Seat Cupra Born unveiled as Spanish performance brand's first EV

The 2022 Seat Cupra Born has been unveiled as the Spanish automaker’s second battery electric vehicle (BEV).

Sitting above the supermini Mii electric, which is based on the Volkswagen Up, the new Cupra is the production-spec version of the el-Born concept we first saw back in 2019.

Underpinning the Born is Volkswagen’s modular MEB platform, which also forms the basis for VW’s electric ID.3 hatchback.

The new hatchback represents the Cupra performance brand’s first electric vehicle. However, the quoted figures aren’t exactly inspiring.

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From launch, there will be three different water-cooled lithium-ion battery pack sizes available – 45kWh, 58kWh and 77kWh.

The base 45kWh variant will produce 110kW and 310Nm, which is enough to shift the five-door hatchback from 0-100km/h in a lacklustre 8.9 seconds. Driving range is a claimed 340 kilometres.

The mid-spec 58kWh battery pack will have two different variants.

The first will produce 150kW and 310Nm and run from 0-100km/h in 7.3 seconds. Driving range improves considerably over the smaller battery pack, with Seat claiming around 420 kilometres.

The second will feature Seat’s e-Boost performance pack, which bumps power to 170kW (torque remains the same) and drops the 0-100km/h dash to 6.6 seconds. Range is still said to be 420 kilometres, but dynamic driving will reduce that number considerably.

Finally, the 77kWh battery pack will also produce 170kW and 310Nm. However, while the 0-100km/h time slows to 7.0 seconds due to the extra heft of the bigger battery pack, the driving range is bolstered to an impressive 540 kilometres.

All Cupra Born variants utilise a single electric motor mounted over the rear axle, which sends its drive exclusively to the rear wheels.

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All variants also support both AC and DC charging, and the largest 77kWh battery pack variant using a 125kW DC charger will be able to increase its driving range from five to 80 per cent in just 35 minutes. Up to 100km of range can also be added in as little as seven minutes.

Other features include a near-perfect 50:50 weight distribution, sports-tuned suspension, 18 to 20-inch alloy wheels, and performance-oriented tyres ranging from 215-235mm in width.

Seat says the EV handles as a hot hatchback should, and that’s down to, at least in part, its dimensions.

Measuring 4322mm long, 1809mm wide, 1537mm high, and with a wheelbase measuring 2767mm, the Born is actually larger than most hatchbacks on the market, dwarfing other models like VW’s Mk8 Golf and BMW’s F40 1 Series.

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Inside, the EV hatch scores a large, centrally mounted horizontal 12-inch touchscreen infotainment display, sports bucket seats, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone charging, nine-speaker stereo, and augmented reality head-up display.

The Born comes equipped with a host of safety features such as autonomous emergency braking, predictive adaptive cruise control, travel assist, side and exit assist, traffic sign recognition, emergency assist and pre-crash assist.

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The Seat Cupra range

It's unlikely we'll the Seat Cupra Born make its way to Down Under anytime soon, with a representative from Volkswagen Australia telling WhichCar that, although the EV is an enticing product, it’s not right for the local market at the moment while there are still no emissions targets in place.

However, while we’re probably not getting an EV Cupra, the performance brand will be officially launching in Australia in the next 12 months, with models like the Ateca, Formentor, and Leon all expected to be here in 2022.