CUPRA TAVASCAN

Can a big family EV capture this brand's young, sporty ethos? Let's see

- WILL RIMELL

A friend recently got in touch because his wife was looking for a new car. She is currently running a Volkswagen ID 4, the Ronseal of electric cars - by which I mean an EV that works well as an EV but without being showy. She loves the thing, my friend told me, but it was time for an upgrade and she wanted something a bit different this time round. What else is out there, he asked.

That's quite a question, because the list of potential candidates for anyone seeking an electric SUV is long and growing. Three years ago, the clear class leader was the Tesla Model Y, with its then unmatched range, access to an exclusive and extensive charging network and, all things considered, a rather affordable price.

Today, the competition is much closer, including the ID 4 and fellow VW Group models such as the Skoda Enyaq and Audi Q4 E-tron. Then there are the likes of the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, Renault Scenic, Peugeot e-3008 and more.

But for someone who loved so many things about her ID 4 but was a bit bored of how it looked, one car stood out in my mind: the Cupra Tavascan. "I've just taken 'ownership' of one," I told my friend. "Have you heard of it?"

He hadn't, which presumably means he hadn't seen the Tavascan adverts with the upside-down SUV and lots of fashionable young people. Or he'd seen it and it hadn't registered. So he didn't know that this is Cupra's largest model to date, an electric SUV positioned as the sporty alternative to the Volkswagen ID 5 (which my friend had heard of) - like the Born to the ID 3 - with a sprinkling of Spanish flair. And this is the main reason we're running one: to find out if the Tavascan is indeed a sporty SUV, and if so, could this be a sensible choice for the keener driver in need of a roomy, electric family car?