Louth Motors: Our expert reviews the Cupra Born

Car companies embellish the smallest difference to try and promote their car over the competitors. Any advantage or improvement is exaggerated to the full to attract you to their car.

Cupra was formed to be a standalone brand from Seat. It's to have its own models and identity which I reckon will lead to the phasing out of Seat as Cupra becomes the sporty brand for the VW group that ultimately owns Seat and Cupra. That's my bet anyway. When I say sporty I mean sportive which is how Cupra define it -note that small difference again.

Cupra retails five models here in Ireland and the only one that isn't based on a car from Seat is the striking and popular Formentor that is doing an excellent job of carving out the Cupra image here.

The rest are Cupra's take on Seat/VW models. The car in question here is the Cupra Born which is their version of the VW ID3 that is VW's second best-selling electric car after the ID4.

Cupra have some imminent tasty models on the way that will strengthen their appeal and grow the brand so that take on an existing model be phased out.

To separate the Born and give it its own ID – proud of that – they have made it a lot sportier looking.

You essentially get the same mechanicals underneath delivering more or less the same performance but the Born is more out there than the conservative looking ID3.

Side by side the Born is more angular and edgy with the ID3 curvier. Creases are sporty – curves are refined. Not that the Born isn't refined. It's quite a well thought out electric car delivering power and performance.

The Born claims a range of 495kms from their 77kWh e-boost version with the entry model offering 374kms and you pay €56,890 for that over the €48,110 for the shorter-range model.

The car during its time with various car testers returned a consumption of 17.7 kWh/100km yielding an expected range of 350kms. I was in the 374km model so that is very close to the claim.

It's a 5-seater car but you can also get it as a 4-seater model at the same price – less is the same it seems.

For some the 4-seater model might make more everyday sense. Power output ranges from 204hp to 231hp and those figures deliver unsurprisingly swift acceleration times of 7.3s for the 204hp model. It's a fast time and feels fast and delivers on the sporty, sorry Sportive, claim.

Again, in striving to be different the front looks are a world away from the ID3 but in doing so I think it looks like the Kia EV6 at the front which, regardless of who debuted first, is a good look.

At the back there's a full width light bar that is a Cupra thing and a design feature across the range that for once I agree with as it looks epic.

The C-Pillar has a plastic, carbon fibre aping insert that adds to the sportive effect. You can also see the wheels in full and here Cupra's design has scored a big win with some of the nicest looking alloys around helped by plastic inserts.

A big play is made of the Ceremony lights that say hello and goodbye to you. All I'm thinking is the cost if they act up.

I had the car during a very cold spell and when I wanted to assist the car defrost the windscreen with some scraping action the car stopped heating the windscreen when I got off the seat which I found a bit strange. There's probably a menu setting to avoid this but should it be that way in the first place?

Inside you can see instantly the impact Tesla has made on cars. It is minimalist central with two displays – one all digital for the driver – does all digital need to be advised ever again I wonder? – and another digital central display.

There are no real buttons with some ventilation touch controls under the central display. There is a touch control panel to the right of the steering wheel for lights and electric window heating with a final cluster of touch controls on the doors for mirrors and doors.

Despite all the windows being electric you only get two buttons which you must alternate between front and rear. It's an economy that really isn't worth it. The drive controls are mounted behind and to the right of the steering wheel and like the controls on the Hyundai Ionic which is a very good thing.

Car interiors are really an area where a car company should not fail in terms of comfort and materials used. Every car company should treat this as a banker question in the Leaving Cert and never fail as it seems so easy to get it right.

I can report that the Cupra Born interior doesn't disappoint and it is a really pleasant interior environment – be it a short or long trip.

Those trips expose you to the handling characteristics of the car and like nearly all electric cars it feels planted with the low mounted batteries giving a low centre of gravity. This is great in the bends and reassuring.

The suspension setup is, there is not getting away from it, hard. Not jarring but you get a reminder that this is supposed to be a sporty car and being so, you expect it to transmit more of the road's imperfections into the car via your seat and steering wheel.

It is not by any means a GTi electric version of the ID3 because it is not that much different in terms of performance and here's the kicker.

Sporty performance in an electric car just drains the battery performance so for a few seconds of acceleration joy you'll be spending possibly the equivalent in minutes recharging it.

Parked together with an ID3 most people would be attracted to the Born. I would be. When it comes to taking the plunge more people have opted for the ID3 based on recent sales.

That was the 2022 outturn which was a hard year in terms of supply and availability. Let's see what 2023's result is and I suspect the Born will reduce that gap considerably.

More volts and amps next week with the Nissan Ariya.