What is Cupra? Everything you need to know about the Spanish brand Challenger

Cupra arrives in Australia.

What is Cupra?

Cupra is the sizzling, sporty Spanish cousin you never knew Volkswagen had and a brand that makes an impression with a sexy lineup of performance-focused cars. 

Who owns Cupra?

Volkswagen group. It is the largest automotive conglomerate in the world, with disparate companies such as VW and Bentley, Skoda and Lamborghini and, of course, Audi, all of which have been in the Australian market for some time. Cupra, however, is the newest member of the family to hit our shores.

Who makes Cupra cars?

Cupra itself is an offshoot of the Spanish car manufacturer SEAT (which is also owned by the Volkswagen Group) and was previously known as the alliteration-friendly SEAT Sport when "Cupra" was just a functional trim offered on SEAT vehicles. 

The Cupra range coming next year includes two midsize SUVs (Cupra Ateca and Cupra Formentor), a hot hatchback (very sexy Cupra Leon) and the brand's first all-electric car Cupra Born (an EV hatch will arrive in Australia either at the end of 2022). or early 2023, the rest of the range will be available in Australia from mid-2022). 

The Formentor (which looks a bit like a cheese machine or a gin still) and Leon are made at SEAT's Martorell plant in Catalonia, Spain, the Ateca is made at SEAT's Kvasiny plant in the Czech Republic, and the Born is made at Volkswagen's Zwickau-Mosel plant in Germany. Thus, the brand is no longer a purely Spanish product.

cupra price

Pricing for the Australian range has yet to be confirmed, but the Leon is expected to start at just over $40,000 and the Formentor plug-in hybrid up to around $64,000. 

Where can I buy a Cupra car? 

Like Tesla, the Cupra cars will be available for purchase online through an agency model and will likely be sold at a fixed price. However, there will be a limited number of physical showrooms and showrooms for those looking to have a first date with their car before taking it home. 

Are other Cupra models available? 

In overseas markets, Cupra offers a station wagon variant of the Leon called the Sportstourer, and other Cupra electric vehicles are also available, including the Cupra Tavascan and Cupra Urban Rebel. 

Cupra cars arrive in Australia

All models are covered by a five-year unlimited mileage warranty and are serviced through select Volkswagen dealerships.

Kupra Born

Based on the Volkswagen ID.3, which is very popular in Europe but unfortunately not yet available in Australia, the Born is the very first Cupra EV, a five-seat hatchback that looks set to compete with the Nissan Leaf e+ and Hyundai Ioniq Electric. . finally arrives here. 

However, the Born will look and handle sportier than the ID.3, with 58kWh (just over 400km) or 77kWh (just over 500km) battery packs. An optional e-boost package is available for the former, which boosts rear engine power to 170kW, 20kW more than the ID.3, which has a Born 100sec 6.6-6.3km/h (for comparison, Hot- the VW Golf GTI hatch does the same in XNUMX seconds).

In keeping with the eco-friendly theme, the standard seats in the Born are covered in Seaqual (material made from recycled plastic from the sea, not the movie title Aquaman 2). 

Cupra Formentor

This mid-size crossover will be offered in three versions with the same 2.0-liter turbo petrol engine (140, 180 and 228 kW) as well as a 1.4-liter turbocharged hybrid petrol engine with 180 kW.

All-wheel drive is available for the 140kW and 228kW petrol versions, with the latter producing 400Nm of torque, allowing the Formentor to sprint to 100km/h from standstill in 4.9 seconds – not bad for a less aerodynamic SUV body. 

Formentor is the top selling brand overseas, where it accounts for two-thirds of all Cupra sales. A limited edition version of the VZ5 is also available in Europe, powered by a 2.5kW 287-liter five-cylinder engine. / 480 Nm (VZ5 will not be available in Australia as it is left hand drive only).

Cupra Leon

The Leon hatchback is largely similar to the twin VW Golf and comes with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine in three variants (140kW/320Nm, 180kW/370Nm and 221kW/400Nm). 

There is a plug-in hybrid version - the first PHEV produced by Volkswagen Group Australia - with a 110kW/250Nm 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine and a 12.8kWh lithium-ion battery that delivers around 55km of all-electric driving range.

All Leon variants feature front-wheel drive and a dual-clutch automatic transmission, and are all seven-speed except for the six-speed PHEV. 

Kupra Ateka

This mid-size 221WD Cupra SUV is powered by a 400-litre 2.0kW/XNUMXNm turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a dual-clutch automatic transmission. 

The Ateca is the twin of the Skoda Karoq and can hit 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds.