Cupra Born facelift brings more buttons and range boost

The Cupra Born has been overhauled, gaining a sharp new look, more physical buttons and extra range.

The updated styling brings the electric hatchback into line with the Leon, Formentor and Tavascan, with polygonal headlight graphics and a shark-nosed fascia, plus a rear light bar.

It will be available with a refreshed range of 19in and 20in alloy wheels shod with 235mm-wide tyres, up from the previous 215mm – a move claimed to improve its handling.

Inside, it gets a new steering wheel that replaces the maligned haptic controls with traditional buttons, while the digital instrument panel has been upsized from 5.3in to 10.25in. The 12.9in infotainment touchscreen with touch-sensitive 'slider' climate controls remains, however.

Cupra claims the updated interior also brings an improvement in perceived quality. For example, it gets new doorcards lined in suede, while the tops of the front doors are now finished with soft-touch plastics. Rear passengers also get an air vent in the back of the centre console. 

The new Born will also allow owners to do away with their keys, with a new ‘digital key’ app allowing access from a smartphone.

The Born’s powertrain options have also been tweaked.

The entry-level model retains its 58kWh (total) battery but its rear-mounted motor has been downrated from 201bhp to 187bhp. The trade-off for reduced output is an improved range up from 264 miles to 280 miles – although this could change once the car undergoes official WLTP tests. Its peak charging rate has also been raised from 120kW to 135kW.

The long-range powertrain is identical to before, with a 79kWh pack and a 228bhp motor, but its range has been improved from 346 miles to 372 miles. Its maximum charging rate is up by 50kW to 185kW. 

The range-topping Born VZ hot hatch employs the same 79kWh battery, matching the regular long-range Born for range and charging capacity, but gets a 322bhp motor. 

Both versions with the 79kWh pack now get a one-pedal drive mode (cranking up the strength of the off-throttle regenerative braking effect such that the brake pedal is effectively unneeded at slow speeds) and a launch control function.

Pricing has yet to be confirmed but is expected to rise slightly compared with the existing Born. That starts from £35,690, rising to £36,995 for the long-range version and £44,820 for the VZ.