New Cupra Tavascan vs new Ford Capri vs new Kia EV6

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New Cupra Tavascan vs new Ford Capri vs new Kia EV6

With long ranges and the promise of great practicality and low running costs, any of these new electric SUVs could be ideal family transport. Let’s see which is the best all-rounder...

Cupra Tavascan vs Ford Capri vs Kia EV6 fronts

Lawrence Cheung

Published26 April 2025

The contenders

NEW Cupra Tavascan V1

List price £47,340
Target Price £47,340

Cupra hopes its first electric SUV will follow the success of the Born hatchback, with its promise of driver appeal and generous standard equipment

NEW Ford Capri RWD Extended Range Select

List price £48,075
Target Price £45,795

Reinvented as a family-friendly electric SUV, the new Capri is related to the Tavascan under the skin but has an even longer official range: a hefty 389 miles

NEW Kia EV6 RWD GT-Line

List price £48,575
Target Price £46,305

This former What Car? Car of the Year is spacious, good to drive and fast to charge. A recent update (including a larger battery for a longer range) should make it even harder to beat

Depending on where you are in life, you might be going through a rebellious phase or a nostalgic one. The new Cupra Tavascan electric SUV is here to appeal to the former, with angular bodywork and a curvy, coupé-like roofline to help you stand out from the crowd of boxier regular SUVs.

Meanwhile, the new Ford Capri is intended to bring a similar level of excitement, with the help of an iconic name to drum up some nostalgia. Like the Tavascan, it straddles the line between a coupé and an SUV, and both come from brands known for making cars that are good to drive.

While they’re likely to appeal to slightly different crowds, they actually use the same underpinnings (also shared with the Audi Q4 e-tron, Volkswagen ID 4 and others), due to a co-operative deal between Ford and the VW Group, of which Cupra is part. In RWD Extended Range guise and entry-level Select trim (as tested), the Capri has a longer official range, though: an impressive 389 miles, compared with 353 miles for the Tavascan V1 with the same battery.

Both cars will have their work cut out against our third contender: the Kia EV6. This former favourite of ours in the electric SUV class has just been updated with tweaked styling, a bigger battery (for a competitive official range of 361 miles) and retuned suspension in a bid to improve ride comfort. But are these changes enough to put the EV6 back on top in the face of these all-new rivals?

Driving

Performance, ride, handling, refinement

Although the Tavascan and Capri have identical power outputs (282bhp), the latter is the lighter by around 80kg, and this probably explains why it can accelerate a bit quicker. In our tests, the Capri posted a brisk 0-60mph time of 5.8sec, compared with 6.1sec for the Tavascan. But in reality, the margin is so fine that you’d be unlikely to notice.

Although the EV6 has less power (225bhp) and requires 7.1sec to reach 60mph from a standstill, it’s far from slow; it just delivers its power more gradually and lacks the initial urgency of its rivals. When they’re rolling along, though, all three have plenty of punch for getting up to motorway speeds or overtaking slower cars.

While the EV6 has a firm edge to its ride, it rounds off bumps in such a controlled manner that it feels the most composed and comfortable. The even firmer Capri is far more unsettled, with occupants’ heads being tossed from side to side continually along uneven roads. The Tavascan is somewhere in the middle, being comfier than the Capri overall, although it transmits larger thwacks into the car when dealing with big bumps and potholes.

The EV6 is the most capable along a twisty road, inspiring confidence with its tight body control and well-weighted, accurate steering. True, the Tavascan’s sharp steering response helps it to feel slightly more alert when turning in to corners, especially at low speeds, but it doesn’t feel as well balanced as the EV6. While the Capri has the most outright cornering grip (thanks to its wide tyres) and handles tidily, its light steering fails to build up weight as you turn the steering wheel and doesn’t provide much of a sense of connection to the front wheels. This detracts from driver confidence on faster roads.

