We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Car website. However, if you would like to, you can change your cookies at any time
The start point for the best source of fleet information |
|
|
||||||||||||
I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed my time with our long-term Cupra Born.
To be clear though, the main reasons my experiences of the Born differed so much from Editor Collins' largely positive findings can be laid squarely at the door of the UK's wholly inadequate EV charging network.
Unlike Martyn, who has a home charger, I don't have easy access to a charge point and because my schedule is somewhat disparate I often found myself parking up and walking the last half-mile of my journey home, not forgetting to retrace my steps after dinner in order to avoid a £10 penalty for over-staying my welcome. If that wasn't painful enough, the sheer amount of time I spent planning trips around charge point locations, which may or may not work, and often compelled me to join a frustrated queue of kindred EV owners waiting to use them. Well, you get the picture.
Viewed in isolation the Born is a spacious, powerful, easy-to-drive and refined set of wheels, driven by an electric motor which is velvety smooth and library quiet, unless it is harvesting kinetic energy in its most aggressive braking mode. Consequently, with the exception of some intrusive tyre howl when transitioning from one grade
of surface to another, the Born slips through the air with minimal disturbance and is therefore a very pleasant place to while away the miles.
Although the ride is on the taut side - necessitated by the need to control the substantial battery mass - it's far from crashy or uncomfortable and the way the tight suspension controls body movements even when tackling large speed bumps is especially impressive.
The instantaneous power delivery and single-speed drive ensure it's also a very easy car to drive in traffic and with plenty of oomph in reserve it will zip up slip roads and merge into fast-moving traffic with consummate ease.
Although I'm not a big fan of the styling, especially the visibility-challenging double A-pillar aspects and the interior quality is nothing to write home about, the seats are particularly supportive, and everything feels robustly constructed. With bags of interior space and a capacious boot, the Born is also more than spacious enough to cope with most growing family's needs.
The less said about the vagaries of the infotainment touch screen the better, suffice to say its hit-and-miss functionality and labyrinth of hidden menus are at best a conundrum and at worst downright frustrating.
Of course, any frustration experienced by the sketchiness of any infotainment interaction pales into insignificance compared to the havoc caused by a typical British winter. Driving in chilly conditions I was lucky to get around half the official EV range, so with this in mind, I came up with a few efficiency measures, some not necessarily recommended by official sources. These involved driving the single-speed automatic Born as if it had a manual gearbox, flipping the selector into neutral at the merest whiff of a downhill gradient, prudently slipping it back into drive as the road levelled and wrist-flicking it into the heaviest regen mode when approaching a red light or braking for a tight bend.
Using the heater sparingly also helped eke out additional miles and I rarely let the battery range fall below 20% or charge it beyond 80%, as I found this the best way of juggling the time spent hanging around in chilly car parks versus a usable range. I say usable, because once the mercury nipped into single figures an 80 to 20% charge would return an effective range of about 100 miles, always providing I didn't go crazy with the fast pedal.
As for all that unbridled power and instantaneous acceleration mentioned earlier, in truth, I can't remember many instances when I used anything resembling speedy acceleration or drove anywhere over 60mph for fear of prematurely depleting the range. In short, for all the driving pleasure I derived from the Born I may as well have been piloting a Zanussi, an Indesit or any other white good you care to think of.
If there was a silver lining to time spent with the Born, it was the kindred spirits I met waiting for a recharge. Although many informed me they based their EV decision primarily on BIK business rationale, just as many said they did so for environmental reasons. Even so, when a confessed EV zealot told me how his wife had become stranded after not being able to find a working charger and rang him in floods of tears, even he was compelled to question the merits of EV ownership.
Last month I moaned for England about the parlous state of the UK's EV charging network. I have to say my subsequent experiences haven't improved my mood much as the Born's range continues to be stymied by the chilly conditions and many of the chargepoints I have visited simply do not work. As for ringing the helplines of the companies responsible for maintaining these chargers, well, I may as well have tried contacting the spirit world. Hello, is anyone there? That'll be no, then.
To be fair, many chargers do work seamlessly, some even accepting a credit card swipe rather than requiring me to download yet another data-harvesting, ad-targeting, app.
Even so, it still amazes me how much the price of electricity varies from site to site and it seems to bear no relationship to the speed of charge, either. While I typically pay 79p per kilowatt to use a rapid 50Kw CCS charger, I've also come across sites that charge as little as 35p for the same levels of boost.
