Remember when I shared the five things I like about our new Cupra Born? I love the car; it’s a great experience driving it. But there are of course also some points that I don’t like.
The video story (if you prefer to read the story, please continue below the video):
Here are my three things:
1. Electric consumption. You probably won’t believe it 😊, but so far, I could not reach the consumption listed in the car brochure. It says electric consumption is between 15,3 and 17,3 kWh/100km per WLTP standard test. Still, our average consumption is about 20 kWh/100km, where I would assess that our driving profile so far was close to the testing conditions. I would say about 70% in the city and 30% on highways. The temperature was most of the time 10-15 degrees centigrade. So according to my experience, the consumption tests for electric cars are not much more comparable to real life than the ones for internal combustion engine vehicles. Thank god, of course, that electricity costs are much lower than the fuel costs.
2. Button-free controls – instead of physical buttons (slikica), most commands are steered via a touch
screen. Looks impressive, but are touch-sensitive icons indeed user-friendly? Not sure, at least not always. I still prefer an old-fashioned button for setting the radio volume. But I am maybe a dinosaur? When I get in the car, it feels good to be welcomed, but why do I have to confirm with a button to enter the main screen? Besides that – the touch controls on the steering wheel are strange; I am never sure whether I pressed them correctly or not.
Window controls on the driver’s door – you have to press a button to change between controlling the front and rear windows instead of just having four switches like we are used to in almost all cars. What’s the point? It’s only confusing. It reminds me of innovative solutions that Citroën incorporated into their 70s & early 80s models GSA and Visa, replacing standard turn signal switches with buttons. But that was Citroën; searching for innovative solutions has always been a part of their DNA. Cupra belongs to the VW group – to me, VW is a synonym for a simple and efficient cockpit – therefore, why fix something that works and is not broken?
These were the three things I was not too fond of about Cupra Born. I’ll keep sharing more about my Cupra experience in the upcoming posts. Are you curious to learn more? Stay tuned!