Ever since the Cupra brand was spun off from Seat as its own thing, we’ve (well, by ‘we’ I mean those of us keen enough on cars in general to care) been asking; why? Not in a mean-spirited way, not in a ‘why bother’ way, but more in a sense of ‘what’s Cupra all about’?
The clear and simple answer is that by giving Cupra a bit of premium-brand polish, the accountants at the VW Group can charge more for one than they charge for a Seat, and that really is the bottom line.
But a car brand needs more than that, needs more than mere fiduciary imperative, if it’s to survive, thrive, and become a success. Cupra’s sales have been going up, which is a good sign, but it still seems to be a badge and brand about which the broader swathe of motoring-dom is still ignorant.
Will that change with the arrival of this, the Tavascan?
Thus far, Cupra’s ties to Seat have still been obvious, as models such as the Atceca SUV and Leon hatchback were and are still shared between the two. However, with the arrival of this Tavascan and the hybrid-engined Terramar SUV, to sit alongside the updated Formentor and all-electric Born hatchback, the number of Cupra-only models now significantly outweighs the shared cars.
OK, that’s great – but what does it mean? It means that Cupra is at long last ramping up its electric power quotient, as this Tavascan is the second fully electric model in the range (alongside the Born and alongside the updated long-range, plug-in hybrid Leon, Terramar, and Formentor). So Cupra is at least closer now to fulfilling its mission of being sporty and electric.
Is it actually sporty, though? The Tavascan looks kinda sporty as you walk up, what with the gorgeous Tavascan Blue paintwork (impressively, a no-cost option) and the copper-coloured detailing. The odd Cupra badge (which still looks like a tattoo or some kind of sci-fi weapon to me) now lights up both front and rear, and there are complex-looking 21-inch alloy wheels.
[ Cupra’s new Tavascan all-electric crossover underlines brand’s ambitionOpens in new window ]
Inside, there are high-backed bucket seats in the front, swathed in a microfibre-like cloth made partly from recycled materials, while the structure of the dashboard is properly dramatic, designed to look like the tail and backbone of a Manta-Ray and even sporting moulded-in scales to complete the effect. It’s a sense of drama that’s slightly offset by the big, generic touchscreen infotainment system (better than before but still too fiddly, and still without enough physical buttons to make life easy) but amplified again by the three-spoke steering wheel with its twin driving mode buttons hanging off the spokes.
The Tavascan’s quite a chunky car, so space inside is good, and although it’s trying to be a coupe there’s ample space in the back seats (headroom’s a touch tight, but acceptable); the 540 litre boot is plenty big enough, and has an adjustable floor so that there’s somewhere to stash your charging cables.
So far, so generic mid-size EV SUV, and that’s where the Tavascan’s troubles start. You see, car brands are built on legends. Ferrari and Porsche are probably the best examples of this, but even more humble brands such as Ford and Peugeot have made their names with stylish, fun, fast cars and the accolades of motor sport.
When it comes to Cupra, though, there’s not much to get hold of. If you bought a Cupra and had to describe to your friends what you’d just purchased, I’m honestly not sure quite where you’d start. Posh Seat doesn’t sound very good, and although more affordable Audi is actually closer to the mark, that does flag up a massive issue for Cupra.
You see, with the Tavascan, Cupra is building a car that is already being built. Volkswagen makes exactly the same car but with a different body and calls it the ID.5. Skoda does the same and calls it the Enyaq Coupe. Audi does the same and calls it the Q4 e-tron Sportback. Heck, even Ford does the same – using the same underpinnings under licence – and calls it the Capri.
So Cupra is basically playing the same song with the same notes, but just using a different instrument and, to an extent, hoping no-one notices.
Does the Tavascan drive dramatically differently to those other cars? No, not really. It’s a touch firmer in its suspension, but even that can be dialled out with the adaptive dampers fitted to our ‘Endurance 6′ spec test car. The steering is mostly just light and accurate, and becomes a little weightier when you really press on, but it never really delivers a truly sporting driving experience. In that, the Tavascan is rather like the Cupra Born hatchback. Yes, it’s stylish, but in how it drives it’s really not different enough to the related Volkswagen ID.3, and only barely counts as sporty.
The Tavascan cruises quietly and smoothly, but is that what you really want from a supposedly sporty SUV? Equally, the mushy brake pedal didn’t inspire confidence, and the car would come to sudden lurching halt in traffic if you had the ‘Auto Hold’ function selected. It is, in extremis, sharper to drive than the ID.5 or Enyaq, but not really by enough of a margin to count.
The range of our test Tavascan wasn’t brilliant either. Fitted with the latest-tech 286hp motor driving the rear wheels, and with the latest battery construction and software, the Tavascan with the 77kWh battery boasts a range of up to 545km, but we observed a real-world range much closer to 400-450km, and during a colleague’s trip down to Cork and back he said he never saw a prediction of 400km from the in-car computer, even on a full charge.
Those figures may be fine for many potential buyers, but they are no better than the Volkswagen ID.4 which we tested a couple of years ago with the older battery software and the less efficient 204hp motor. Average consumption on test was 22.3kWh/100km which is just that – average. At least it is capable of charging quickly, at up to 135kW on DC power.
Then there’s the Tavascan’s price tag. Now, Cupra is – for the month of January – knocking off an extra €3,500 (effectively doubling the car’s SEAI grant) which means that our test car, with its list price of €58,265 could actually be bought for a slightly more palatable €54,765. That’s still a lot of money, though, and it’s more money than Skoda asks for the handsome Enyaq Coupe, a car which overall does a better job of using the same set of components. There is a more affordable Tavascan Endurance 4 model which costs €44,365, but that doesn’t even get heated front seats.
It’s not that the Tavascan is a bad car. It’s actually fine, but it just seems to me that when you’re still building a new brand from the ground up, fine doesn’t really cut it.
Lowdown: Cupra Tavascan Endurance 6
Power: 210kW e-motor developing 286hp and 545Nm of torque, powering the rear wheels via a single-speed automatic transmission.
CO2 emissions (annual motor tax) 0g/km (€120).
Electric consumption: 16.0 kWh/100km (WLTP).
Electric range: 545km (WLTP)
0-100km/h: 6.8sec.
Price: €58,265 as tested (without January discount), Tavascan starts from €50,250.
Our rating: 3/5.
Verdict: A competent electric SUV, but the Tavascan lacks the sparkle needed to stand out.