As I find it the most efficient time and charge combo - I could spend half my life charging from flat to 100% - I tend not to allow the battery to fall below 20% and I also never boost it beyond 80%. That way I can usually unplug and be on my way in around 45 mins. Trouble is, when the ambient temperature falls, this practice reduces my effective range to about 100 or so miles.
As for the Born itself, let's just say it's not best suited to wintry road conditions. Although the cabin heater is not particularly powerful, because it doesn't have to wait for an engine to deliver warmth it does at least deliver its warmth almost immediately. I could source additional comfort via the heated steering wheel and heated seats, but my range paranoia has become so intense, I hesitate to use them, preferring a flat cap and string back driving gloves.
Maybe it's because the weather has been so iffy or perhaps it is a biproduct of its wind tunnel-derived physique, I'm not entirely sure which, but I have noticed the Born tends to collect an inordinate amount of dirt around its rear end. Consequently, it does not take many miles before the number plate is obscured by grime and a wiper-sized half-moon view appears on the rear screen.
While we're on the subject of the Born's looks, does anyone else think it bears more than a passing resemblance to an early 2010's MPV? Possibly it's the dramatically sloping windscreen and the expansive dashboard that puts me in mind of this much-maligned genre but what really confirms it for me are the double A-pillar struts, which do their utmost to obscure frontal side vision and compel me to shuffle about like a nodding dog whenever I try to pull out of T-junctions or attempt to nip onto a busy roundabout.
On the plus side, the Born's MPV-like cabin space has proved extremely useful, and with the rear seats folded, I managed to haul a redundant under-counter fridge and freezer to the dump in just one hit.
As Editor Collins has pointed out, the Born's touchscreen is pretty slow-witted and extremely complicated to navigate but my biggest issue with it is its tendency to drop you right in it on a regular basis. For instance, completely out of the blue, it will announce basic features such as the radio are not available while the flimsy grasp of the USC port, which connects my phone cable to the AppleCarplay function will schizophrenically lose then establish contact like a Belisha beacon. What really did my head in recently though, was when I pressed the screen icon to enable a text message to be read out by the synthetically generated voice only to have the whole screen collapse into a black abyss. Maybe it was a colleague of mine texting about issues he's been having with his Born's infotainment system.
7th Report: Charging frustrations
I have to admit, when editor Martyn Collins suggested I take over the running of Business Car's long-term Cupra Born my heart sank like a stone.
Not that I've got anything against electric cars, having run a second-generation Nissan Leaf for six months, which all things considered, turned out to be a pretty positive experience.
As well as being cock-a-hoop about the running cost savings, made all the more impressive by the cheap rate overnight economy 7 electricity meter fitted at my home, I also had a convenient location to plug the Leaf in each night, therefore ensuring I always had a full charge to start the next day's undertakings.
What's more, running the Leaf coincided with a balmy Hampshire summer, so most of the time I was able to achieve a healthy percentage of the official claimed range.
Contrast this with my current circumstances, which sees me living in a third floor flat in London with no charging point in the near vicinity and running the Cupra Born in the midst of winter, and I fear we could be looking at a very different story.
Things certainly haven't got off to the most auspicious start. Pitching up to a -2°C Hertfordshire winter wonderland, I was grateful to learn Ed Collins had fully charged the Born overnight. So, imagine my chagrin when instead of seeing something close to the official 260 miles fully charged potential, I was reliably informed by the range display that 164 miles would be closer the mark.
A quick glance at my Waze navigation app suggested I should still be able to make my South coast appointment but having intimate knowledge of just how devastating motorway cruising speeds can be to battery range I set off with a tentative right foot and an almost maniacal focus on the range meter.
Completing most of the journey sitting behind trucks and sharing the battered inside lane with a convoy of economy-minded souls, my pussy-footed approach saw me arrive at my destination some three hours after setting off and with 40 miles battery power to spare. Not great, when Waze had calculated it should have taken me 2 hours 16 mins. And this is the conundrum I face. With just 58kw of energy to play with do I accept the fact that I if I embark on a lengthy journey I will probably have to stop and spend an hour or so recharging, or do I drive like a monk and eek out every last mile. Well, if my initial experience of the UK's charging network is anything to go by, then it's a monastic lifestyle for me.
