Sporty Cupra Born hatchback a taste of Spain, says RAY MASSEY

The sharp-looking, sporty Cupra Born hatchback offers a taste of Spain. And, like much of the nation’s food, it’s a hot and sizzling experience. 

My test-drive, though, starts in Braintree, Essex, at the Gridserve electric car charging centre with its shops and rest areas. 

Cupra is the new sporty car brand spun-off from Spanish sibling SEAT — both part of Germany’s Volkswagen — and the Born is built in Zwickau, Germany. 

The heat is on: The new all-electric Cupra Born hatchback is nippy and nimble

The all-electric rear-wheel drive Born, from ££34,715, is Cupra’s first fully-electric car based on VW’s ID.3. 

There are three trim levels — V1, V2 and V3 — and three grades of power: an entry level 45 kWh, a mid-level 58kWh and a higher-level 77kWh. 

I drove a mid-range Cupra Born 58 kWh V3 variant, priced from £38,390. Its 204 hp electric motor allowed me to accelerate from rest to 62mph in 7.3 seconds on 20in wheels. Top speed is 99mph. 

It has a claimed range of 264 miles. Charging time on a domestic wall-charger is 6 hours 15 min. On DC fast-chargers at Gridserve, it’s 35 minutes. 

The 77kWh 230hp Born does rest to 62mph in 6.6 seconds and has a range of 261 miles to 340 miles. It will be available here in summer. 

The Born’s styling inside and out is sporty and comfortable, with Cupra’s tasteful signature copper highlights. It’s easy to drive, nippy and nimble. Drive settings are ‘range’, ‘comfort’, ‘performance’ and ‘individual’. A ‘Cupra’ mode is available on the more powerful ‘e-boost’ variants. 

It has sporty granite grey 12-way electrically adjustable front bucket seats, lumbar support and a massage function. 

The augmented-reality display helps keep your eyes focused on the road ahead. There’s a 12in navigation and infotainment screen and a 5.3in digital cockpit screen. Boot space is 385 litres, though rear seats fold down for more. 

One niggle is a carry-over from the VW ID.3: fiddly ‘slider’ controls for air-con and other functions. Simple knobs or touch-screen function, please.

Toyota Land Cruisers part of key equipment sought by Ukraine 

The list of armaments and key equipment sought by Ukraine — and being sent there by Britain in the latest £300million package to help bolster the nation’s defences against Russian invaders — is quite telling. 

Brimstone missiles; radar systems; aerial drones; and modified Toyota Land Cruisers. 

Making waves: Rugged Toyota Land Cruisers are the off-roader of choice favoured by regular and irregular militias the world over

Yes, those rugged Japanese 4x4s in the showrooms are the off-roader of choice favoured by regular and irregular militias the world over. 

Powered by a 2.8litre 204hp diesel engine, civilian Land Cruisers in the UK are priced from £44,935 for a three-door, five-seat Active and from £61,310 for the five-door, seven-seater Invincible. 

More than ten million Land Cruisers have been sold across 170 countries over eight decades. 

Toyota recently launched a new Land Cruiser 300 with 3.5litre petrol or 3.3litre diesel twin turbo V6 engines, but they are not on sale in the UK or Western Europe.

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