Just because two cars are technically pretty much identical doesn’t mean they’re the same. A prime example of this is the Cupra Born, the Spanish brother of the VW ID.3. While the man from Wolfsburg mimics the good son-in-law-to-be, the Spaniard is the three-day-bearded hero, because of whom the “in-spec” unfortunately doesn’t come to anything. Now the slightly wild Spaniard gets a boost in performance and the license to drift. “Krone” motor editor Stephan Schätzl traveled with him on ice and snow. His impressions here in the video.
Sometimes you need a bit of courage as a car manufacturer. And so Cupra presented the sports version of the compact electric car called Born to the press in Lapland of all places. There, where it usually has double-digit minus degrees at this time of year. And then with the smaller of the two available batteries. So 58 instead of 77 kWh net, for 421 instead of 547 kilometers WLTP range. But shortly before our arrival, a kind of summer came and we had slightly plus temperatures, whereby two degrees Celsius are of course still far from the comfortable range of the battery. But we didn’t come for a consumption drive, but to get a feel for the new sporting abilities. They look like this: For an additional charge of 700 euros, the Cupra Born gets an increase in output of 20 kW, so it then costs 41,990 euros (3000 euros more with the large battery) and has an output of 170 kW/231 hp. It stays at 310 Nm and rear-wheel drive. What you should still invest is (depending on the version) 1700 to 1900 euros for the package of 20-inch rims, wider tires (235 instead of 215) and DCC, i.e. adaptive chassis. With this combination, the ESP can then be switched off completely. Without these extras, you can only switch between full control and a slightly more relaxed one. The Cupra Born should mutate into a fun drift artist, at least if the grip is not too strong, i.e. in the wet or (even more so) on snow and ice. On dry roads, however, you won’t feel much of this, as the compact car with a DIN curb weight of 1674 or 1796 kg is simply too heavy. In any case, it’s extremely pleasant that you can fine-tune the chassis in 15 stages. And if you leave the ESP in the sport position, you can at least have a little fun on snow and ice. But for that you don’t need the wider tires or the extra power. The full enjoyment can only be expected with the decency regulation deactivated. Here’s to the winter, as long as the climate gives us another one!
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