Having researched nearby charging points via Zap-Maps app, the next day I set off to reinvigorate the Born before continuing my journey back to London. Unfortunately, the first charge location I came across could only supply an emergency trickle charge and although the second charge point seemed more encouraging, proudly boasting a QR code would be 'coming soon' and I could still access its 50kw CCS power socket by manually imputing the charger's reference number, the app sternly refused to recognise the number.
By this point the only thing sustaining me against the car park chill factor was my burning rage. Summoning up calming thoughts, I set off again, finally pulling into a swanky hotel with less than ten miles range left in reserve, I called upon the third app of the day. Somewhat predictably, it too was incapable of recoginising the reference number, so I was relieved to discover it would gladly take my debit card. A couple of cappuccinos and an hour later a Tesla owner and I simultaneously returned to our respective charges, and I was elated to discover I'd gained 100-mile range for the paltry sum of £29.97p.
Still, I couldn't grumble, as at least I had the means to get home, unlike my Tesla chum who's charging point adjacent to mine had inexplicably refused to play ball, condemning him to yet at another vat of frothy chino.
Next month I'll hopefully write something about the Born's strengths and weaknesses rather than the wild west nature of the UK's charging network. Hopefully.
6th Report: The little things...
By Martyn Collins
In the seven months I've been lucky enough to run our Born long-termer, I've seen two season changes, but one thing that hasn't changed and I've been moaning about since taking delivery of KY22RYB in May, is the disappointing infotainment system.
I would best describe it as slow and clunky, plus I think the maps are hard to read. The standard head-up display means I only look at it for changing radio station, inputting destinations, or more often now as it gets colder - raising or lowering the interior temperature or turning on the heated seats. But as a rule, I try to have as little to do with the Cupra's touchscreen as possible.
However, one morning while stuck in traffic and adjusting the temperature, I noticed that on top of the toasty heated seats, our V3 specification car also includes a welcome heated steering wheel. At first, like the massaging seats, I thought it might be a bit of a gimmick. However, along with the heated seats, I've found it has made cold morning school drop-offs more pleasant - making me feel cosy before the heating fully kicks in.
My point here is, that if I hadn't been put off using the multiple screens of the infotainment system, I might have known about the heated steering wheel earlier!
Using these features is surely impacting the Born's range I hear you say? Well, sadly just before finding the heated steering wheel, temperatures dropped below 10C - and suddenly 220 mile charges became 188 mile charges - even dropping as low as 168 miles on one charge - which is disappointing but seems in line with what others are getting from their 58kWh Borns. So, I've resorted to turning off the air-conditioning to eke out useful extra miles. If it drops any more, I shall have to take another look at the way I drive it!
Another neat feature that has become more useful over the course of the last month, is the fact that the rear parking camera has its own washer to get it clean. The last two-months have been almost non-stop rain, it seems. With plenty of time on the road and no time to wash the Cupra, it has got dirtier and dirtier - particularly at the back. With this feature, when I flick on the rear wash wipe, not only does the rear window get cleaned - but the camera as well.
While the outside might be getting dirtier, I'm pleased to say the interior is standing up well against the British winter. I must admit that I was a bit worried how the suede-like Granite Grey Dinamica trim would stand up to children and mud. The fact there's more legroom than most similarly sized cars, means my children's feet spend more time on the floor mats - rather than the back of the front bucket seats. However, after a recent walk and despite being careful, some mud ended up on the back seat's grey fabric. I can report, a quick spray with some upholstery cleaner and a wipe with a cloth had It quickly looking like new.
This is no electric Golf GTi, as it has been reported in other media, but in my opinion it's one of the most fun to drive and stylish smaller EVs on-sale and is thoroughly deserving of all the awards it has received so far.
By Martyn Collins
There is no doubt that the Born is closely related to the Volkswagen ID.3, but although I've occasionaly parked next to them I hadn't paid that much attention, until I had the chance to drive the Volkswagen again this month.
Outside, when you're looking at the ID.3, the link is clear in the basic hatchback shape. The Volkswagen is still attractive, but the Cupra's own frontal styling, side skirts and rear diffuser give the Born welcome missing aggression. The Life Pro Performance trim I drove is the only ID.3 currently available and doesn't have the same attraction with its raised ride height and more modest 18in wheels. Wheel trims on a car costing almost £37,000 is unforgivable in my opinion - especially when the Born in the same 58kWh form is only a bit more expensive.
Inside, this ID.3 felt noticeably more solid than the early car I drove in 2020. The interior design is modern and attractive but look closer and there's none of the Born's surprise and delight. The plastics feel hard and scratchy, and there's none of the Cupra's metal trim and copper highlights.
