During the test drive — naturally held in and around Barcelona — I found myself describing the new Cupra Raval to my fellow journalists as that girl in the group who is very beautiful and well-dressed, but doesn’t take herself too seriously: she’s outgoing, and above all she always has a lot to say. That last point is, for me, fundamental. The Raval has an enormous amount to offer, especially for an electric car barely four metres long, and it never gets boring.
New Cupra Raval: our tops & flops
The real achievement of the Cupra Raval isn’t the numbers. It’s the fact that Cupra managed to make a front-wheel-drive electric hatchback feel this alive. Because on paper, 226 horsepower doesn’t sound outrageous anymore. Not in a world where gigantic electric SUVs launch like supercars. The Raval does 0 to 100 in 6.8 seconds — quick, sure, but not headline material. And yet, the moment you start driving it, you realize something important: every single horsepower is usable. There’s almost no understeer. No chaotic wheelspin. None of the typical front-wheel-drive EV drama. Instead, the Raval feels composed, balanced, engineered with restraint and intelligence rather than excess. Cupra could have chased bigger numbers just for marketing. They didn’t. And the result is a car that’s genuinely fun.
A huge part of that comes from the chassis. Underneath is Volkswagen Group’s new MEB+ platform — basically what the original MEB should have been from the beginning — but Cupra has transformed it completely. The car sits 15 millimeters lower, the track is wider, the steering is sharper, and the suspension setup is absolutely brilliant. Then there’s the adaptive chassis system with up to 15 levels of adjustment. One moment the Raval feels relaxed and comfortable for city driving, the next it becomes tight, reactive, almost aggressive. The driving modes make a dramatic difference too. Comfort is smooth, Performance feels slightly undecided, but Cupra mode is where the car comes alive: stiffer dampers, sharper responses, more confidence everywhere.
And the VZ version gets something you really don’t expect in a small electric hatchback: an electronic limited-slip differential. You can feel it working. Pulling the car through corners. Giving the front axle grip and precision that genuinely surprise you. What’s impressive is that none of this ruins the everyday usability. This is still a compact urban EV. The 52 kWh battery offers up to 440 kilometers of range, efficiency hovers around 15 kWh per 100 kilometers even when driven hard, and the regenerative braking system is one of the smoothest around. You can adjust it through the paddles behind the steering wheel all the way up to true one-pedal driving, and it never feels jerky or artificial.
Charging is solid too: up to 105 kW DC, enough for a 10 to 80 percent charge in about 24 minutes. Not revolutionary, but absolutely competitive.
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Back to the hot hatches
Let’s start with what I consider the most impressive achievement at Martorell: making a front-wheel-drive car this engaging. And that remains a crucial point, since the Raval is not available with all-wheel drive — not even in the VZ version tested here, which distinguishes itself from the rest mainly through a modest power bump: 226 hp versus 211 hp in the Endurance trim. Impressive, because there is virtually no understeer, nor the wheel-spin issues that typically plague front-wheel-drive electrics when pushed harder.
On the contrary, the Raval reflects a coherent engineering approach. 226 hp in a car of these dimensions is a lot, and every one of those horses is usable — but Cupra chose not to overreach just to make a point. Even in the thoroughly enjoyable Cupra mode, the 0–100 km/h time of 6.8 seconds doesn’t trigger a wow reaction in a world where three-tonne SUVs manage it in just over four seconds. In the real world, though, it still puts a grin on your face.
Another reason the Raval draws you in so completely is the chassis. The foundation is the new MEB+ platform — essentially what MEB always should have been — but Cupra has made it entirely their own. The setup is sportier and stiffer, sitting 15 mm lower than the standard platform, and the suspension is an absolute delight. The track has also been widened by 10 mm, and the car comes equipped with progressive steering that I found pleasingly direct. Not insignificant for the segment: dynamic chassis control and adaptive dampers with up to 15 levels of adjustment, allowing you to dial in anything from a relaxed, comfortable ride to a sharp, reactive one.
The Raval is also the first Cupra to feature the One Box electronic braking system, which integrates the brake booster and ESC modules. And there’s one more trick up its sleeve: the VZ, exclusively, gets an electronic limited-slip differential.
It should also be said that the pre-selectable driving modes — Comfort, Performance and Cupra — already do an excellent job of shaping the car’s character, transforming it quite dramatically. Of the three, Performance is arguably the least convincing: you’re better off going straight to Cupra, which stiffens the dampers, adds stability and delivers a substantially sharper response.
There’s more
None of this compromises the everyday usability you’d expect from a car in this class — namely, urban driving. In the VZ version tested, a 52 kWh NMC battery promises up to 440 km of range (446 km in the Endurance). A less exciting version with a 37 kWh LFP battery, offering 300 km of range and either 116 or 135 hp, will also be available — though as it’s effectively a different car, I won’t dwell on it beyond this mention.
Even in the VZ, efficiency is impressive: around 15 kWh per 100 km, and I was by no means gentle. Paddle shifters behind the steering wheel let you adjust regenerative braking intensity up to full one-pedal drive, which is consistently smooth and rarely abrupt. Charging is also noteworthy: the 52 kWh versions support a peak of 105 kW DC (11 kW AC), with a 10–80% charge achievable in 24 minutes — slightly above average, and quite respectable.
Well dressed
Another aspect I’ve admired since the car was still a concept called the UrbanRebel is the design — which in production form retains real visual impact. The rear end, in particular, is stunning and dynamic; the front, with its large expressive headlights, makes an equally strong impression. Everything is heightened by Cupra’s typically meticulous approach to colour, with several new finishes introduced for the Raval.
The standout is Plasma, which shifts between cyan, blue and a pinkish red depending on the light; Manganese Matt and Century Bronze Matt are also notable, alongside more traditional options for those who prefer them — though if that’s the case, one might wonder why you’d buy a Cupra in the first place.
Worth noting: the 235 mm tyre section, unexpectedly wide for a car of this type, contributes meaningfully to the stability mentioned earlier. Wheel options run from 17 to 19 inches, with the largest size available in five different designs.
Inside, the surprises are even greater. The ambient lighting system generated plenty of buzz before launch: it illuminates almost the entire door panels with vivid, sweeping effects — undeniably original, though potentially tiring over time. More interesting is the LED arc running across the entire upper section of the cabin, which also functions as a blind-spot monitor, remaining constantly visible.
As with the exterior colours, Cupra shows genuine care in its interior material choices. Several configurations are available — from Pulse to Immersive, which prioritises wraparound seats trimmed in Dinamica suede, to Feel with synthetic leather — plus the new Ahead package, which uses a three-dimensional fabric and makes every upholstered surface to order, entirely from recycled materials.
The screens are sensibly sized rather than ostentatious: a 10.25-inch display behind the wheel and a 12.9-inch central Android-based touchscreen, both sharp and — crucially — finished with effective anti-glare treatment that I genuinely appreciated under the Barcelona sun. The return of physical buttons on the steering wheel deserves praise. The soft-touch climate controls, on the other hand, I continue to find impractical. Everything else, however, feels notably more fluid and intuitive than before, and the pairing with CarPlay and Android Auto is near-instantaneous. The crown jewel, though, is the Sennheiser audio system, which reproduces the futuristic synthetic soundtrack of the sportier driving modes — or, far more pleasurably, your own music.
