone charging you need the Tech Pack M or L. It seems to me the wiper motors are In identical positions either side of the screen, the arms and blades are identical, so it should be possible for the manufacturer to set the spline position so the drivers wiper is uppermost and re-program the motor logic to start the driver’s wiper first.

The battery pack parallel cell blocks that defines the power output, and they all come from the same source. Hence the 200 hp.

Great review

I might be a bit late for this video but I would rather take a byd atto 3 or byd seal.

I have the v1 in vapour grey, nice car, a little twitchy on the steering in the wet. So far I've covered 2200 miles, totalling £50 in costs, why? ........ Using free chargers

My V2 phone charging pad works fine ??? Stoprs charging every now and again but just remove phone and replace it back on the pad and it starts charging again. Not much after market styling for the Born but if I keep my car tempted to lower the car with KW suspension and nicer alloys, even older ID3 cars have nicer alloys. Soft paint money saving as a lot of cars now have softer paint which I think is due to less paint and lacquer. ppf on the front might help ?

I think the Cupra Born is a fantastic looking car. It's what the ID.3 should have been. A bit expensive though. VW group seriously need to rethink their controls & infotainment though.

Yes but do you *believe* that 3.9m/kwh average, or do you do your own calculation based on KwHs charged and miles driven? The Mii is telling me 6.2m/kwh average over the 600 miles I've driven it. My calculation says 4.8 m/kwh overall, though I have had some longer trips at 5.2 m/kwh. I kinda thought the car and the App figures were optimistic .... 3.9 would be a good figure for a car of that heft. 5 is reasonable for the Mii.

Windscreen wrong lead wiper is a big deal breaker for me (I owned a car with it this way for 20 years, and every single time I used the wipers in rain, I cursed them!!!!) and no sunroof in any model trim. And could the interior be made to look anymore depressing?

Great review. Please can we have a team test of the Born against the Renault Megane and the MG4 (and the ID3 if you think it is worth including).

I am sure that 201 HP is so popular because 201 HP translates into 150kW which is quite nice number in the electric motor industry.

The stated charging performance is 5-80% in 35 minutes on a 58(62) battery. So 75% of 58 is 43.5 so in 35 minutes it needs to average 75kwh over that range. The best I’ve ever achieved was 72 on ionity once - all this has been scheduled out to Listers and VWs solicitors in detail and none of my figures have ever been challenged at all! Not anything. Not one charge, one number: nothing. It simply doesn’t perform ever at that stated level. In contrast my BMW i4 just hits the numbers ever single time

I test drove one yesterday and the brakes were awful. I don’t know if I want this or the MG 4

Have you tried charging your phone the other way around? My wife has a born and told me her iPhone wouldn't wirelessly charge, I turned it around so the charging end was at the top and it was fine.

There is a huge software update version 3.2. Warning it has to go to a Cupra dealer and takes up to 6 hours.

I have a Cupra Born for just over a month and I hate it. It's the prettiest car I've ever owned but it's a heap of shit to actually use. Climate settings are impossible to adjust while driving and i've not gone around a single roundabout or motorway junction without changing the settings on my Cruise control, outright dangerous car to drive. Further irritations: really bad view around the A-pillars, you can't see anything out of the rear window and the rear view camera is way to low to actually get a view on whats behind you plus it's ALWAYS dirty. Charging is bad too, it says it will do a 100kw for this battery but it actually won't go over 45kw. yes, it's cold now (November) but my previous Kia e-Niro would do at least 60, mostly just up to it's maximum of 75, albeit after a few minutes to warm up the system. Before you choose a car, don't look at the kw number, look at the charging curve, you can find tables for every make and model. It's not bad on efficiency but it's overestimating it's range constantly and not by a little bit. pros: prettiest car i've ever had good ride very silent good seats good stereo cons: rediculous infotainment system, there is no logic to be found here no thought ever went into useability in the interior not much space in the interior to put stuff bad interface design on steeringwheel bad interface design on infotainment rear view camera unusable automatic lights don't come on quick enough, don't recognise fog or low sun sunvisors are difficult to reach! (why!?) interior lights dont't come on when you open the doors (must be a setting somewhere but unable to find it, probably touched one of those touch buttons without knowing...) slower than expected really bad vision all around slow charging doesn't adjust range to actual usage (not nearly as good as others do) strange whining noise when wind comes from a certain angle! one pedal driving isn't a thing in the Cupra, nowhere near enough regenerating force (bad decision on the rear wheel drive probably as you can't apply that much braking) In short: typical VW product: all good in theory but only in testing circumstances, in real life it's not nearly as good as it's competitors

Great video, well done, is there a newer model on the way?

3.9m/KWh is impressive.

Will you have something on the iX1 soon?

Would you spend the extra for this over mg4?

Poor wipers for right-hand drive markets? I thought we stopped doing those in about 1995.

Am really looking forward this Cupra born, but in 77kwh version, to have the maximum range in a smaller size than my current kia Niro EV.

wish it was available in the U.S.

I’d avoid like plague. Car is ok but electric platform is very poor in my experience- doesn’t charge properly on ac or dc! Never hits specified figures in technical drop down on website and regularly half charged overnight apparently due to a battery safety issue!! Save up for an BM i4, superb

Is it worth £15k more than to top of the range MG4 though

One question, does it have memory seats? for when changing the driver, automatically position everything correctly for the driver?

Great review ❤

4wd gtx version please

This would be the EV Id be buying if I was in the market right now.

Great review, thanks

doesn't the Born have rear drum brakes?

I always thought the Cupra and the future Tavascan look worse than the Predator without the mask…

Nice.. I'll take one in white!!.💕🇬🇧🇺🇦

Nice car to drive but horrendous to live with. It has AC and DC charging faults Cupra have no idea what to do about. Too much comment on range: real issue is charging. Basically you get half what website says!

You forgot to mention the rear drum brakes, what modern Ev vehicle with this price tag has rear drum brakes?

Why you never see a Cupra Born vs A Tesla Model 3 ? The cost about the same .

What colour is this

Bizar to read your charging pad isn't a charging pad! My 6month old June Copper Edition Born's charging pad is.... A charging pad! Rear view camera refusing to work at delivery and subsequent faff to get a garage that would do warrantee work, even directly through Cupra, has been an infuriating experience but to date that's the only real negative aspect of my Born that really got under my skin.

15.9kWh/100km is disappointing. I converted it for the 189 countries that are metric.

You're gorgeous ❤ like the car.

It is rear wheel drive, BUT? Motor sits in the back. Really? what is at the front? Is that not the motor?

I'm guessing it doesn't have a heatpump

"The seaside" 😂😂😂😂😂😂 Mate your an adult not a child...."The coast" 😔😂💯

Question: Why would I get this shitbox instead of a model 3? Because it's a hatch? Must be the only reason. Same price...

Mg4 is cheaper and dare I say better.

150 kW = 201 HP