2026 Cupra Raval: electric hatchback to offer 236-mile range

On sale 2026 Price from £25,000 (est)

The launch of the Amazon Kindle opened the world of convenient reading up to a much wider audience, thanks to its ability to squeeze a huge amount of books into one compact, portable package – and the Cupra Raval will aim to have a similar effect in the world of small electric cars.

Indeed, Cupra is taking its sporty reputation and wrapping it up in its smallest package yet with the upcoming entry-level Raval. It will be built alongside the similarly-sized Skoda Epiq and Volkswagen ID Polo, and will share the same VW Group MEB underpinnings as those two forthcoming cars. That means it should come with two battery options: a 38kWh unit and a 56kWh unit. However, the Raval will sit lower than both of those cars, and it'll get specially-tuned suspension for a more sporty feel.

Few other technical details have been revealed. However, when the Raval was previewed in UrbanRebel concept form in 2023, it had a claimed electric range of 273 miles in its most efficient form, which should be quite an accurate figure considering the ID Polo will officially manage up to 280 miles from its larger battery. That’s similar to the larger MG4, which can officially cover 279 miles in Long Range guise.

Power will come from a front-mounted motor which will pump out 223bhp in its most potent form, allowing the Raval to sprint from 0-62mph in 6.9sec – punchier than most versions of the MG4 and top-spec versions of the BYD Dolphin. The smaller battery version of the VW ID Polo should pump out 180bhp, so we can expect similar figures for the regular Raval.

Like the larger Cupra Born, the Raval will get a hot VZ variant to top the range, offering the maximum 223bhp output. It'll get 19in wheels, bucket seats and sports suspension.

While the Raval has only been revealed in camouflaged and concept form, we can see that it'll look broadly similar to what was previewed with the UrbanRebel concept. In keeping with Cupra’s sporty branding, the Raval will get aggressive chunky styling, with sharp lines, sleek triangular headlights and a prominent front ‘grille’. The original concept sported some racy looks, including an aggressive rear spoiler and lowered front end, but the Raval has been drastically toned down for its upcoming debut to help it blend in slightly better on the road.

Inside, the concept car had a floating centre console, a wide central infotainment touchscreen angled towards the driver, and video game console-style controls on the steering wheel. While all of those features may not make it onto the production model, the Epiq and ID Polo are set to receive plenty of physical controls, so we can expect they’ll make it onto the Raval, too.

The Cupra Raval is set to be fully unveiled next year, and it'll likely go on sale in the following months. Prices aren’t yet revealed, but we’d expect them to start higher than those of the Epiq and ID Polo, given Cupra’s more premium positioning. That means the Raval could start at around £25,000, which is slightly less than an MG4 and significantly cheaper than a Peugeot e-208.

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