I do like the ID.3's central cup holders, which aren't covered with a fiddly lid. While the ID.3 shares the same flawed operating system for the infotainment and sat-nav, the Volkswagen has better maps and an easier to read typeface. Finally, the ID.3's piano black gear selector feels so much nicer to the touch than the Cupra's same item in matt plastic.
On the road, although the Volkswagen shares the same 58kWh battery, the drive, as you'd expect, is very different. The ID.3 has a softer feel to the ride, which equals a more comfortable drive. However, I still feel the Cupra has a decent ride/handling balance and is the one I prefer. So, it's still a big thumbs up from me for our Best Electric Car Under £40,000.
Elsewhere this month, I've managed to pile another 850 miles under our Born's wheels, with a couple of long trips to work out what I like and dislike about Cupra.
The longest was a 250-mile roundtrip to Wiltshire, where apart from the adaptive cruise control's confusion by trucks in other lanes of the motorway and the sat-nav's route indecision if you stay on the inside lane of interchanges. All was generally well, despite biblically wet driving conditions on the M4.
Another unexpected issue that doesn't just affect the Born, but other EVs, is with the cab-forward design and the need for thick windscreen pillars and quarterlights at the front. I was at a junction waiting to go straight ahead and a car coming to my right was lost in the piercing sun and thick windscreen pillars. I carried on, not seeing the car - but when I did, the ABS brakes did their thing and averted what could have been a nasty accident. Since then, I have been more careful at junctions.
The likes do still outweigh the dislikes, although the Born is best fun to drive off motorways. The front sports seat continue to be both comfortable, supportive and the massage and heating functions are being used more often as the weather gets colder.
By Martyn Collins
This last month I've made up for the Born's lack of mileage by covering over 900 miles in not one, but two Cupra Born models.
First up, our 58kWh car has covered 550 miles, mostly due to airport and launch trips. Longest was a 142-mile round trip to Hythe in Folkstone, to pick up another test car for a trip to France via the Channel Tunnel. Cupra claim a 260-mile range for our smaller 53kWh V3 version, although I've never seen that figure. 220 miles is more realistic - even as Autumn sets in.
I left later than I'd planned, but the M25 was pleasingly quiet, so I set the adaptive cruise control to 70mph and hoped my maths was correct so I wouldn't have to recharge. The trip itself was pleasingly undemanding, although the 50mph stretch on the M20 was tedious and road noise more obvious from the standard 20in alloy wheels fitted to our V3. However, this was easy to drown out by using the radio or media via my phone.
Anyway, I arrived in Hythe with over 65% battery left and a range of 110-miles - so plenty of charge for the trip home, I thought. It also turns out that Hythe has decent public charging infrastructure - if I'd needed it.
The trip home, as expected, was equally undemanding, which I was happy about after a long day of driving in France. The low battery light coming on as it dropped just below 20% charge, as I exited the A10. In fact, I got back with 18% and 34-miles of range and put the Cupra on charge before I went to bed.
Another bonus, that I found the following morning, was that one of the launch support team had taken the time to carefully wash the Cupra while I'd been away. Thus, returning the Aurora Blue to its shiny best.
Just a week later, I had another trip lined up, this time a 430-mile round trip to Richmond in Yorkshire. I would have happily taken our 58kWh car, stopping along the route for a charge. However, conveniently this trip coincided with the loan of the bigger 77kWh version of the Born - in matching V3 trim.
Fully charged, the range was showing almost 300-miles and adaptive cruise control was again going to be my friend for the tour of the A1. In general, it works very well - slowing down and speeding up, with the front sensor knowing where the rest of the traffic is. Although I found it sometimes got confused by trucks in other lanes of the motorway - slowing the Born down unnecessarily. The head-up display means you don't have to take your eyes off the road and the standard full-LED headlights are impressively bright.
As predicted, I arrived with just over 20% battery left and 60-miles range. The return trip was perhaps hillier as I got home with 15% and 34-miles range. More on the 77kWh Born in a future review, but it's not difficult to see why the 58kWh car was a winner at this year's Business Car Awards.
By Martyn Collins
After a period of inactivity thanks to a family holiday, the Born was back out on work driving duties at the end of last month, when it took me to Bicester Heritage for the launch of the new MG4 hatch.
