Waiter! There’s wurst in my tapas - Seat Cupra’s turn in the Meisterchef kitchen

We’ve had VW, Skoda and Audi using the VW Group’s new MEB platform to create the ID.3, ID.4, Enyaq and Q4 e-Tron – now Cupra goes electric by putting its own spin on the same shared componentry with its new Born.

Insider

Are you sure it’s different?

At a glance you could mistake this first production EV from the brand recently spun off from Seat for an ID.3 with some slightly angry-looking details. The waters are further muddied because VW offers copper trimming on the ID.3, depriving Cupra of what was supposed to be a USP.

Anything different inside?

Got a magnifying glass handy? The Born has a larger central screen than the VW (12 as opposed to 10 inches) and the centre console rises to meet the dashboard. And to ram home the point that this is an eco-friendly car, the Born can be upholstered in a choice of recycled materials: microfibre or Seaqual yarn, made from plastic waste reclaimed from the oceans.

Cupra is a sporty brand, right?

Yep, that’s why Cupra bumps up the performance of one variant to make the Born stand out from the VW. Along with 148bhp and 201bhp variants, there’s a hotter 227bhp option not currently available with the ID.3. Battery sizes of 45, 58 and 77kWh offer 211, 260 or 335 miles respectively. Production starts in September, and Cupra’s rolling out a subscription model for the Born.

Seats, steering wheel, HUD and touchscreen all Cupra-specific