Cupra Born review - Practicality & boot space

Up front, the Cupra Born feels like a spacious car; the wheels have been pushed right out into the corners of the car, to maximise room in the cabin. The thick A-pillars and deep dashboard can make it difficult to see if anything’s coming when you’re exiting an awkward junction, however – a problem that also plagues the Volkswagen ID.3 on which the Born is based.

Forward visibility for rear-seat passengers is made worse by the bulky front seats and the fixed headrests, too. They look great, but aren’t as practical as the more slimline seats fitted in some rivals.

Cupra Born interior & storage space

Rear passenger space can feel cramped for taller passengers, which is exacerbated by the rear seat being slightly raised, although this does help with the view out for those in the back of the car. During a recent head-to-head we did, however, find the back seats in the Born a bit more spacious than those in the Kia EV3, despite the Kia’s more upright shape.

Also worth noting is that if you go for the Cupra Born with the biggest 77kWh battery pack, you miss out on a third seat in the rear. This is due to the placement of the battery and electric motor – we’d be sure you don’t need the extra room before signing on the dotted line.

Elsewhere, though, Cupra has been clever with interior storage. Rather than the free space between the dashboard and lower console that you get in the ID.3, the Cupra Born features a handy covered cubby – flanked by copper detailing. There’s extra storage under the centre armrest and the door bins and glovebox are both a generous size.

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Boot space

The boot is respectable at 385 litres, making it ever so slightly larger than you'll find in a Volkswagen Golf but not as large as the Polestar 2's 405-litre boot or the 445 litres you get in the Renault Megane E-Tech Electric. The Kia EV3 is even more practical in this respect, with both a 460-litre boot and a small ‘frunk’. The Tesla Model 3 has 425 litres of space when its 'frunk' is taken into account but its traditional boot opening isn't as accommodating as the Born's hatchback for bulky items like pushchairs and bicycles.

Handily, there’s not much of a load lip so hauling heavy shopping bags or bulky items into the boot shouldn’t be too much of a challenge. Besides a couple of small hooks, there aren’t too many clever features to keep your stuff from flying around the boot. A ski hatch makes it easy to load long items like skis and timber planks.