EV road trip review: the 340-mile Cupra Born is the electric VW Golf GTi

As always, if you want an in-depth review with top notch production this is the channel to head to first. Brilliant review and a very interesting car, wold definitely give it a try if I was in the market for a new car. Interesting re the infotainment touchscreen. Just watched another channel (ssh, dont tell anyone) that covered this very topic. Recent studies have shown that it can just be as dangerous as using a mobile phone. Keep up the excellent work Jonny.

Agree Jonny I don’t like the Cupra badge. The rear end sort of looks like it’s been involved a slight shunt from a HGV. Overall it’s a no from me but great review!

I understand that the Cupra Born has DRUM brakes on the rear axle. WHY would they do that?

I love the styling. Ive seen one and it looked great.

I really enjoyed this video, ive had mine for 18 months some frustrating times, with the entertainment system, but overall great car 👍

Rear drum brakes are a clever idea

I had a formentor as a loan car for a week, and whilst i liked the car, i would never buy one as the UI/UX experience in the cabin is appalling!

I agree with you on the exterior design ....... it's just so much better than the ID3.
If VW / Cupra can sort out the very poor interface on the infotainment system they might just start selling them in decent numbers. If they don't, it will just put off an awful lot of potential buyers ...... especially those coming from an ICE vehicle, in which they just know where everything is!

Never heard anyone say a good word about that infotainment system. They fired the designer, but didn't anyone else in the company try it out and say "this is rubbish." ?

Interesting how you mentioned aspirational B roll as you headed to the toilet. I won't comment on your entering Scotland shouts though. Or its Born identity 🫣

best cupra born video i’ve seen. Thanks

Don't agree with the "bank-breaking" stuff, it's horrible value - 50k EUR currently in a CEE country, to drive 250-260 km on highway at 130 km/h. Infotainment is really bad, indeed. It has a few great selling points but does not qualify as an attractive car unless you love the brand or design. Acceleration of 7.x seconds for the entry level model is sluggish for a "performance EV". Factor in 2-3 optionals that you may really want (charging cable costs ... 400 EUR) and POP - it's 55k EUR. Save ~ 10k EUR in state EV discounts and you can have it in 4 months for 45k - which is 10% more than a Model 3 performance or 40% ... yes 40% more than standard Model 3s.

I agree about the stuck on tablet design. It just doesn't look good. It's my major gripe with the ID series.

I don’t understand why you stayed in the most congested part of Dublin for your segment.

Great review, my trust in your judgement was immediately amplified, when you confirmed you are the type of guy that describes poor weather conditions as 'absolutely gash'

Proper lazy effort, tweaked ID3. Poor from the VW group

No unnecessary music, no over hyping from @jonnysmith and excellent production value. Great car review channel! 👌

Brake horse power is usually shortened "bhp". So what does "ps" stand for.

Just received my Aurora Blue 77kwh v2 after 6 months of waiting. Traded in my 2020 ID.3 58kwh. Super happy with it and a HUGE improvement on the ID.3 in almost every respect. Very Happy!

Waiting on mine coming September 23 can’t wait great review

Well, I hope you paid the ferry man 🙂

When are those ferries going electric?

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!

Is it true that they will do a software update and make ot android automotive?

Thanks for a great show. I’m considering the Cupra. Agree with you regarding the sustainable energy.

What a great review, and great scenery (if perhaps not the weather for it). I wish we got this car here in Canada, as I would have bought one. But, no Cupra, no ID3, every manufacturer is set on selling us oversized SUVs. I do have the closest thing I could get (Chevrolet Bolt) and to be honest, it's not the equal of a GTI, but it also isn't far off. For what I use the car for, it has worked out very well.

Lol. In mainland Europe the Cupra Born is cheaper than VW’s ID3. Just like 1000-2500€

'Identity', 'Supremacy', 'Ultimatum'. 🤣

I'd rather buy a mg 4 over this. Barely a difference for the price. Build quality is worse. Interior is rubbish

Great review, as expected from the Late Brake Show crew! Not really sure what I feel about the Cupra. It has a slightly alien-looking front facia, I don’t like its name (Born, wth!?) and the badge looks like a cyborg lady-part 😅 Copper details are nice though and it looks good from behind (please, don’t turn around). I’ve seen one in a dark blueish green around town. Looks quite nice with a bit more colour to it.

