Cupra Tavascan long-term test

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...

Updated22 September 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 2745 List price £53,845 Best price £39,350 Price as tested £56,175 Official range 339 miles Test range 285 miles Private price now £35,530 Dealer price now £38,500 Running costs (excluding depreciation) £218

22 September 2025 – Hop ’til it drops

“You’re hot then you’re cold, you’re yes then you’re no, you’re in then you’re out, you’re up then you’re down" – these lyrics from a Katy Perry song seem like a fitting way of summarising the time I’ve spent with my Cupra Tavascan over the past few months. In some ways, it has been just as good as other electric SUVs I’ve experienced. However, it has also been a real letdown in other areas.

While my Tavascan V2 was the less powerful of the two options available, it certainly wasn’t short on performance; in fact, it felt effortlessly quick. I never regretted going for this single-motor, rear-wheel-drive version rather than the more powerful four-wheel-drive option.

With its energy-harvesting regenerative braking system in its strongest setting, the Tavascan could be driven smoothly using just the accelerator pedal to control its speed much of the time. However, I’d have preferred a level strong enough to bring the car to a complete halt without pressing the brake pedal – because, frankly, the regular brakes felt spongy and inconsistent.

They were less contentious than the Tavascan’s ride, though – specifically, its poor body control. I sometimes felt like I was aboard a Spacehopper, continually being jostled around in my seat, even at very low speeds. This movement was less evident on the motorway, but at no point was the Tavascan as smooth or relaxing as the Renault Scenic I ran previously.

Nor was the Tavascan as good to drive along a twisty road as I’d hoped for; after all, Cupra is meant to be the ‘sporty’ brand of the VW Group. Although its steering was reasonably direct and well weighted, the car struggled to disguise its weight through corners and wanted to run wide of my chosen line, even at moderate speeds. Switching to the firmest Cupra mode – which could be done directly via one of two buttons on the steering wheel – made the Tavascan feel more agile, but it lacked the inherent poise of the Kia EV6 I ran in 2022.

An overly firm driver’s seat and higher-than-average levels of wind and road noise didn’t help long-distance comfort. That’s a shame, because the Tavascan’s range proved respectable, averaging a fairly consistent 265 miles over the warmest part of the year. That’s slightly down on what I was getting from my old EV6 and Scenic, but long enough not to cause any concern. The range indicator was always optimistic, though, showing as much as 352 miles with a fully replenished battery.

In terms of practicality, the Tavascan was much better than expected. Even with its sloping rear roofline and panoramic glass roof, there was still enough head room for lanky passengers in the rear seats, as well as a comfortable amount of leg and foot room. The surprisingly large boot, meanwhile, was tall enough to carry relatively bulky objects – well, a chunky e-bike in my case.

The boot could be made even taller by dropping the height-adjustable floor to its lower position, but I preferred to leave it elevated, because it almost eliminated the lip at the entrance and left a useful space below it for charging cables.

While the interior looked eye-catching, especially at night, it left something to be desired in terms of functionality. The steering wheel controls, for example, were confusing and felt unpleasant to use, and I kept turning up the audio volume by accident due to the poor location of that switch close to my left thumb. And the infotainment system – while quick to boot up and respond to presses of its large touchscreen – still behaved erratically now and then. I tended to override it by using Android Auto phone mirroring, especially for sat-nav purposes, although the wireless connection dropped out more often than I’d have liked and sometimes refused to reconnect without me stopping and doing it via my phone.

The car failed to start once, necessitating a callout by a Cupra technician who diagnosed (and fixed) a communication fault with the steering control module. What’s more, the central locking seemed to have a mind of its own as to when it would lock and unlock the doors. My main bugbear was that the doors often took two or three pulls of the handle to open from the inside.

Despite its attributes and generous equipment level, the Tavascan proved too vexatious to be a car I’d like to keep living with in the longer term. In the words of Ms Perry, “We fight, we break up”… but there won’t be any “We kiss, we make up” on this occasion.

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