Regenerative braking is standard on all of these cars to recover energy when you lift off the accelerator pedal, while actively helping to slow the car down. You can increase the strength of this by moving the drive selector into ‘B’ mode in the Tavascan and Capri, but the Tavascan and EV6 allow you to further adjust the braking effect with paddles behind the steering wheel. Only the EV6 has a ‘one pedal’ mode that’s strong enough to bring the car to a stop without you having to press the brake pedal. Its braking effect also builds up more predictably than the Tavascan’s, which sometimes pauses slightly before activating.

When you need to use the regular brakes as well, the Tavascan’s lack immediate bite and then become grabby, making it the trickiest of the trio to bring to a smooth stop. The Capri has a firmer pedal and sheds speed in a more linear way, but the EV6 does the best job of blending the regenerative and friction brakes to give crisp response and smooth, strong stopping power.

The EV6 is also the quietest cruiser, with modest levels of wind and road noise at 70mph. The Capri generates slightly more road noise but is still a reasonably peaceful motorway companion. Despite being fitted with laminated front side windows in an effort to reduce noise levels, the Tavascan is noticeably less refined; the slightly higher levels of wind and road noise are acceptable, but the biggest issue is suspension noise.

As we said earlier, the Tavascan and Capri use the same 77kWh (usable capacity) battery, but the latter is more efficient, averaging 3.8 miles per kilowatt hour (kWh) in cold conditions. This means it can theoretically cover up to 293 miles between charges in real-world use. That’s usefully farther than the Tavascan’s real-world range of 270 miles (with efficiency of 3.5 miles/kWh).

While the EV6 is the least efficient (3.4 miles/kWh), having the largest battery (with an estimated usable capacity of 80kWh) means it can still theoretically travel for up to 272 miles following a full charge.

Behind the wheel

Driving position, visibility, build quality

With electric seat adjustment fitted as standard, finding an ideal driving position in the Capri and EV6 is extremely easy. Adjusting the Tavascan’s seat manually is hardly a chore, though, and while it’s alone here in missing out on adjustable lumbar support, the seatback is still supportive enough on long journeys. The front seats in the Tavascan and EV6 also provide plenty of side bolstering to hold you in place when cornering, but the EV6’s are best overall, thanks to a firmer seat base that provides better support for your thighs.

None of these SUVs places you all that high off the ground, but the EV6’s seating position is slightly more elevated than the others. The Tavascan and EV6 have sloping bonnets that allow a better view of the road ahead than the Capri’s bluff front end, although judging where the front corners are is easier in the latter.

The Tavascan also has slim windscreen pillars that help in providing the clearest view at junctions. The EV6 has chunkier front pillars that can partially obscure your view, while the Capri’s more upright pillars do likewise to a lesser degree.

All three contenders have thick rear pillars that limit the view over your shoulder, while the absence of rear window wipers can compromise your view out the back. The Tavascan’s narrow rear screen means it has the most restricted view of what’s behind you, while the EV6’s taller screen provides the clearest. At least all three contenders come with front and rear parking sensors and rear-view cameras to help out during low-speed manoeuvres.

The 5.3in digital instrument panels fitted to the Tavascan and Capri can be almost completely obscured if you have the steering wheel set low – something made worse by the flat top of the Capri’s wheel. The screen itself doesn’t offer much configurability and feels like a budget offering compared with the 12.3in screen in the EV6 – which is much easier to read and less affected by the steering wheel position, although some drivers might still find that the top corners can be obscured.

Further examples of the EV6 having the most user-friendly interior can be found elsewhere, including physical buttons on the steering wheel that are far easier to use than the fiddly and imprecise touch-sensitive controls fitted to the Tavascan and Capri.

The EV6 also has a separate panel for the climate controls, with physical dials for adjusting the temperature, whereas all of the air-con controls are integrated into the infotainment touchscreens in the others. At least the touchpads in the Tavascan’s are closely positioned by the steering wheel for convenience, but you have to look down and take your eyes off the road the longest to find and use the icons on the bottom of the Capri’s upright touchscreen.

