I was fascinated by all the improvements made by the Cupra brand over a VW ID.3 with Cupra Born when announced last year. Reviews from What Car and carwow seemed to confirm this belief.
Earlier this week, Bjorn Nyland performed his 1000km challenge with a Cupra Born 58 and remarked about the poor efficiency but consistent fast charging speed without coldgating.
This blog investigates the design decisions and potential inconsistency in Bjorn's testing that might have inadvertently contributed to this conclusion.
Weight & Dimension
As per the EV database, the weight of a VW ID.3 Pro (1812kg) and Cupra Born 58 (1811kg) is almost identical. While 61cm longer, Cupra Born is 28cm shorter than ID.3, offering a sportier look.
As per Bjorn, the resulting design change has increased the weight of the Cupra by 40kg.
| # | Car | Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cupra Born 58 | 1880 |
| 2 | VW ID.3 | 1840 |
As per the brochure, Cupra has used Aluminium for battery casing and body structure to reduce weight, which appears insufficient.
Weather & Tyre
We noticed that almost all tests performed by Bjorn with VW ID.3 were on summer conditions resulting in a lower Wh per km (higher efficiency).
When comparing the two models with the 19inch wheels, we found that Cupra Born had an efficiency drop of around 10%, explained with temperature difference alone.
At 167 Wh/km, Cupra Born even matches the efficiency provided by the EV database (166 Wh/km).
No coldgating
In Bjorn's tests, Cupra Born 58 consistently charged above 120 kW at cold weather conditions despite not scavenging heat to pre-condition the battery. This observation is inconsistent with the charge curve data from Fastned which indicates a max charge rate of 100 kW.
We believe this new behaviour is thanks to the software improvements announced in ID. Software 3.0 being already available in Cupra Born 58.
Conclusion
The design improvements, improved charge rates, without compromising efficiency make Cupra Born 58 a great car for your shortlist this year.
