2023 Cupra Born Owner Review2023 Cupra Born E-Boost owner review

Have you experienced any reliability issues with your vehicle since you purchased it?

No.

Have you had to make any warranty claims?

No.

Has your vehicle been serviced at least once since you took ownership?

Yes. Taking the car to the authorised Brisbane Cupra service centre, I asked that any software updates be performed. Even with this direct request, nothing was done. Knowing it can take several days for this work, I even volunteered to leave the car for as long as they needed to perform the work.

Overall, are you satisfied with your ownership experience so far?

No. Cupra and VW Australia have seemingly committed to doing the bare minimum to support the MQB platform in Australia. Many owners were told prior to purchase that some form of connectivity would be coming in the future, and software updates to enable V2G would also happen.

The first hasn't happened, and the second has been sporadic, with some owners getting software upgrades and V2G, some getting software upgrades but no V2G, and others getting none.

It is a shame because the car is lovely to drive, has a decent range, but is missing what some would consider to be essential EV features, like scheduled charging.

Jason’s experience with the 2023 Cupra Born E-Boost

There were always weird decisions made by Cupra when bringing the Born to Australia, no connected services and going from five seats to four – if you wanted to add some of the options, the packs are two good examples.

It is a shame because the Born is a nice drive, it's a good size and has great range from the 77kwh battery, even with the recommendation that it is only charged to 80 per cent for day-to-day use.

Many reviewers like to bemoan the touch sliders for the temperature control and volume, but even without them being backlit, it only takes a few weeks with the car to know where they are without looking.

The lack of wireless CarPlay/Android Auto is an embuggerance and is connected to the lack of what is meant to be a very good lane centring system, which is available in other markets.

The wireless charge pad may be the worst to ever be fitted to a car, requiring pinpoint placement of the device (or a 3D-printed guide) and does a better job warming the phone than it does of actually charging it.

Living with the car day to day is easy, it is comfortable, zippy without ludicrous acceleration.

Decently quiet inside and feels pretty solidly built. From the outside, it doesn't look super futuristic or electric, so it blends in quite nicely.

With a lot of highway driving, I have averaged just over 15kW/100km over 12,000km.

Would I recommend it? With the caveats above, and the less-than-stellar support from VW Australia to EVs generally, and the Born specifically, I'd probably take a look at something from brands that are taking EVs more seriously if looking for an electric car.

MORE: Explore the Cupra Born showroom