Cupra Raval baby EV revealed in full: sporty Spanish supermini aiming to make a splash 

Cupra has developed a habit of keeping us waiting. The Born electric car took years to arrive after it was previewed by the el-Born concept, the Tavascan took its time, too. Now Cupra’s latest long gestation is over and it’s finally time to check out its new entry-level EV model, the Cupra Raval. 

While the Raval is the smallest car yet from Cupra, it’s expected to be one of its most important. It uses the latest platform technology from the VW Group and brings Cupra’s all-electric range into its most affordable price point to date. 

When it goes on sale from July 1 priced from under £23,000, the Raval will give Cupra a rival to the likes of the Renault 5, Vauxhall Corsa Electric and the new Kia EV2. There’s also competition from within the Volkswagen Group stable because Volkswagen is launching its new ID. Polo and Skoda is targeting the segment with the upcoming Epiq. Both of those cars use the same MEB Entry+ platform as the Raval. 

What range and charging speeds does the Cupra Raval get?

Unsurprisingly, given the shared architecture, the Cupra Raval will come with the same choice of battery options as its Skoda and Volkswagen siblings. There’s a base 37kWh battery with cheaper-to-produce LFP chemistry (Lithium Iron Phosphate) and  a higher-spec 52kWh NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) option. 

MEB Entry+ also presents a range of front-mounted electric motors, rather than the single-motor, rear-wheel drive or dual-motor, all-wheel drive configurations found on MEB-based cars like the Cupra Born and the newly updated Volkswagen ID.3 Neo.

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The smaller battery in the Raval is paired with a 114bhp electric motor in the entry ‘Core’ trim resulting in a range of around 186 miles. That’s a lower range than the base version of the Kia EV2 (194 miles), though it should be more than you get in the taller, crossover-shaped Skoda Epiq. The plusher V1 and V2 trims can be specified with the smaller battery alongside a more powerful 134bhp motor, though range is expected to be around the same. 

Those two trim levels can also be had with the 52kWh battery, upping range to around 279 miles and eclipsing the Renault 5’s 252-mile maximum range. The V1 and V2 come with a 209bhp electric motor when specified with the larger battery. 

Above this is the range-topping VZ. It comes exclusively with the large battery, but gains a 222bhp electric motor, which drops the range to around 248 miles. 

As for charging, the 52kWh battery can be boosted from 10% to 80% in 23 minutes using a 130kW DC fast charger, while the 37kWh battery covers the same increment in 27 minutes with a 90kW maximum charge rate. These figures are shared with the equivalent Volkswagen ID. Polo and Skoda Epiq.  

Is the Cupra Raval a sporty EV?

This might be Cupra’s baby EV, but performance is still a priority. Cupra says the Raval is “engineered to deliver a dynamic and emotional driving experience that differentiates it from other urban EVs”.

Unlike the ID. Polo, the Raval gets a ‘sport chassis’ which includes a 15mm lower ride height with tweaked suspension, a 10mm wider track and a bespoke steering tune to “enhance agility”. There’s even a unique ‘Sport’ mode for the traction control and a launch control system called E-Launch, which delivers a unique sequence of interior lighting, animations on the driver’s display and start-up sounds.

Cupra hasn’t revealed full performance figures for the Raval range, though it says the most powerful VZ model will be capable of the 0-62mph sprint in under seven seconds before topping out at 108mph. 

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Further upgrades for the VZ include an adaptive damping system called Dynamic Chassis Control with 15 levels of adjustment, 19-inch wheels with wider tyres, an electronic limited slip differential and revised steering components for great camber at the front to provide quicker responses in the bends. With greater cornering ability seemingly assured, Cupra also fits the VZ with some serious-looking bucket seats that have 3D-printed backs. 

What about the Cupra Raval’s design?

The final Raval production car retains a lot of the styling cues from the Cupra Urban Rebel concept. Pretty much every new Cupra that’s arrived recently has stuck close to the design of its concept car and this has generally been a very good thing. 

The Raval’s look is in keeping with the current generation of Cupra design typified by the three triangular headlights with Matrix LED technology from VW, Cupra’s ‘shark nose’ front end and razor-sharp body creases. There is some science behind the Raval’s style, however, because the flush-fitting door handles, active aero grille, aero-optimised wheels and various vents all help give the Raval the lowest drag coefficient of any Cupra to date. 

At the rear there’s a full-width rear light with an illuminated rear badge (which is paired with an illuminated badge on the front on some trim levels), plus a prominent diffuser and roof spoiler to ensure the Raval lives up visually to its sporty billing. 

What technology does the Cupra Raval get inside?

The interior of the Raval shares plenty of technology with its larger Cupra siblings and introduces some new features too. The 12.9-inch central touchscreen is taken from the Formentor and Born, while the 10.25-inch driver’s display is shared with plenty of models across the VW Group as well. The digital interface on the driver’s screen does, however, come with new graphics and customisation options, plus the Raval has a new Google Android-powered operating system with a simpler process for navigating the infotainment menus. 

We’ve seen on other recent VW Group products that the parent company is back-tracking from touch-sensitive controls inside its cars. While the decision was clearly made too late for the Raval’s climate and audio touch-sliders under its central screen, the car does at least come with physical controls on the steering wheel. 

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There’s plenty of distinctive design going on inside the Raval with intricate detailing on the dash and Cupra’s familiar copper-coloured trim accents, but the Raval also gets something never fitted to any production car - projector lights on the doors. These work alongside the interior ambient lighting by projecting light to illuminate the area around the armrest on the door. They’re ‘dynamic’ too so they can be configured to show different patterns and colours.

As for practicality, the location of the electric motor is under the bonnet instead of the boot floor. This means the Cupra Raval actually has more boot space than the Born, despite being 278mm shorter. The Raval’s boot, with the boot floor removed, stands at 430-litres, 45 litres more than the Born’s, though if you specify the 12-speaker Sennheiser sound system the subwoofer reduces boot space by around 20 litres. 

How much does the Cupra Raval cost?

Unlike some other Cupra models which weren’t available with the full suite of trim levels in the UK from launch (like the Formentor initially with its hot VZ5), every version of the Cupra Raval will be available here when orders open from 1 July. 

The Raval Core with the smallest battery and least powerful electric motor kicks things off at £22,785. That’s less than the cheapest Kia EV2 (£24,245), but more than the Renault 5 which starts from £21,495. 

With the same battery and slightly more powerful motor in V1 trim, the Raval costs £26,995 while V2 costs £29,580. The large battery models start at £29,995 in V1 guise, rising to £32,580 in V2. The VZ, with its more powerful motor and chassis tweaks, costs from £35,705 - almost as much as the newly facelifted Cupra Born, which can be had with an average saving of over £8,000 on the Auto Express Buy A Car service now. 

There will also be two special launch trims, the creatively named Launch Edition and the VZ Extreme. The £33,995 Launch Edition comes with extra autonomous safety kit, Dinamica bucket seats, an uprated sound system and the 209bhp electric motor setup. The £36,530 VZ Extreme comes with Cup bucket seats with 3D-knitted upholstery, 19-inch alloy wheels in Sulfur Green, performance tyres, a matte exterior paint finish and the most potent 222bhp electric motor. 

Cupra expects the Raval to qualify for the UK Government’s Electric Car Grant, specifically the £1,500 Band 2 grant. With that in place, the Raval would undercut the Renault 5 as well as the new Nissan Micra. 

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