There are more upmarket interiors in the class, but the Tavascan and EV6 stand above the Capri when it comes to the range and quality of the materials used. The Tavascan puts the most effort into its design, accompanied by bronze detailing and plenty of ambient lighting to make it feel the most special. This is backed up by soft materials and textured plastics that feel more robust than the Capri’s. It’s just a shame that the ‘spine’ centrepiece structure that swoops down from the dash between the front seats looks and feels a bit on the cheap side.

The EV6 swaps design flair for functionality, but there are plenty of rubberised surfaces and everything feels well screwed together. While some of the Capri’s interior is covered in soft, leather-like materials, it’s all too easy to find scratchy, cheaper-feeling plastics on the top of the dashboard and lower centre console.

Infotainment systems

Cupra Tavascan

At 15.0in, the Tavascan’s touchscreen is the largest here and has sharp graphics. Most of the icons are helpfully big and easy to aim for while driving, and the screen is quick to respond to inputs. The menu layout isn’t the easiest to navigate, though, with even basic functions buried in sub-menus. Thankfully, you can save up to three of your most commonly used functions as shortcuts on the top right corner of the screen to lessen the inconvenience.

Ford Capri

The Capri’s 14.6in, portrait-orientated touchscreen has the biggest wow factor of the trio. It, too, has sharp graphics and responds quickly, and the large icons are reasonably easy to hit accurately while driving. The menus are more logical than the Tavascan’s, but you have to take your eyes a long way off the road to see some of the climate and sat-nav controls, which are located at the bottom of the screen. These can be fiddly to use and tricky to read on the move.

Kia EV6

The 12.3in touchscreen in the EV6 looks small in comparison with the others, but it’s clear and responds quickly enough. Relatively small icons can be tricky to aim for when driving, and the text could be larger, but at least the menus are logical and easy to navigate. Having the climate controls on a separate panel (with easy-to-use physical knobs for the temperature) means making adjustments on the move is less distracting than in the others.

Space and practicality

Front space, rear space, seating flexibility, boot

Our measurements show that the EV6 is a few centimetres shy of the Tavascan and Capri when it comes to front head and leg room, but there’s still plenty of space for a pair of six-footers in all of our contenders. Besides, the EV6’s slightly more elevated seating position means you don’t need to sit quite as far back to comfortably reach the pedals.

Apart from disappointingly small gloveboxes in the Tavascan and Capri, there are plenty of storage cubbies in all of our contenders.

Thanks to wide-opening doors, getting into the back of the EV6 is easiest, and it’s the most generous in terms of leg room, with enough space to really stretch out. Rear head room isn’t as impressive, but there’s just about enough clearance above 6ft-tall occupants.

Meanwhile, the Tavascan and Capri still have a good amount of rear leg room, but the former edges ahead with a bit more space for tucking your feet under the front seats, plus a little more head room. The Capri’s sloping roofline means anyone nearing six feet tall will find the back of their head resting on the rooflining. True, it’s nowhere near as bad as sitting in the back of an original Capri coupé, but the new one is the least comfortable on longer journeys.

Thankfully, all of our contenders have flat floors in the back, but the EV6’s extra leg room and lower middle seat make it comfier for a third rear passenger. The EV6 is also the only one with reclining rear seatbacks to boost comfort.

The Tavascan is the only one of our trio to come with an electric tailgate, but each of them can easily swallow enough luggage for a family run to the airport. The EV6’s shallower load area is the main reason why we could fit only seven carry-on suitcases below the parcel shelf, compared with nine each in the Tavascan and Capri. The Capri’s extra width means there’s a little more space left over for a small bag or coat.

The EV6 has the largest underfloor storage area, although you can create one of a similar size by setting the Capri’s standard height-adjustable boot floor in its highest position; the others miss out on this feature. Otherwise, as in the Tavascan, the Capri has a small well that’s large enough for charging cables, which you could store up front in the EV6, because it has the added bonus of a small storage area under the bonnet.

Folding the rear seatbacks down is easiest in the EV6, thanks to remote release levers in the boot that are absent in the Tavascan and Capri. All three contenders have seatbacks that split 60/40, but the EV6 and Capri come with ski hatches that allow you to thread long items through from the boot, between two rear passengers.