Cobra was born in the snow
With Cupra Born, you can experience a lot of driving fun on snow covered ground
These are: Cobra
In fact, snow and icy cold are not a comfortable place for electric vehicles. But this is not entirely true. Anyway, with Cupra Born you can experience a lot of driving pleasure on snow covered ground.
sPX / Rovaniemi. Enjoy ice and snow with an electric car? Without fear of losing scope? Yes, it is possible, even if not necessarily under traditional everyday conditions, but during a test drive on the icy and snowy slopes of northern Finland.
The start is in Rovaniemi near the airport, which is right next to the famous E75 road. We’re traveling in the 170 kW/231 hp version of the Cupra Born. The most powerful type of Spanish compact car costs at least 38,600 euros. If you want a 77 kWh battery instead of a 58 kWh battery, you have to pay an extra 5700 euros. The range then increases to 548 kilometers according to WLTP, which is 128 more than the base battery.
In the harsh northern Finnish winter, the main roads are largely snow-free, but it barely allows enough grip to transmit the 310Nm of torque to the surface. But that all ended after a few kilometers anyway, when it came to the snow-covered side streets. It soon became clear that the Stromer had hardy winter characteristics. The rear wheel drive and proper center of gravity due to the low-mounted battery allows it to crawl well through cold hustle. A set of decent winter tires is a prerequisite, of course, with small ride heights if you want northern Scandinavia.
Extreme care must be taken on the way to the ice track, after all you want to leave the sporty newborn unscathed. Later, with dynamic workouts, things get really fast – of course always with expert guidance from various coaches. Various configurations in the drive programs ensure that the Born is more or less capable of drifting. Later the higher version will also be able to work without electronic firmware, which is unusual in this sector.
On the slalom track, Strömer has to prove that he can safely cruise around the towers even under adverse weather conditions. Here you can also learn how to traverse the snow: if you are about to get stuck or have already done so, it is important to free yourself from snow or trouble with a powerful “gas blast” and reverse steering. This works well if you don’t act too shy.
It’s fine if the electric heater responds quickly – but you risk draining the traction battery at minus three degrees. From this point of view, the investment in a heat pump (extra cost. 1,000 euros) is well invested – especially with the smaller battery, which wants to use its own electricity more for movement than for heating.
Overall, the Cupra is an interesting change from the more stable alternatives in the compact segment, especially optically. In particular, the ubiquitous ‘Copper’ (Copper) design gussets as the Cupra brand guarantee amazing differentiating value. Inside, Born also turned out to be an infotainment genius with a large touchscreen deck. There’s even a head-up display that shows data from augmented reality. However, the surcharge costs an additional 1,000 euros.
Comfortable sports seats make the Born a multi-purpose machine you can trust to travel further. After all, the battery draws electricity with a charging capacity of 120 kW at peak, and a 77 kWh battery can be charged up to 130 kW. The manufacturer states that a large battery can be filled from 5 to 80% within 36 minutes.