2024 Best Small Electric Car $50-60K: Cupra Born

Until now, an EV with 500km+ of range and a relatively affordable price tag has been frustratingly elusive – yet that’s exactly the promise offered with both of our circa-$60K hatchback contenders here.

Okay, neither is exactly ‘cheap’ — you can nab yourself a lower-spec MG4 Excite 51 for just $39,990 drive-away — but the appeal here is a package that strikes a strong balance between value, big real-world range, performance and equipment.

And on paper, it’s the MG that draws first blood. Our test car is the top-spec Long Range 77 which has just benefited from a substantial price drop and offers a WLTP range of 530km from a 77kWh battery. Performance is brisk, thanks to a 180kW/350Nm electric motor and a 0-100km/h claim of 6.5 seconds.

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That’s half a second quicker than the Cupra, which is no surprise given the Spanish car is 10kW/40Nm down on the MG4 and weighs 210kg more due to a rather portly 1960kg kerb weight. A two tonne hatchback? Welcome to the electric age.

The Cupra is also costlier with a starting price of $59,990 before on-road costs but our test car is armed with the optional interior package, which blows the price difference out even more.

The Born’s five-year / unlimited-kilometre warranty is also shorter than the MG’s seven-year / unlimited-kilometre coverage, and its 511km of claimed WLTP range from an 82kWh battery is shorter than the MG4's official figure. On paper, then, the MG has a sizeable advantage.

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Where the Cupra hits back, however, is when you spot one in the metal. Both of these cars are attractive, yet to our eye it’s the Cupra that’s better looking – or at least the more creatively styled. Bronze highlights abound and nearly every surface and panel has been finessed to gift the Born a level of visual appeal that’s missing in the MG4.

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It’s the same story inside. While the MG is impressively minimalist and functional, the Cupra's cabin feels more special thanks to a richer mix of materials and more attention to detail.

The Cupra also holds the advantage when it comes to recharging. On DC power the Cupra can accept up to 170kW while the MG taps out at 144kW. Things are more even on AC power, where both cars max out at 11kW providing you have a three-phase socket.

With both contenders showing just shy of 500km of claimed range from our morning recharge, we buy a dodgy servo sandwich and head for greener pastures. We’re aiming for some twisty roads about an hour away, so I slip into the Cupra for the transit leg.

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It’s immediately obvious the Cupra is a better car to cruise in. Tyre noise and road roar are less noticeable, the cabin ambience feels cosier and the optional, suede-trimmed seats are cosseting and supportive.

There’s not much to seperate them when it comes to the layout of their dashes and digital screens, though. Both cars employ a twin-screen layout, with a large centre touchscreen and a smaller digital driver display above the steering wheel.

The Cupra’s centre screen is bigger (12.0-inches plays 10.25-inches), and it’s also angled towards the driver, so Apple CarPlay displays more clearly. The Born’s reversing camera is also larger and the resolution of the 360 monitor is better than the fuzzy and occasionally laggy feed you get in the MG.

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But while the Born’s cabin and tech feel a cut above, it squanders its advantage with some frustrating ergonomic issues.

The steering wheel is festooned with haptic buttons that are inconsistent to use, and the HVAC system is plagued by touch sensitive sliders that make fine adjustments annoyingly difficult.

Happily the MG is far more functional. Despite an obvious effort to keep things minimal, MG’s design team has kept a row of useful physical buttons below the centre screen. And while you need to dive into the touchscreen to adjust the HVAC, it’s still a much simpler process than in the Cupra. The steering wheel also has programable hot keys that act as shortcuts for your favourite functions.

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The MG’s cabin has its own quibbles, though. The strip of buttons below the screen are big and mark easily from the oil in your fingers. The cabin materials also feel cheaper compared to the more luxe Cupra.

Both cars are evenly matched for phone connectivity, with wired connections for Apple Carplay/Android Auto and wireless charging pads. Things are fairly even for cabin storage, too, thanks to generous central storage cubbies and roomy door pockets.