I've had the Cupra since May, yet thanks to this summer's drought conditions, my trip to Bicester was the first I've undertaken in the rain. In fact, I'd go as far as to say it was torrential. Anyway, I'm pleased to say the Cupra laughed off all the heavy water, feeling secure and comfortable - despite high levels of standing water. In fact, the last bit of the route took me down some twisty back roads, where the Born demonstrated what an effective cross-country tool it could be, with decent acceleration, taught handling and high levels of grip - I was having fun.
As an aside, I've had some back issues recently, and of all the cars driven in the last month, it's the Cupra I've felt most comfortable in, with its high-backed, supportive sports seats. And after wondering if the massaging feature was a gimmick for the past three-months, I've found it very useful as a pain reliever.
But back to the MG4 - check out the review for my full thoughts - but it's amazing value for money and an impressive EV. So much so, that MG has benchmarked this car against the Volkswagen ID.3 hatch - but how does it fare against the Cupra Born?
Let's start with the exterior styling. As I've said before, the Cupra might be a sportier take on the ID.3, but it's a convincing and attractive makeover. The MG4 on the other hand is something different, more angular in fact. Spend more time with the MG, and I'm sure you'll spot many European influences in the new MG family look. It's no beauty, but you'll not miss it like you might other MG EV models.
Inside is where the Cupra is miles ahead, however. All the copper and 3D metal finishes, plus the suede trim for the previously mentioned sports seat make the Born feel even more premium than the ID.3 on which its based. The MG feels stark and dark by comparison, although perhaps it's the job of the incoming range-topping, four-wheel drive version, with its claimed 3.9 second 0-60 acceleration time to offer a spicier interior? It is not that the MG feels badly made, it's just the plastics and trim seem like the area where they've saved the most money.
Then there are the infotainment systems to consider, although the Cupra's slow system has hard to read graphics, it's still a much easier system to operate and feels higher quality compared to the MG's.
On the road, the Cupra has impressed so far with its well-judged ride and handling balance. It has just over 200hp, but the composure and comfort have surprised, along with the decent handling. The MG I would say sits in the middle ground between the Cupra and the Volkswagen EV hatches. The MG4 handles well, with precise steering, and the ride on the small 17in rims is more compliant than the 20s on our Born, but it doesn't have the overall polish of the Born.
So, do I think Cupra should be worried by the new MG? Not now, but perhaps they should pay attention to the incoming higher performance models.
Although I do believe Volkswagen should be worried, as the MG4 does a lot better than the ID.3 - and with more enthusiasm.
By Martyn Collins
Okay I admit it, the mileage on my Cupra is down this month, but that's mainly because of a family holiday. However, just before my kids broke up for the summer break, it was also a bit of a milestone for my son. It was his last couple of weeks before starting secondary school in September. One of his last junior school events, was a leavers party where he and the other members of his class could let their hair down.
I was originally planning to take him in my two-seater MINI, but with my wife and daughter wanting to join in the fun - more seats were going to be needed. Instead, the Cupra Born was pushed into service. However, after a busy past month, the beautiful Aurora Blue paint of the Born was covered by a thick layer of dust. Not good enough for chauffeuring duties, so after work, I managed to solve this by giving the Cupra a wash to return the shine to the Born's bodywork.
Maybe it was the colour, maybe it was because the Born is still a relatively rare site on UK roads, but even alongside some other modern cars, the Cupra attracted a lot of attention and interest - I was asked lots of questions about it. What a shame, with the lack of rain that as I type this, the Born is as dusty again. Plus, with incoming hosepipe bans it's likely to stay that way, sadly.
Despite my lack of miles in the Born this month, it hasn't stopped me making further observations about this Cupra. Firstly, let's talk about the looks. Yes, the basic shape is similar to the Volkswagen ID.3, but since my last report I've had the chance to park next to the Volkswagen and compare.
The first thing to report is that the front and rear styling of the Born are significantly different. The shark-like nose is much lower than the ID's for starters - so there are in fact some significant panel changes over the Volkswagen. The same is true of the back, with the ID.3 having small rear light clusters rather than the Born's full rear light bar. These, along with a curvier tailgate and chunkier bumper, give the Cupra a distinctively different look. Although we wish the Cupra indicators in the rear light clusters strobed like the ID.3's.
