Cupra Born range, battery & charging

Under its sharp bodywork, the Cupra Born shares its platform with many electric cars we’re already familiar with. The list includes the Volkswagen ID.3 hatchback, the ID.4 SUV and ID.5 coupe-SUV, as well as the Audi Q4 e-tron and Skoda Enyaq iV. In some markets, the Born is offered with a smaller 45kWh battery, though UK buyers only get the larger 58kWh and 77kWh options. This is no hardship, however, as both offer good range and fast charging – the biggest battery models can officially return up to 341 miles on a charge.

Cupra Born range

Four versions of the Born have been announced so far, with only the entry-level model still to arrive. That uses a 45kWh battery, which holds enough energy for up to 211 miles of driving. The next two versions – with or without Cupra’s performance-enhancing e-Boost technology – use a 58kWh battery and are capable of covering in excess of 260 miles on a charge. However, the final variant features an even larger 77kWh unit that, according to the brand, allows for a range of up to 341 miles, depending on spec and wheel size. 

We’ve driven both the 58kWh and 77kWh models in the UK – the latter on a longer-term test over six months. In mixed driving, we found the Cupra to average around 3.3 miles per kilowatt-hour, which is reasonable given the many variables that can affect efficiency. This figure translates to a real-world range of around 265 miles – a little shy of the maker’s 341-mile claim, but still enough for most drivers. 

Our time with the lighter, smaller-battery car showed it to be marginally more efficient, with a day-to-day range of roughly 200 miles per charge.

Charge time

Borns with a 58kWh battery can be charged at up to 125kW, meaning topping up from 5-80% using a fast enough rapid-charging point takes 35 minutes. The top-of-the-range 77kWh model can be recharged at up to 135kW. So, if you find a fast enough charger, you can top up the bigger battery from 5-80% in just 36 minutes – or to put it another way, add 62 miles of range in only seven minutes. 

We’ve actually put these claims to the test, and managed to charge a Cupra Born V1 with the 58kWh battery from around 12-80% in just over half an hour at an ultra-rapid public charger, which isn’t far shy of the maker’s claims. In that time, we managed to have a coffee and check some emails, before disconnecting the car and setting on our way.

Using a 7kW home wallbox to fully recharge the Cupra Born will take around nine hours for cars fitted with the 58kWh battery. Go for the largest battery and it'll take over 12 hours to fully recharge.