Cupra Tavascan: 4 key things to know before our road test

Between the sensible Volkswagen ID.4 and Skoda Enyaq, the Cupra Tavascan arrives with an "alien" silhouette and a pledge of no-holds-barred sportiness. Styling, performance, drawbacks: here are 4 key points to have in mind before our road test.

Within the Volkswagen Group’s compact electric SUVs, it can feel like the overlooked option. The Cupra Tavascan has to carve out a place between the Volkswagen ID.4, Skoda Enyaq and Audi Q4 e-tron. Making that harder, each of those close relatives already has a clearly defined personality. So the Cupra Tavascan adopts the one angle the others haven’t really pursued: sportiness. Here are four things to know before our test of the new Cupra Tavascan.

An "alien" look that breaks Volkswagen Group conventions

Volkswagen, Skoda and Audi tend to lean heavily into restraint. Cupra uses that as an opening to give the Tavascan a more playful identity… at least visually. The surfacing is far more elaborate, featuring a gaping grille dominated by a predatory, pressed-down nose. The bodywork has been sculpted at length, which amplifies the athletic stance from the bonnet to the flanks and right through to the rear.

The tail is especially steeply raked, finishing with a full-width light bar that incorporates an illuminated Cupra badge. The raised, triangular light signatures have clearly been treated as a design focal point as well. Inside, the cabin aims to be just as demonstrative as the exterior, and noticeably more expressive than its smaller cousins. Curved lines paired with scale-like materials give the interior an almost "alien" feel.

Ergonomics: the "insane" choice that could split drivers

There’s no need to be unkind here. Still, it’s hard to overlook how far behind the Cupra Tavascan is on the infotainment front. The display is large (15 inches), which can be flattering when it’s switched off. Once you’re actually using it, though, it becomes clear it isn’t the same as the screen fitted to the facelifted Skoda Enyaq. You lose day-to-day ease of use-particularly with fewer shortcuts than in the Czech model, even though the underlying interfaces are otherwise the same.

On the ergonomics side, the Tavascan also tucks more functions away into the touchscreen, including the heated steering wheel control. The steering wheel’s touch-sensitive buttons are also awkward to operate, much like in Volkswagen models. To make matters worse, Cupra has decided to keep only two switches for the four electric windows. A touch-sensitive "Rear" button is used to toggle to the back windows. Insane.

Performance: the Cupra Tavascan favours feel over miles

On the road, the visual promise is partly delivered. Our 340 hp VZ version claims strong performance. In real-world driving, it does feel genuinely lively. We’ll share more detail in our full road test. The suspension is also firmer than in the Skoda Enyaq we drove immediately beforehand, which is a plus. The trade-off is that long-distance journeys are likely to be a little more demanding.

That’s because the Cupra Tavascan caps its battery at 77 kWh, versus 79 kWh for the Skoda Enyaq. On paper the gap looks small-except the Spanish model also uses more energy. In the end, the Tavascan VZ is rated for 521 km of range, compared with 567 km for the Enyaq. On top of that, the Tavascan’s peak DC charging power tops out at 135 kW, whereas the Enyaq can reach 185 kW.

Pricing: the Tavascan up against the Tesla wall and the Chinese push

As well as being less of an all-rounder than the Skoda Enyaq, the Cupra Tavascan also costs more. The VZ trim already starts at 64 480 €, while the VZ Extreme takes it further to 71 330 €! That’s substantially higher than the equivalent Enyaq Coupé RS, which begins at 57 640 €. A sharper design may sway some buyers, but otherwise it’s much of a muchness. And when you look outside the group, the comparison gets tougher still.

At Tesla, for instance, the Model Y Performance at 61 990 € offers vastly more for less money. On the Chinese side, the entry price is lower too with the Xpeng G6 Performance (50 990 €) and BYD Sealion 7 Excellence (56 490 €)-and their offerings are far from cut-price. So what, exactly, is left for the Cupra Tavascan? Will our road test deliver a pleasant surprise?

We’ll see you this Sunday at 11am to discover our full verdict on the new all-electric Cupra Tavascan!