“Cupra says the Tavascan SUV will look as wild as the concept.” That was our headline based on what Cupra boss Wayne Griffiths told us back in 2021. Said concept – first unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2019 – was genuinely very cool too. It had super smooth lines and a distinctive silhouette that would have set it apart from the myriad of electric SUV-coupe things on sale today.
And now, two years later we can see the results. Oh dear. The designers were clearly inspired by the Uruk-hai from Lord of the Rings, because that front end certainly makes it looks like meat's back on the menu. Anyway, moving on.
The Tavascan is Cupra’s second EV based on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform, which means it’s a very close sibling of the ID.5. The powertrain options will follow the VW coupe thing’s lead too, although it’ll use the new, more powerful AP550 motor. That means the top spec Tavascan VZ gets twin motors, all-wheel drive and 335bhp compared to the ID.5 GTX’s 295bhp. Reckon on a 0-100kph sprint of 5.6 seconds and an estimated range of 516 Kilometres from its 77kWh battery.
The same battery appears in the single-motor 282bhp ‘Endurance’ iteration too, although with less focus on performance there’s a handy 548 Kilometres of WLTP range. Not bad at all. DC rapid charging is possible at speeds of up to 135kW.
And yet, Cupra wants to be the sporty VW Group brand, so the Tavascan gets adaptive suspension and you can have 21-inch forged alloy wheels if you so desire. We’ve yet to see inside but we’re promised ‘bucket seats’ as well as wheel-mounted paddles for adjusting the level of regen braking.
We’re told that there’s a 15-inch infotainment screen inside too, and if you want to see what that looks like then just click these blue words to have a look at the new VW ID.7. The Tavascan will apparently get that car’s augmented reality head-up display.
Set for launch in 2024, the Tavascan will be built at the Volkswagen Group’s Anhui factory in China. Given the looks, we expect to see the Cupra Sauron follow-up any day now…
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