What's the difference?
Electric cars. Australia now has quite a few, and to add more confusion to the mix, there are a litany of all-new brands releasing models into this new frontier of the automotive landscape.
Most new electric cars are in Australia’s favourite buying category, the SUV, but there’s also a ute, some odd sedan-y things, and, of course, a handful of hatchbacks.
Hailing from Spain, the Cupra Born sets itself apart from the rest for a few reasons though. Firstly, it promises to be a hot hatch, something we haven’t really seen much of yet, and secondly, it has to bear the burden of launching Volkswagen Group’s all-electric MEB platform to the Australian market, but most importantly for Australians keen to hop into their first electric car, it promises to do this while offering a long range at a reasonable price.
Can it really do it all? We attended the Cupra Born’s Australian launch to find out.
The hotly anticipated Renault Megane E-Tech has arrived on our shores but we're only getting the mid-spec variant for now.
Renault's newest EV is related to the well-known Megane in name only because it has been built from the ground up as an EV. It’s not a hatchback, like its namesake, either, rather a crossover, which means it’s a bit lower than some of its small SUV rivals.
It faces firm competition in the likes of the Hyundai Kona Electric, Volvo C40 and newcomer bZ4X from Toyota. In this review we'll see how Renault's cutest EV handles life with my family of three.
The Cupra Born has so much going for it. An appealing price, long range, and super cool design chief among them.
I think the main thing holding it back will be that it doesn’t quite have the same out-and-out performance people have come to expect from a ‘hot hatch’ in the era of cars like the VW Golf R.
Importantly though, it delivers huge dollops of fun and driver engagement, something that's quite rare in the electric era.
The design for the Renault Megane E-Tech is top-notch and the eco-conscious footprint is even better. It’s an easy and comfortable car to be in but the price is a smidge too high in my opinion when you consider there’s currently only one choice for us Aussies and it’s a mid-spec variant at that. It also misses out on some items its rivals have but is a solid EV to consider for urban dwellers.