CUPRA Tavascan 2024: the Spanish brand keeps going with this new sporty electric SUV

CUPRA turns five at a magnificent moment. And it does so in the best possible way: by presenting new products, such as the CUPRA Tavascan, its first coupé-style SUV that is 100 percent electric; and by breaking sales records, having surpassed 300,000 units sold since 2018, with more than 46,500 vehicles sold in the first quarter of this year.

For the CUPRA Tavascan, the second electric model from the brand after the CUPRA Born, we will have to wait until early 2024. A sporty SUV that already has more than one rival to face, such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the Skoda Enyaq Coupé iV, the Volkswagen ID.5 GTX, and the Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback, if we focus on electric SUVs with coupé-style bodywork. Compared with all of them, as is customary for the brand, the model designed and developed in Barcelona, which will be manufactured at the Group Volkswagen plant in Anhui (China), offers an exterior and interior look with a great deal of personality and style, and promises driving as exciting as its design.

The design of the CUPRA Tavascan

Based on the Group Volkswagen MEB platform used by some of the electric SUVs already mentioned, the CUPRA Tavascan is the realization of the prototype of the same name, presented in 2019. It measures 4.64 meters in length, 1.86 meters in width and 1.60 meters in height, and has a wheelbase of 2.77 meters. And almost three years after the concept car’s debut, the Tavascan still attracts attention with a design that feels even “fresher” than that of some of its rivals that have recently entered the market.

Undoubtedly, its bodywork clearly identifies it as a model with sporting ambitions. I particularly like details such as the light signature with three triangles in the front light units, with Matrix LED technology. I would also highlight the illuminated logo, the wedge shape given by the waistline, or the black front pillars. This last solution aims to create an effect as if the windscreen and windows formed the visor of a helmet, and it is very well achieved. The aerodynamically designed alloy wheels can be 19, 20 or 21 inches. The welcome lights project the CUPRA logo onto the ground, and the colour range includes a matte finish -in this case bronze-, much appreciated by the brand’s customers.

Inside, the CUPRA Tavascan once again delivers a lesson in originality and bold, eye-catching design, with a structural element the brand calls the “Backbone”, on which the dashboard is built, and which extends both towards the door panels and the central console. At the centre of this structure rises a large 15-inch screen for the multimedia system, the largest the brand has used so far. Bucket-type sport seats come as standard -later on, even sportier ones called CUPBucket will be available- and various bronze-finished elements on the door mouldings and the dashboard add a splash of colour with striking contrast.

As exclusive equipment, the Tavascan can be fitted with a audio system developed by Sennheiser with 12 speakers. It is also possible to order the Head-up Display system, which projects information onto the windscreen with augmented reality. The boot capacity is 540 litres; for reference, the CUPRA Formentor, slightly shorter (measuring 4.45 meters), has a 450-litre boot in its petrol or diesel versions, and drops to 340 litres in the e-HYBRID plug-in hybrid variants.

CUPRA Tavascan Endurance and VZ: up to 340 CV and all-wheel drive

There will be two versions of the CUPRA Tavascan, called Endurance and VZ. The Endurance is the entry variant, with a 210 kW (286 CV) rear motor and a 77 kWh net capacity battery, which is expected to allow a WLTP range of 550 km to be homologated.

With the same battery, but with two motors -the 286 CV rear motor is joined by a front one with 109 CV- and a total system output of 250 kW (340 CV), the Tavascan VZ accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.6 seconds, and its range is estimated at around 520 km. The paddles on the steering wheel allow you to choose between four different levels of energy recuperation, while the drive mode selector offers up to six programmes: Range (for maximum range), Comfort, Performance, CUPRA, Individual and, in the case of the VZ, an additional Traction mode.

As with other electric models in the VW Group, the maximum DC charging power is 135 kW. It is not a high figure compared with what models using 800-volt technology such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 or the Kia EV6 offer. But it is enough for the Tavascan to regain 100 km of range in less than 10 minutes, or to charge from 10% to 80% capacity in about half an hour.

CUPRA Tavascan – Image gallery

Technical specifications of this car

CrossoverCUPRA Tavascan6 versions · from 49,420 €