Seat spin-off brand Cupra’s first electric car – the Born – is now available to order at UK dealers with prices from £33,735. Originally designed to wear the Seat badge (and to be called the El-Born), the Born is now described as a “performance hatchback” with a choice of four different power outputs and three trim levels.
But at launch, the only battery-and-motor combination on show will be the mid-range system, while more powerful models and the new entry-level version will arrive next year. For the time being, customers are stuck with the 58 kWh battery and 201 bhp electric motor, offering a 263-mile official range between trips to the charger.
The £33,735 starting price also pays for the basic V1 trim level, which comes with 18-inch alloy wheels, a 12-inch infotainment system with satellite navigation and a digital cockpit display, as well as a rear-view camera, keyless entry and bucket seats in Seaqual recycled yarn. Front and rear parking sensors, a heated steering wheel and automatic lights and windscreen wipers are also included in the specification.
Upgrading to V2 trim takes the price to £34,190, and that extra £455 pays for larger 19-inch alloy wheels, dark-tinted rear windows and heated front seats. It also buys an augmented reality head-up display, which projects “crucial driving information” onto the windscreen, appearing to layer it onto the environment outside. The system is designed to reduce the need for a driver to look away from the road.
Finally, the V3 trim comes in at £37,375, which gets you even larger 20-inch alloy wheels and suede-style grey fabric on the bucket seats, which come with 12-way electric adjustment and a massage function. It also gets all the standard features of the V2, including the seat heating and the head-up display.
That pricing structure means the V1 version of the Born would have been eligible for the government’s Plug-In Car Grant (PICG) as recently as last week. However, recent changes to the grant mean the Cupra is no longer eligible after the government elected to exclude all cars costing more than £32,000 from the subsidy. But when a new base-level model arrives with a smaller battery and motor, it may meet the eligibility criteria, taking £1,500 off the asking price.
That base version is expected to continue with V1 specification, but it will come with a smaller 45 kWh battery and a 148bhp electric motor. The more powerful versions will use a 228 bhp motor and offer a choice of 58 or 77 kWh battery packs.
