Used Cupra Born (Mk1, 2021-date) buyer’s guide: the EV the VW ID.3 wishes it was

Insurance groups range from 25 to 30 for regular editions of the Born, but if you buy a VZ you’ll have to contend with group 34 or 35. All versions are subject to a £195 annual fee for road tax, and because none of them breach the £50,000 barrier (the VZ is around £45,000), you won’t be liable for the £425 expensive car supplement.

Fuel costs can vary wildly; rely on public charging and you can easily pay 10 times more than you’ll pay on a cheap overnight tariff at home.

Recalls

Since the Cupra brand was launched in 2018, it has issued eight recalls across its model range. What’s impressive is that its longest-standing model, the Ateca, is yet to be the subject of any recalls – and the Born hasn’t been affected by any, either.

Bearing in mind the Born is the brand’s first electric car that’s good going, not least of all because the Volkswagen ID.3 on which the Born is based, has so far been the subject of two recalls. Both of those are for mechanical faults, rather than electrical.

If you’re wondering where all of those recall campaigns have been directed, six of them have been for the Formentor, while there has been one for the Leon and one for the official Cupra roof box – which isn’t compatible with the Born.

Driver Power owner satisfaction

No Cupra has ever appeared in our Driver Power surveys, but there have been plenty of SEATs, with the Arona and Ateca sitting in 26th and 14th places respectively in 2024.

The VW ID.3 hasn’t appeared, either, but Cupra featured in the 2025 Brands survey, in a disappointing 28th place out of 31. That represented a big drop from the 18th spot claimed in 2024, which was the first time that Cupra made an appearance in a Brands survey.

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