Cupra Tavascan long-term test: report 2

The Tavascan is Cupra's first electric SUV, with slightly sportier pretensions than many of its rivals. But will it be satisfying to live with? We're running one to find out...

Published06 June 2025

The car Cupra Tavascan 77kWh V2 Run by Allan Muir, managing editor

Why we’re running it To find out whether Cupra's electric SUV can combine sportiness and practicality in a more convincing way than the Ford and Volkswagen models that share its underpinnings

Needs to Be better to drive than the average electric SUV, as well as being practical and having a long enough real-world range to dismiss any concerns about charging

Mileage 644 List price £53,845 Target Price £51,557 Price as tested £56,175 Test range 255 miles Official range 339 miles

22 May 2025 – A little help from a... technician

One Saturday morning – three weeks after I’d taken delivery of my new Cupra Tavascan – I had an appointment to take a motorbike out for a test ride, with a view to finding a replacement for one that was stolen late last year. But, having loaded my riding gear into my car (which was parked outside my house), I discovered that it wouldn’t start. All of the electrics appeared to be working, but nothing happened when I turned the gear selector.

After relocking and unlocking the doors a few times and sheepishly wondering what I might be doing wrong, I realised that I’d have to cancel my appointment and call the Cupra roadside assistance helpline. I was given two options for on-the-spot aid: an AA patrol, or, if I was willing to wait an extra hour or so, a dedicated Cupra technician. Given that I was at home and not in urgent need of help, I chose the latter.

Having confirmed that I wasn’t going mad and the car really wouldn’t start, the technician went to work with a laptop. He spent quite some time tracing the problem – a communication fault involving the steering control unit, as it turned out – and carrying out software updates to get everything working properly again. My Saturday was a bit of a write-off, but the car (touch wood) has been behaving itself since the fault was rectified.

Another, more minor issue that I noted about my car when it first arrived was that it had a series of streaks running down the windscreen. They were most obvious when driving directly into the low morning or late afternoon sun, with visibility being further hampered by obvious reflections from the dashboard. I couldn’t tell whether the marks were on the inside or outside of the windscreen, but they were annoying me, so I went to work to clean both sides.

It took me three attempts, using a variety of cloths and cleaning products, before the surprisingly stubborn stripes finally faded. I suspect they might have been residue from some other cleaning agent that was used when the car was being prepared for delivery.

I was also reminded that cleaning the inside of a modern car’s windscreen can be a pain; I kept bumping my elbow on the Tavascan’s prominent infotainment screen. And the windscreen still isn’t as clean as I’d like.

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