Cupra Tavascan 2026 review: Endurance long-term | Part 1

It feels like yesterday when there were only two or three electric SUVs to pick from in Australia, and now there are almost too many to count.

This new order of electric SUV oversupply has made it more difficult than ever to stand out. It’s a challenge which is compounded if you’re a new brand like Cupra, playing in a niche non-budget segment.

Read More About Cupra Tavascan

• The unlikely electric SUV hero that is cheaper than a Tesla Model Y: 2025 Cupra Tavascan priced to compete with BYD Sealion 7, XPeng G6 and Kia EV5 as it gears for Australian launch
• European electric car slashed nearly $20,000: Cupra Born in run-out with huge offers for MG4 hatch, Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2 alternative
• Cupra Tavascan 2025 review - Australian first drive

So what does it offer? Does it do enough to stand out from the crowd? And is this base Endurance version the one to pick?

Let’s see what we found in our first month with it.

Which Cupra Tavascan are we testing, how much does it cost, and what are its most direct rivals?

We’re testing the Tavascan Endurance, which at the time of writing is the most affordable version.

It costs $60,990 before on-road costs, which is a lot cheaper than the top-spec VZ AWD ($74,490), but it’s only rear-wheel drive (210kW/545Nm). It’s equipped with a 77kWh battery which grants it a driving range of 534km on the more accurate WLTP scale.

Price-wise it goes up against the Tesla Model Y (RWD - $58,900), BYD Sealion 7 (Premium - $54,990) and VW ID.5 Pro ($62,990), as well as the suddenly expensive looking but long-serving Kia EV6 (Air - $72,590) and Hyundai Ioniq 5 (Long Range - $75,800).

There is also the XPeng G6 and more, like the Zeekr 7X, to come. It’s a busy segment.

First impressions

The mid-size electric SUV segment is also particularly hard to stand out in because there are so many wild designs going on, whether it’s the retro-futuristic vibe of the Hyundai Ioniq 5, or the sci-fi veneer of the XPeng G6 and yet I’d argue the Tavascan has more than enough going on to pull punches with its Korean or Chinese rivals.

Even this more basic version is unusual with Cupra’s signature bronze highlights, but the very way its coupe-style body is chiseled into a wing at the back immediately sets it apart from its more bulbous Volkswagen Group platform mates, like the ID.5 and Audi Q4 e-tron.

Look a little closer and you’ll see some really cool detail points. Again, this is a deliberate move Cupra’s designers have had the freedom to make sure the brand has its own Spanish flavour.

This car’s odd-looking snout is actually three-dimensional, forming a spoiler piece with the embossed 'CUPRA' lettering shrouded in an ominous LED glow. The aerodynamics have been penned into the design in such a clever way that the Tavascan isn’t just your average blank-faced EV like the Tesla Model Y, Geely EX5 or Leapmotor C10.

Hopping inside and things get even more extreme, especially at night with the cabin drenched in ambient LED lighting. The colour scheme is also a bit extreme with the blues and coppers (leading my partner to immediately adjust the ambient colour selection to at least match something in the cabin).

While this car might share its underpinnings with the Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5, the interior is unmistakably Cupra to the point of being divisive.

It leans even more heavily into the central screen, with the primal looking spine breaking through the console seemingly holding up the dash itself.

It’s kind of mad and unapologetically weird and stops BYD from having exclusive license to unhinged interior concepts. I don’t dislike it, but I completely understand if you do.

How does the Tavascan drive?

It’s somewhat familiar to other Volkswagen Group EVs. If you haven’t driven one before, this means it has a surprisingly soft edge to the ride (the Group clearly wanted to engineer its way around the criticism faced by the overly firmly sprung Telsa Model Y and Polestar 2, which preceded them for its MEB platform), but the differences immediately become clear.

I learned from interviewing Cupra executives in Spain that Volkswagen Group allows the Spanish brand control over all sorts of minutiae when it comes to the ride, steering and handling characteristics. As such, the Tavascan is more bespoke than simply an angry-looking Volkswagen ID.5.

Importantly, the tuning is seriously good. It has a great steering tune which feels perfectly weighted and 'ratioed', a ride which is firmer than the ID.4 but still forgiving enough over most road conditions, and even a seemingly finer response from the pedals (the ID.4 has a slightly weird braking feel).

Sure, it’s not as plush as the Q4 e-tron, but it still somehow feels like it has that premium edge.

On top of that I find that I don’t mind the lack of a single-pedal driving mode. Instead, the Tavascan feels at home when it’s more like a combustion car, which should make some a bit more comfortable with it. I found one level of regenerative braking was the sweet spot for smooth deceleration, but it’s easy to drive with the regen set to the default minimum and applied through blended braking.

It's also rapid to take off, but doesn't put the power down as hard as some rivals. This has the effect of not making it feel as sporty as the design suggests, but it's also smooth and predictable, stopping you from braking traction at the lights accidentally. If you want fast, buy the all-wheel-drive VZ instead.

Does the Cupra Tavascan have enough driving range?

It’s called the Tavascan Endurance for a reason, as it’s got heaps of driving range. The sticker (measured to more accurate WLTP standards) says 534km and, as a result in my first month with it covering 945km, I only needed to charge it twice, and once a near-full charge was free thanks to a solar-powered slow AC charger at a hotel I stayed at.

The range is bolstered by a seemingly versatile efficiency. The Endurance ticks a lot of boxes, being rear-wheel drive and having economical EV tyres (which unfortunately make it a little noisier than expected at freeway speed), but in an unexpected twist it proved to be nearly as efficient on the freeway as it is around town, consuming around 16.4kWh/100km over an elongated freeway drive, and about the same over the following 500km distance it was driven around town.

It's emblematic of how far electric vehicles have come in just a few short years. The Nissan Leaf I ran as a long-term tester back in 2021, which was much smaller and lighter, had about the same efficiency as this Cupra mid-sizer.

We’ll dig into the numbers more later in testing, plus we’ll see exactly how fast the Tavascan can charge, so stay tuned for how we go in a later chapter.

Acquired: May 2025

Distance travelled this month: 945km

Odometer: 1925km

Average energy consumption this month: 16.4kWh/100km

Amount spent charging: $27