More time behind the wheel of the Cupra has crystallised how I feel about the way the Born drives, too. One of the most common questions I've been asked is whether the Born is an electric hot hatch. Its 201hp certainly feels fast enough (although it doesn't feel as quick as my old iX3), and the 6.7 sec 0-62 figure is more than adequate. Then there's the lowered and stiffer suspension, plus rear wheel drive. It's still early days, but despite steering that could do with more feel, the Cupra is the first EV since the Mazda MX-30, which I ran last year, with handling that is adjustable via the throttle. Cupra has just introduced the more potent 227hp e-boost versions and I'm planning to book one in to see how it compares with this car.
Inside, the supportive sports seats remain a highlight. I'm sure the seat heaters will be welcome as we head into Autumn. I should also be able to answer whether the massaging feature is more than a gimmick.
Range-wise, we haven't managed to improve on the 235 miles from the last report, but with over 1,600 miles covered now, the car feels like its loosening up nicely, so I'm hoping for more.
With all this positivity, I could almost gloss over the Born's faults, which mainly still centre around the slow touch screen, and its difficult-to-read graphics. However, it's not just the Cupra that's afflicted with this problem - as all the latest Skoda and Seat and Volkswagen models fitted with this system are similarly affected. However, there's much more to like than dislike.
By Martyn Collins
One car that really stood out among those I drove last year was the Cupra Formentor. On top of its unusual crossover styling, the interior quality felt more Audi than Seat and the sense of style really appealed. So, when Cupra asked if we'd like to run their first EV on our long-term fleet, we quickly accepted and luckily, having to return the iX3 to BMW, it would be me running it.
One month in and almost 1,000 miles under the wheels of our Born and it's time to tell you my likes and dislikes of the new Cupra.
Firstly, there's the Born's exterior styling. Yes, the links with Volkswagen's ID.3 are obvious, but the Cupra certainly has its own attractive and sporty sense of style, with the more aggressive shark-like nose, LED lights and the copper-tipped front airdam. At the side, I like the turbine-look of the standard 20in 'Hurricane' alloys and the unusual aerodynamic fin to the rear of the side skirt. At the back, the concave styling really appeals, together with the large rear roof spoiler and chunky diffuser.
Then there is our choice of colour and what a colour it is. Called Aurora Blue, our Born is finished in the same colour as in all the adverts and promotional material. It is also the only option on this car, and at £840 it might not be as popular as the white and other metallic red, grey and silver options offered. This is a shame as I think it looks stunning and works well with the copper and grey body highlights.
Inside, like the outside, the Born is based again on the ID.3. However, like my Formentor observation about its interior, with its Cupra interior's liberal use of man-made suede trim and copper highlights, the Born feels much more special and sportier inside than the Volkswagen.
Another of the Born's sporty features, which I particularly like, are the one-piece sports seats, which on top of being super supportive and heated, have a massaging feature. At the moment, I haven't quite worked out if this is a benefit, or if it's a bit of a gimmick - hopefully a few more long drives should answer that. My wife and children certainly seem to appreciate the back massage the passenger seat gives.
So far, I haven't managed to match the claimed 260 miles WLTP range; instead 235 seems more the norm. We hope this will improve over the course of the loan, as this is considerably down over the outgoing BMW. On the road, the Born's more direct steering and lowered suspension help it feel more engaging and fun than the Volkswagen, yet the ride still remains impressively comfortable and composed. Think more sophisticated than sporty.
However, it is not all good news with the Born. My biggest issue with this car is the infotainment - perhaps I've been spoilt with the BMW? However, I can't help feeling that although it's better than I remember in the original ID.3 I drove coming up to two-years ago, it should be better in a car which is now costing nearly £40,000. My biggest problem with the 12in touchscreen is how slow it is to operate any of the functions - particularly first thing in the morning.
The graphics and maps are not as easy to read either and then there's ventilation controls. These are also held in the screen and are not, in my opinion, particularly intuitive to operate.
Having a conventional gear stick for gear selection has been a pleasure over the past five-months, so selecting gears by twisting the side of the small instrument panel is feeling quite alien now, but I am sure it's something I will get used during the time I have this car.
When on the move, I sometimes find the brakes hard to modulate, plus I wish the 'B' drive mode gave more regen - allowing one pedal driving.
Our V3 is the top-of-the-range, but keyless unlocking and locking and a power-operated boot for convenience would be really appreciated on the equipment list.
Overall, I'm already enjoying my time with the Born and am looking forward to unearthing more of its talents over the coming months.
By Martyn Collins
BusinessCar magazine ©2019
Business Car Magazine © 2020 | Business Car is part of NS Media Group.
