Testing the Tavascan – Cupra’s sporty new EV
The Tavascan VZ is Cupra’s stylish new SUV coupe. The VZ is short for 'Veloz,' which means 'fast' in Spanish. Does it live up to its name? And is it worth its hefty price tag? We put the flagship EV through its paces.
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00:00A few years ago the Cupra brand emerged from the ashes of the seemingly dying Seat brand
00:13and it aimed to be hip, new, cool, fresh, challenging and many more.
00:19This is the newest addition to the brand lineup and at the same time the new flagship model,
00:24the Tavascan and today we will check out whether it can live up to that brand claim.
00:29Welcome to RAV.
00:31The Tavascan is based on the same modular electric car platform as VW's ID.4 and 5,
00:37the Audi Q4 e-tron and the Skoda Enyaq.
00:42The Tavascan is available with two different drivetrains.
00:47The base version is a 210 kW electric motor at the rear and the version we're testing
00:55right now is the VZ.
00:58And additionally to the 210 kW engine at the rear, it has an 80 kW engine at the front
01:06giving it a total system output of 250 kW and an acceleration from 0 to 100 km an hour
01:14in 5.5 seconds.
01:21No matter the version you get, both feature a 77 kWh battery.
01:28The less powerful version will then have a range of more than 560 km while the VZ has
01:39a range of a little more than 520 km.
01:48Of course, those are official numbers.
01:52I guess, from what I have seen during our test drive, that you can achieve a little
01:58more than 400 km in everyday use which is already quite good because usually you don't
02:05drive more than 350 km in one sitting and then you would want to take a break anyway
02:11and then you can also charge the car.
02:20And talking about charging the car, it can charge with up to 185 kW so it will take a
02:25little less than 30 minutes to go from 10 to 80%.
02:31Even though the technology inside comes from VW, the design of the body couldn't be more
02:36different and that's a good thing.
02:38The Tavascan's striking, sporty look makes it much more appealing than a base model VW.
02:48The interior of the Tavascan is just as sporty as the exterior.
02:52I mean, look at this.
02:55Which type of car does that remind you of?
02:58To me, it reminds me somewhat of Lamborghini cars which then have, of course, a lot of
03:04buttons in here.
03:06I don't know why Cupra chose to keep that lever that is VW technology.
03:14If they had put it right here in some other sort of finish, I think that would have been
03:20even cooler.
03:28It has this sort of snake scale look which is quite cool.
03:33Then you have, of course, the typical Cupra copper accents in the car and the steering
03:38wheel is always a real beauty, especially with those buttons right here which you will
03:44usually find in sports cars like Audi's R8.
03:49Here you can change the drive profile on the left side or on the right side you can instantly
03:54switch to the Cupra drive mode and back to the drive mode you were originally in.
03:59Behind the steering wheel you will find a little display that will give you all relevant
04:10information, so speed, speed limit, battery percentage and also range.
04:15And then in the middle you have this huge infotainment touchscreen display which will
04:21have everything you need, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, navigation, radio, media and so on
04:27and so on.
04:29The only thing I don't like about it is that the climate control is also touch operated,
04:35so right down here you have sliders where you can adjust the temperature, but if you
04:39want to adjust, for example, the fan setting, then you have to use the touchscreen to do
04:45that.
04:51All in all a very nice interior.
04:54The only thing I wonder about, since this part only features the button for the emergency
05:00light, it is a little bit in the way.
05:04Below that you will find a wireless charging spot as well as two USB-C sockets and a little
05:10bit of storage space.
05:12Talking about storage space, right down here you have a quite big compartment that can
05:18fit one and a half liter bottles, so there is more than enough space for everyday use.
05:30The space in the back is quite good.
05:34What you would expect from a car that is rather big.
05:38You have leg room, despite the fact that the seat is still back, because when you get out
05:44of the car, the seat will roll back a little bit automatically to make it easier for you
05:50to get in and out.
05:52So if I would be sitting right there, the seat would be a little more to the front and
05:56I would have even more leg room.
05:58The headroom is absolutely okay, despite the panoramic glass roof that is closed right
06:04now because of the sun.
06:06And the general impression back here is really good.
06:10You have two USB-C slots to charge smartphones, nothing very special.
06:15The only thing I would have wished for is maybe cup holders in the doors, but that's
06:20about it.
06:21The rest is really good.
06:23The EV is 4.64 meters long and 1.86 meters wide and its trunk boasts at least 540 liters
06:31of cargo space.
06:39The general driving impression with the new Tavascan is really good.
06:44The car is very comfortable, very silent on the interior.
06:49It has an adaptive suspension as standard, so it will adjust to your driving style.
06:57You drive slowly, it will be more comfortable.
06:59You drive a little sportier, the car will be sportier as well.
07:03And of course you can expect a car to be quite good in terms of driving comfort when
07:10it has a starting price of more than 56,000 euros in Germany.
07:21But even though the VZ is way sportier than the base version, it doesn't change anything
07:30for the top speed.
07:32Cars are capped at 180 kilometers an hour, just as most other fully electric SUV coupes
07:41on the market are.
07:43One notable exception is Tesla's Model Y, which can top 210 kilometers an hour.
07:49But does that mar Emanuele's overall impression?
07:53To sum up my Tavascan experience, I really like driving the car and it is a real beauty
07:59both inside and outside.
08:01It has some clever ideas, so it should not be a problem to attract young customers or
08:06customers young at heart.
08:09But one thing is also clear, 56,000 euros of entry-level price is by no means cheap
08:15and time will have to tell whether people are willing to pay that.
08:20The Tavascan is a very striking SUV coupe with enough power and a decent range for everyday
08:26use.
08:28Minor flaws are the missing cup holders in the rear doors, the top speed of 180 kilometers
08:34an hour and its rather hefty entry-level price.
08:37Though to be fair, other cars in this segment cost roughly the same or even more.