Cupra now have two electric cars. Following the Born, one of our favourite EV’s, the Spanish auto brand have added the larger Tavascan to the range, a striking 5-door SUV coupe. We got behind the wheel of the VZ1 model to find out more.
Model choice
The Tavascan comes in four specs. Entry level V1, then V2, VZ1 & range topper VZ2. V1 & V2 are Rear Wheel Drive & come with 282bhp, VZ1 & VZ2 feature two motors so more offer power at 335bhp & are All Wheel Drive. All versions are fitted with a 77kWh battery.
Prices
V1 costs from £47,350, V2 £53,385, VZ1 £55,495 & VZ2 is £60,45.
Specifications
With prices in or around 50k you’d expect the Tavascan to come well equipped. And it does. V1 features 19” alloys, a 15” navigation system, 5.3” digital cockpit, CUPRA Connect, CUPRA Connect Plus, two front & two rear USB’s, wireless smartphone integration, a wireless charger, DAB, bucket seats, copper interior detailing, a rear view camera, Drive Profile – Range, Comfort, Performance, CUPRA, Individual – Travel Assist, Predictive Adaptive cruise control, Intelligent Park Assist & Traffic Sign Recognition.
V2 adds 12-way electrical adjustment to the bucket seats, heated front seats, a rear arm rest, ambient lighting, a double floor in the boot, 21” alloys, Matrix LED lights, a panoramic sunroof, Dynamic chassis control, 12 speaker Sennheiser audio, a head-up display & a top view camera.
VZ1 is specced as per the V2 but adds the AWD with more power at 340PS battery, whilst VZ2 offers ventilated front seats, CUP Hero leather & 21” Etna forged alloys. All versions come with a Type 2 charging cable.
Outside
Whilst the Cupra models are built on the same platforms as electric Volkswagen’s, Skoda & Audi’s, its USP is a sportier, more aggressive look & the Tavascan delivers. From it’s high curved corner front lights & large Cupra logo at the front, to the copper infused alloys & sharp lines at the side & with the slim rear car-width light bar & spoiler, it’s a looker with our test cars Atacama Desert colour enhanceing this.
Inside
Someone at Cupra likes Star Trek as the Y shaped centre binnacle detail has been stolen from a Klingon cruiser. Elsewhere there’s plenty of copper detail on the dash, the doors & steering wheel centre & although mostly hard to the touch, the plastics look & feel hard wearing.
There are soft finishes around the centre console & on top of the centre armrest & this look lovely & are made from sustainable materials with textiles created from recycled polyester, while 50% of microfibre materials in the cabin come from recycled sources.
Infotainment
The large 15-inch touchscreen dominates proceedings & is located on the centre top dash. The operating system & menus are easy to navigate & it’s relatively easy to turn off the intrusive safety features through the short-cut icons on the top right of the screen.
Adjusting the climate control using the touch sensitive sliders is still a bit fiddly. They are though backlit hurrah ! The digital drivers display is functional if a little small, meaning the additional heads-up display on our VZ1 was a useful addition.
Practicality
In the cabin the glove box is small, but you do get split opening under arm storage, twin centre cup holders, two front & two rear USB’s, useful sized front door pockets & on our test car a fold down rear armrest.
The boot comes with 540 litres of space & a shelf underneath which you can store the charging cable, not on V1 though.
Comfort
The driving position is good allowing adjustments to be precise, with the bucket seats offering decent support as well. Rear visibility is a little compromised by the low roofline & small rear window & this worsens in the wet as there’s no rear wiper.
Back seat space is surprisingly good, with plenty of head & legroom & at a push, there’s room for three adults across the rear seat bench.
Performance & driving modes
We settled for Comfort day to day whilst seeing just how brisk CUPRA can be a few times- it is – All versions are limited to a top speed of 122mph.
V1 & V2 fitted with the single motor & smaller battery will accelerate from 0-62mph in just 6.8 seconds. Select the dual-motor version with 335bhp & you release 545Nm of torque so a swifter 5.5 seconds from 0-62mph is possible.
You can utilise the Performance & CUPRA driving nodes to shift the cars set-up to facilitate this or be more frugal & drive in Comfort or Range which dials the power down a little.
Charging & range
AC 11kW is available on all versions, so a 0-100% charge will take 8 hours. Away from home the Tavascan comes with 135kW DC charging , so a 10-80% top-up on fast chargers can be as quick as 28 minutes. As ever plug-in at home overnight to benefit from lower electricity rates like we do on our Rolec EVO wall box. https://www.rolecserv.com/ev-products/evo
We topped the Tavascan up to full overnight with our VZ1 showing a driving range of 273 miles. The good news is that even on a 100 mile motorway jaunt & driving at a constant 70mph, the Tavascan returned a 1 mile driven to 1 mile of range used which is impressive. A look at the cars average readings saw us achieving 3.8 miles/kWh, again better than many competitors, with the caveat that it was May & mild.
Driving
Despite the power under the bonnet, the Tavascan handles nicely on local routes & in town centres. To start-up you push the brake & the engine starts. You can then select D or B for regeneration from the right side steering wheel stalk.
Even though the rear windows is narrow, the on-board parking sensors & camera make urban driving straightforward & the auto-hold means you can relax at lights & junctions.
Once you’ve turned off some of the intrusive safety features you can listen to the excellent 12 Sennheiser speaker system & with wireless CarPlay we passed our time with both podcasts & Spotify as we drove around.
Ride
The ride is a little on the firm side, probably not aided by our test cars larger 21” wheels. The actually reminded me of a mid-noughties Cupra Leon in that respect. However, the damping softens things up considerably compared its predecessor.
Head out as awe did onto some excellent local driving roads & despite the cars 2,267kg kerb weight, the steering is light & nicely weighted & the Tavascan feels nimble.
If we have a criticism it’s with the brakes which are lacking any feedback, especially in regeneration mode, which makes the car a bit harder to slow down than you’d expect. The regeneration can be adjusted via the steering wheel paddles but it never feels that strong & is definitely not one-pedal.
Motorway
On the motorway we selected adaptive cruise control & let the car do the work, We enjoyed the cars comfortable seats & overall the cabins quiet with just our VZ1’s wheels & tyres letting in some road noise. If you need to overtake the power arrives in an instant & from 50-70mph it’s particularly impressive.
Safety
Like all modern cars the Tarascan’s packed with useful safety features. Adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, exit warning, attention & drowsiness assist & rollover assist to name a few. Functions, such as lane keeping assist & speed warning can be easily switched off via the touchscreen or a button on the steering wheel.
Pros
The Tavascan is both good fun to drive & looks good too. It also features a stylish comfortable cabin & comes well equipped. The largish battery offers close to 300 miles of driving range & charging speeds are decent too.
Cons
All versions don’t come cheap. A slightly firm ride on larger wheels & a lack of feedback from the brakes are our only criticisms.
Verdict
The Cupra Tavascan’s an excellent addition to the burgeoning electric car market & offers a much more exciting proposition than many competing EV’s. It’s comforting to know that the Tavascan comes with a slightly firm ride harking back to Cupra’s of old whilst balancing this with far more polite road manners. It’s practical as well with a spacious cabin.
We’d suggest leasing one as at almost £50,000 it’s an expensive retail proposition even in V1 livery.
If you’re looking for an electric car that offers some excitement as well as practicality the Tavascan is well worth your time.
4/5
