Cupra Tavascan VZ Review: Spanish Passion

What we like:

Fabulous behind the wheel

Distinct looks

High quality and well-designed interior

What we dislike:

Braking power is lacking

The Tavascan is Cupra’s second electric vehicle, the first being the Born. Cupra sees more widespread appeal for the Tavascan, due to its more practical and popular SUV coupe shape.

I reckon it’s more of a looker too, with a resolved design language that’s bound to get stares and second takes. Just like the Italians, the Spanish know how to pen down something emotive.

Lighting plays a big part in the design, with front and back illuminated Cupra logos, front matrix LED headlights with a ‘three-triangle’ eye signature. When the sun goes down, the Tavascan looks even more distinctive.

Despite the ‘coupe’ tagline, the Tavascan doesn’t compromise on interior room at all. Its C-pillar stretches far into the tail end of the car, hardly causing any incursion into the rear headroom. As you would expect for an EV, there’s a flat floor at the rear.

The dashboard architecture is even more notable. Almost feeling ‘animalistic’, the central spine is both artfully executed and functional, offering storage space underneath. It forms the centrepiece of the dashboard, which also looks incredible when illuminated by the multifaceted ambient lighting at night. It isn’t merely a single colour; there’s a medley of colours that blend together to create a surreal effect. The lighting also illuminates from behind the textured doors, too.

The materials used, as well as the colourways employed, are truly bold and nothing like we’ve seen from the Volkswagen Group before. There’s suede, leather but also waterproof like textures that are soft to the touch. Cupra even paid attention to the floor mats, which are made from regenerated nylon. Further, the VZ is well-equipped too, with a Sennheiser sound system, all of the safety systems you require and a snappy and well-designed infotainment system. There aren’t massage and ventilated seats here, but it’s not that sort of car. The Tavascan VZ feels absolutely worth its asking price.

As we alluded to in our first drive review, the Tavascan VZ is one of the rare EVs that we genuinely look forward to finding a good road to drive it on. Our longer test drive here confirmed our initial impressions - the Tavascan VZ is true joy for the driver. Despite the MEB receiving less than stellar reviews, the Tavascan VZ has really exploited every last potential of this platform. Its damping is top class, offering adjustability via a wide spread of comfort and sport with DCC Sport. Steering feel is meaty and the power delivery is almost ICE-like in nature - progressive and not just a sledgehammer of torque.

The only fly in the ointment is the braking feel, which can catch you off guard with its weak stopping power when you need it the most. It’s an odd misstep in an otherwise excellent overall driving experience.

Cupra should be proud of itself for producing something that I daresay tops the chart among the MEB cars for driver engagement. It is perhaps a hint that the legacy car manufacturers are now chipping away successfully at the formula for overcoming the onslaught of Chinese EV brands. They’re focusing on what’s not so easily replicated, and that’s creating a genuinely original and beautiful interior as well as great driving dynamics honed from decades of experience. Let the Tavascan VZ be the first of many to come.

Photos by James Wong

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