The electric Cupra Tavascan: how do you actually install it?

It has been five years since Cupra became a stand-alone brand, but it will not be until next year that the brand will really launch its own electric model for the first time: the Cupra Tavascan, a coupé SUV. To date, the relatively new and somewhat taste-sensitive Cupra tribal has appeared on the noses of the Cupra Ateca, Leon and Born, but all three are now not so much distinctive models. After all, the Ateca and Leon have been plucked from the Seat stable and the Cupra Born is not much different than a Volkswagen ID3 topped with a thick Cupra sauce. Only the Formentor was unique to Cupra until now, but – unlike the Born – it is not available as an EV.

This is different with the new Cupra Tavascan. It is admittedly – just like the Born – again an electric car on the MEB platform of the Volkswagen Group, but to a much lesser extent a ‘sister model’ of the Volkswagen ID5 or Skoda Enyaq Coupé than the Cupra Born, which is of the Volkswagen ID3 . And profile is the Tavascan actually different from the other MEB coupé SUVs from the Volkswagen Group and where those cars both have more conventionally lined variants, the Tavascan does not. Cupra clearly wants to profile itself as a sportier brand within the group, and is emphatically trying to do so with a coupé SUV with a new family face.

Daytime running lights in the shape of three triangles: the new ‘eyes’ of the Cupra family.

But who are the Spaniards trying to seduce with the Tavascan? In other words: from which other showrooms is Cupra trying to rob customers? To determine this, we first list the most important figures.

Size and powertrains

The Cupra Tavascan is 4.64 meters long, 1.86 wide and 1.60 high – quite comparable to the Volkswagen ID5 and Skoda Enyaq Coupé. Its dimensions provide 540 liters of luggage and enough interior space for at least four adults, because colleague Frank Jacobs has already heard that both the leg and headroom in the back are very reasonable – despite the sloping roofline.

The Cupra Tavascan will only be available with the 77 kWh battery pack that we already know from other cars on the MEB platform. In the case of the Cupra, this is coupled with two different engine configurations: one with a single engine on the rear axle (286 hp, 550 km WLTP range) and the other with one at both the front and rear. The latter gets the name extension ‘VZ’ and has a slightly shorter range with 520 km WLTP, but with a system power of 340 hp it is able to sprint to 100 km / h in 5.6 seconds. For the time being, nothing is known about the possible arrival of a larger battery pack, which will soon be fitted to the Skoda Enyaq. The more impressive specs of the MEB+ platform are several years in the future.

A clearly different atmosphere than in Volkswagen Group products that we already know.

In a sense, the Cupra Tavascan therefore becomes a competitor for cars ‘from its own family’ such as the Volkswagen ID5, Audi Q4 E-tron Sportback and Skoda Enyaq Coupé, although Cupra is aiming to make the Tavascan truly distinctive with considerably more dynamic handling and also with a quite different interior design. Add to that the fact that its exterior is also sufficiently distinctive compared to the alternatives from its own group and you understand that Cupra mainly tries to find its customers outside the existing group clientele.

Other competitors

Other EVs with a not too low seat, a relatively mature range of space and more or less dynamic pretensions than that are – for example – the Kia EV6, Tesla Model Y, BMW iX1 and Volvo C40. In the table below we compare the specifications of the most comparable variants.

On paper, the new Cupra Tavascan compares quite nicely to other electric ‘mid-range’ SUVs. With its relatively favorably priced, efficient and spacious Model Y, Tesla naturally has a strong offer in the range, but that car is not very distinctive. Electric, high on the legs and ‘premium’ is also possible for amounts of towards €60,000, by knocking on Audi’s door for a Q4 E-tron (Sportback) or BMW for an iX1, but the latter has a considerably smaller range against a fairly high starting price.

In addition, you may be specifically looking for a higher seat in combination with a somewhat lower roofline, for which you can also go to the Kia EV6 or the Volvo C40 Recharge. As an electric car, the Kia has decent specifications and is a solid all-rounder, but its Korean appearance should appeal to you. Since the revision of the technology, the Volvo C40 Recharge has a fairly complete powertrain on board, but offers significantly less space in terms of space than equally expensive or cheaper alternatives.

In terms of profile, the Tavascan is perhaps most similar to the Toyota bZ4X.

Waiting for starting price and driving impression

In summary, it is striking that the range of electric SUVs is quite varied, with the Cupra Tavascan indeed providing even more variation – and that while this segment is far from being ‘complete’. You can count on the Stellantis brands, among others, to come up with the necessary ‘dynamic’ electric SUVs in the coming years.

Compared to the current range, the Cupra Tavascan does not distinguish itself so much with a striking range of space or extra potent technology, but it does combine solid values ​​on those two fronts with a look that is ‘fresh’: the Tavascan is therefore the first Cupra with the brand’s first own family face. It remains to be seen how the steering behavior of the Tavascan is, but if that is sufficiently distinctive – and the starting price is relatively sharp – Cupra’s newcomer could easily conquer many hearts.

How do you think the Cupra Tavascan compares to the competition? Do you think it will attract buyers to Cupra, or is it just the next MEB product from the Volkswagen Group in your eyes?