- Cupra Raval is the first MEB+ EV, mixing sharp styling with a roughly €26,000 starting price.
- Range spans 186 to 279 miles WLTP, while the VZ adds 222 hp and a 6.8-second 0-62 mph time.
- It targets the Renault 5 with more space, fast charging and a dedicated hot hatch variant.
The first model built on the Volkswagen Group’s cheaper MEB+ platform is the Cupra Raval, and it might be the best of the bunch. This city-focused subcompact hatchback has a sporty, aggressive design, promises to engage the keen driver, and comes with a very reasonable starting price.
It needs to be good because it’s entering an increasingly popular segment of the European EV market, which last year was dominated by another style-focused and sporty subcompact hatchback, the Renault 5 E-Tech. The Raval has the typical Cupra styling language with an aggressive predatory insect-inspired front fascia, pronounced creases down the sides, and the rear end of a hot hatch.
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Source: Cupra
It has the muscle to back that up. The base car in Origin trim has a 114-horsepower motor driving the front wheel and drawing from a 37-kilowatt-hour lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery pack, but there’s an actual hot VZ variant sitting at the top of the range with 222 hp (directly rivaling the Alpine A290) and a larger 52-kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery.
The Raval VZ accelerates from a standstill to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 6.8 seconds and up to a top speed of 108 mph (175 km/h). It sacrifices some range for performance, with around 248 miles (400 km) WLTP on a single charge.
The lower-powered Raval Endurance isn’t as quick, but it still offers a respectable output of 208 hp, and the range goes up to 279 miles (450 km). The base model with the smaller battery is rated for around 186 miles (300 km), and it’s also slower to charge—50 kW DC fast-charging for the 114 hp model and 88 kW for the more powerful 133 hp variant.
Opting for the larger NMC battery boosts the peak charging power rating to 105 kW, allowing the car to charge from 10-80% in 24 minutes. The LFP battery with the higher charge rate charges up to 80% in 1 minute quicker.
The hot VZ variant gets more than just some extra power. Its track has been widened by 10 millimeters, and it sits 15 mm lower to the ground, while its recalibrated stability control system helps it corner better. It also comes with sporty bucket seats, an electronic limited-slip differential, and adaptive dampers, all of which add up to what Cupra describes as “exceptional handling and a genuinely fun-to-drive experience.”
The Raval is marginally larger in every direction than its main rival, the Renault 5. It also has a very respectable trunk for a subcompact, with a maximum capacity of 15.5 cubic feet (441 liters) before you fold the second row. Seven colors are offered, including a striking-looking finish called Plasma Iradescent, as well as a matte green, and wheels range in size from 17 to 19 inches.
The starting price for the Cupra Raval will be around €26,000, equivalent to $30,400 at today’s exchange rate. This makes it around €1,000 more expensive than the Renault 5, which has a slightly larger battery but the same base-trim range rating.