Hang on.. Wasn't Cupra the 'hot, version of Seat Ibiza' s and Leon's?

Have VW spun off Cupra as their own thing now or something

Infotainment is not that bad, just need to get use to it and lets be honest if you want to heat the steering weel why making all this scene when you have a button called "clima" always visible? Besides you can place short cuts for this. To whoever reading and considering buying a cupra born, don't get friven by these comments about infotainment. These guys only touch the car for 1 or 2 days, with time you get used to it and is not that difficult. It even plays movies. There are also shortcuts for heat seats. It doesn't make the infotainment dangerous, when you read the manual and learn the features...

Brilliant review. How did you manage to keep the massive Guinness balloon stuck on your roof in Dublin? 😁

21 mins in and only just mentions performance that’s the key on this car! How fast it is! It’s a cup racing not a poodler

Drove one of these today was great fun very fast and looks good

Well done to the designers, it looks sooo good!

Great video really helped 👍🏻

I was looking to get a battery powered vehicle as I got the House all Solar powered, and it's working better than expected. Warmth is coming from my log burner combined with electrical heating as a secondary source. Stops me using too much gas. Great power generation from my solar panels combined with a house battery. That was the first part of not giving any more of my hard earned cash to greedy energy companies. The next step is to stop paying so much for Diesel. This is not about Green for me. It's about sticking it to the greedy ba$tards that are taking us for mugs here in the UK. If my house is greener then great but it is a secondary consideration. Net zero is just a big con. Even if the UK was net zero, the difference it would make to the world would be very minimal. In my opinion anyway. The cost for people going green in the UK is astronomical. The other issue that is putting me off the switch is the cost now per kilowatt. Even charging at home if taking power from the grid can end up costing nearly as much as Diesel, and if charging from most quick chargers, then it's more expensive. From 2025, the Uk is going to be taxing Evs at a cost of £165 per annum and if the car is over 40k, then you will also pay Luxury car tax as well. Total £520 per annum. In 2 years' time, if the cars are still this expensive, I can't see where the benefit of Switching unless you can charge the car for a low price. Do like the Cupra a lot, though. Fantastic review and love this format!

great vid, great car, is the US going to get it? I think you are going to have to pay the Born movie with your jokes

The Cupra definitely improves on the ID3, but I also agree that maybe the Kia Niro or Hyundai Kona would be slightly better - if outright range and efficiency is your thing.

But good test and illustration of how good the Born is!

Next time your in Ireland, love you to see my Land Rover 90”

Jonny, for f***'s sake....would you haud yer wheesht about the driver's roads in south-west Scotland!!!
A few months back you revealed the lovely B743 from Muirkirk to Mauchline (thank goodness you missed the Muirkirk to Strathaven leg).....now you telling folks to come check-out the Galloway Forest....this isn't the deal we agreed....the tourists get sent North to the NC500 and the motorhome conga trail....leaving the Galloway Forest exclusively for the delight of us locals....last thing we need is "blaw-ins" thwarting exercising the Boxster and C63 :-) or getting in way of the bikers....something gone far wrong here if the speed traps on the A75 didn't snare you before you got here....

Weighs slightly less than a M1 Abrams Tank with the handling characteristics to match.

Great review Jonny, as is so oft the case. Thanks.

I test drove one the other day and it’s a really nice driving experience. It’s fast, the rear wheel drive and lots of EV torque made for a bit of fun! Felt really premium and very practical too.

The Born looks really nice. Comparing to the ID3, like you say its just cheap looking. Nice road trip.

Super review.......Britain is just fantastic........Thanks for this dream journey.

Very boring grey color ! The Aurora Blue and the Rayleigh Red looks good. The Firestorm wheels look good. BUT the Cupra Leon looks much better !

Can you not turn on steering wheel heating with voice command

But the car should also be easy to use just for something like changing a song or putting on your favorite album. Because people still listen to music in the car. So when you review cars, people may also write interested and know how the music streaming service works in the car. And how good is the sound from the car stereo. and can you play music from a USB stick, eg flac files, if it can play hi-res, that's a plus. and that it has support for more streaming services than just Spotify