We soon notice some strange equipment omissions, however. The MG has no auto wipers, for example, which feels stingy when you’re spending this much on an electric hatch. Neither car has an auto tailgate either, or rear air vents. Wired CarPlay connections also feel off the pace in 2024 and the MG’s connection was frustrating unstable during our time with the car.

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Still, with the road starting to twist and turn, we switch our attention to one thing these cars do have in spades: driver appeal. Both are rear-driven and with good amounts of power and torque available, the promise of some hot hatch-esque thrills awaits.

I start in the MG and it’s immediately clear this is the Chinese brand’s best shot yet at driving dynamics. The basic setup is nicely judged: the suspension is controlled and has a sporty edge, body roll is kept nicely in check and the steering (2.8 turns lock-to-lock) is light and reassuringly accurate.

There’s a good amount of grip available from its 235/45 R18 Bridgestone Turanza rubber and there are four levels of regenerative braking, including one for one-pedal driving.

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And while performance is perky rather than outright fast, the instant response from the e-motor means this is a fun and predictable little car to hustle.

One feature that requires more work, however, is the MG’s driver assist systems. On narrow country backroads it’s easy to spook the lane keep system and for the steering assist to make an unsettling intervention.

If it’s truly engaging handling you’re chasing, though, you want the Cupra. Where the MG is quick, capable and enjoyable, there’s something more analogue about the Born’s chassis, as though there’s some Golf GTI DNA lurking in there somewhere.

The steering is fluid and slightly quicker (2.5 turns lock-to-lock) and while the suspension is marginally firmer, which makes for a bumpier urban ride, it has greater control and superior damping at speed.

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The Born also has an ‘ESC Sport’ setting that allows you to better exploit the balance and to revel in some controlled, rear-driven thrills.

Again, the Born feels quick rather than fast, but despite its power and weight deficits to the MG, there’s actually very little to separate them in terms of real-world pace.

Undermining the Born’s dynamic appeal are fewer settings for the regen braking (there’s no one-pedal option and only a B mode for stronger resistance) and a brake pedal that can feel inconsistent in its travel despite a good amount of initial bite.

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Both cars offer decent rear room for six-foot adults, but the MG’s softly padded bench lacks under-thigh support. There’s no centre arm rest either, only a single USB-A port compared with the Born’s twin USB-C arrangement, and the MG’s rear window line is also higher which makes rear passengers feel more hemmed in.

The Born also edges ahead for boot space. Outright literate is greater in the Cupra (385L versus 350L in the MG) and it beats the MG for amenity with more bag hooks, tie down points and a 12V socket.

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Another notable omission in both cars is the lack of a spare tyre of any sort. The MG at least offers a puncture repair kit, whereas the Cupra rolls on ‘self sealing’ tyres.

So in most metrics, it’s the Cupra that just has its nose in front. It feels more premium, is better to drive, is quieter and more refined, and it also proved to be more efficient on test.

Over our 300km loop of highway and dynamic driving, the Cupra ‘drank’ 19.1kW/100km, giving it a theoretical range of 403km in our hands. In contrast, the MG used 21.5kW/100km, meaning it could travel about 315km.

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For some, the MG’s value advantage over the Cupra will be enough to sway them (though we think the Excite or Essence 64 are the MG4 range sweet spot).

Even with its recent price drop from $55,990 RRP to $52,990 drive-away, the Long Range 77 doesn’t quite deliver the improvement in range, equipment or cabin ambience over lower-spec MG4s to justify its price premium.

The Cupra Born feels the more expensive car here, even if its value is put into harsher perspective by a $61,900 Tesla Model 3 RWD.

Summing up how the Cupra ends up denying the MG4 a hat-trick of Best EV wins, fellow tester and former ed Dylan Campbell said: “It’s more stylish, better engineered and feels better built, and it also eats fewer electrons. Although the haptic controls could be a deal-breaker…”

VERDICT

Cupra Born: 8/10

MG4 Long Range 77: 7.5/10

Specifications