Cupra Raval EV REVEALED as a challenger for the Renault 5 | Cars UK

The Cupra Raval is revealed as Cupra’s smallest EV, with a choice of four trim levels, four powertrains and two battery packs. Costs from £23,785.

The Cupra Raval EV, Cupra’s new entry-level EV, has beaten its small EV siblings to be the first of a new wave of small EVs from the VW Group to be revealed. And it’s aimed straight at the Renault 5 and, in VZ guise, the Alpine A29o too.

Underpinned by the VW Group’s MEB Plus Platform, which it shares with the upcoming ID. Polo and Skoda Epiq, it’s slightly bigger than the R5 and ‘Sportieer’ too, with lower ride height and wider track than its siblings.

Cupra is aiming for a wide demographic with a quartet of trim and powertrain options – and a couple of battery options too – with the entry-level core trim getting a small 37kWh battery powering a 114bhp motor at the front, promising range of 185 miles and charging speeds of 90kW.

V1 and V2 trims get a more powerful 133bhp motor or 208bhp powered by a 52kWh battery that can be charged at up to 130kW, and the range-topping Raval VZ gets 222bhp and range of 250 miles, and is good for 0-62mph in 7.0 seconds. The VZ also gets sportier front suspension, DCC and Sport dampers.

There are elements of the Urban Rebel Concept from 2022 in its design, with its ‘shark nose’ and coupe roofline – minus the daft ‘motorsport’ bits and 429bhp.

Inside, the Raval gets much the same 12.9″ infotainment as the Born – including Air Con screen slider, sadly – but with some actual buttons on the steering wheel, with VZ models gaining Cupra’s Cup seats in ‘3D Knit’.

Marcus Gossen, managing director of SEAT and CUPRA UK, said: 

Raval is the pinnacle of all things CUPRA – advanced, forward thinking, dynamic. It pushes the boundaries in automotive and encourgages drivers to form a real emotional connection to the drive itself. The combination of striking design, electrifying performance and unconventional features, reimagines what an urban EV can be for a new generation of drivers. This is a fully electric car designed to redefine urban mobility with CUPRA’s emotional and challenger DNA.

The Cupra Raval will go on sale in the summer, with prices starting at £23,785.