Cupra Tavascan: Not all EVs are the same

If there's one thing SEAT — and now Cupra — are trying to teach the world, it's geography. Since the early 1980s, all SEAT models have been named after places in Spain, and Cupra has continued that tradition ever since it became an independent brand in 2018. Some of these locations are familiar, while others would challenge even the best trivia players.

To be fair, in Israel we’ve also been studying geography for the past two years — through a constantly changing list of place names on the right side of the TV screen (not counting two decades of occasional trickles). The Israeli list is broader and updates more frequently, but I prefer the Spanish method — more relaxed. Anyway, back to the point.

Tavascan. What is it? It sounds like a disease you might catch at a failed summer camp. “Mom, my stomach hurts.” “Oh no, you’ve got Tavascan.” But no — it's a real place, and for the past two years, also the name of a car. Tavascan is a tiny village with 115 residents in northern Spain, nestled in the Pyrenees Mountains. It's one of the popular starting points for the La Porta del Cel (The Gateway to Heaven) trekking route — a breathtaking trail through snowy peaks and crystal-clear lakes, cut off from the outside world, where one can finally catch their breath. The route’s highest point is at 3,143 meters, at a spot called Pica d'Estats, one of the tallest in the Pyrenees — hence the name “Gateway to Heaven.”

I, on the other hand, am tucked inside a Tavascan on four wheels, rolling through the lowest point on Earth, cruising the roads of the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley on the way to the Golan Heights. I’m discovering a car that’s clearly here to work — but there’s a “but,” and I’m getting ahead of myself, so let’s start with the basics.

Personally, I don’t get this category. It’s like ordering tapas and getting hummus too. Both are tasty, but they don’t really go together. And yet, it turns out that 30% of crossover buyers in Europe are willing to pay more for models in this category, which tries to combine the elevated look of a traditional crossover with a lower, sportier body style.

In the Tavascan’s case, the design works well — with a sharp shark-like nose, narrow headlights, and a face that looks “mean” in a good way. The rest of the car is just as charming, with a distinctive profile, a raised rear, and especially a massive logo — which is also illuminated, because if you’re going to make a car that shouts “I’m unique,” you want people to see it even at night.

This excellent design and partially successful execution pretty much sum up the cabin. There are some stunning parts — like the door trims, especially at night when backlighting creates a glowing effect, the large 15-inch multimedia screen with clear, oversized icons, and even the excellent shortcut buttons on the steering wheel.

But the interface is far from perfect. I don’t like the window switches that toggle between front and rear windows, or the unnecessary digging through the infotainment system just to switch between radio, climate, and trip computer — which, by the way, is hidden in a completely illogical place. It's also unfortunate that the air conditioning struggled to handle the June heat even after all the windows were opened, the cabin was aired out, and the system was set to maximum via a dedicated button.

The front seating position is excellent, with comfortable, pleasant seats that offer just the right amount of support. Perfect. Forward visibility is good; rear visibility is very limited due to the small window. Interestingly, the window is small even though there’s plenty of headroom in the rear. And thanks to the long wheelbase (2.77 meters), flat floor, separate climate controls, and ambient lighting — it's a very comfortable place to relax in the back as well.

And all of this doesn’t come at the expense of trunk space: With 540 liters, there’s plenty of room for all your trekking gear for exploring the Pyrenees — plus a cooler and grill for BBQ lovers in Ben Shemen Forest. The trunk includes a double floor, hooks, tie-downs, and a 12V socket, but there’s no spare wheel and no front trunk (frunk).

The Tavascan in Israel is offered with a single battery — the largest available — 77 kWh, which provides a maximum range of 558 km in this trim (569 km in the base model with 19" wheels instead of 20"). In reality, consumption during our test days was higher — about 4.9 km/kWh, meaning a range of 380 km. On a calmer test day, we measured a more realistic 5.5 km/kWh, giving a range of 425 km.

Fast charging is rated at 135 kW — not especially impressive — with a 10% to 80% charge said to take 28 minutes. In our testing, it took 33 minutes.

The car is well-controlled — there’s no unnecessary body movement after hitting a bump — but the suspension is stiff. Too stiff, in fact, making it uncomfortable in the city. The rear passengers feel it more than those in front. Ride comfort improves as speeds increase thanks to good damping, but it’s never quite enough — there’s always that one road imperfection that will jolt the car in an unpleasant way. That said, the cabin is very quiet, and despite the large tires (255/45/20), road and wind noise are kept to a minimum.

Handling-wise, there's another miss — not because of the chassis, which is actually great. The tires offer plenty of grip, and the steering, while not outstanding, is decent. The issue lies with the brakes. In everyday driving, they work well, and the transition from regenerative to mechanical braking is smooth and barely noticeable. But on winding roads — the kind of roads you buy a Cupra for, rather than a SEAT — the braking system is less impressive. A deeper press is required to get the desired bite to stop this 2.2-ton vehicle, and the transition between regenerative and hydraulic braking becomes noticeable. This undermines confidence when flowing quickly through curves — the moment where Cupra should shine — and instead, I got an elbow nudge from the passenger next to me.

One final note on steering: Cupra took advantage of the EV layout — with no front drivetrain components — to give the wheels a sharp turning angle, resulting in a superbly tight turning radius of just 10.3 meters. That’s great for city driving and lets you maneuver this large 4.6-meter-long, 1.86-meter-wide vehicle almost like an electric scooter.

As a competitor to the Chinese models, it too is made in China (where it’s actually sold as a Volkswagen), so one might expect a lower price than NIS 258,000 for this trim level. It seems the Tavascan isn’t trying to be cheap — it’s trying to be different. And in that, it succeeds — with a personality that's hard to find among Chinese brands. It also rides on Cupra’s sporty image, which for many buyers, is more than enough.