2026 Cupra Tavascan review

This is it. The Cupra Tavascan is the Volkswagen Group sporty brand’s mass-market electric coupe SUV.

The appeal of sporty crossover SUVs are clear for Australians. The Cupra Forementor, available with petrol and plug-in hybrid electric powertrains, has been the best seller by far since the brand’s local arrival in 2022.

The Spanish car brand already has the Cupra Born electric hatchback, but it lacked key features for a modern-day new car in Australia with some technology usability weaknesses.

Now, the Cupra Tavascan has arrived Down Under with competitive pricing, sporty styling, and a vogue crossover coupe SUV shape that aims squarely at the new Tesla Model Y, Kia EV6, as well as the related Volkswagen ID.5.

With so much choice in the $60K range electric SUV space, why is the Tavascan worth shortlisting? I tested one for a week to find out.

NOTE: The press vehicle was provided by Cupra Australia for a seven-day independent evaluation. We have no commercial arrangements with the company and it had no editorial control.

Vehicle tested:

Model	2026 Cupra Tavascan
Variant	Endurance
Starting price	$60,990 before on-road costs
Exterior colour	Atacama Desert (no cost option)
Interior colour	Dark Night Deep Blue with copper accents
Options	Interior Package (+$4500)
Country made	China

Design and quality.

The Cupra Tavascan’s design is next-level in and out – and refreshingly different when coupe SUVs can feel rather generic.

It’s a marked step forward and makes the Born EV hatch look tame.

The Tavascan is a head turner thanks to a super bright illuminated Cupra logo that’s always on when the headlights are activated, alongside a front LED light strip divided into three sections, and a three-dimensional triangular rear LED light bar which animates upon approach.

The bulbous back isn’t proportioned as well, but that’s par for the course for a coupe SUV.

However, the inside is where the Cupra Tavascan is a real stand out.

When new-car interiors can feel monotonous and centred around one large screen, the Spanish brand has taken a bold, interesting and extroverted cabin design approach – incorporating a T-bone spine that spans across the dashboard to centre console, fish scale-esque textures, copper accents that extend from the dash to door handles, and prominent air vent slats.

The $4500 Interior Package is pricey, but worth adding as it adds dual-colour ambient lighting themes – with unique triangular pattern backlighting across all four doors, lights that glow onto the air vents, and surrounds the front cup holders – alongside a dark blue interior theme.

The Tavascan offers a well-built and premium-feeling interior with soft-touch eco-friendly materials, plush microfibre seats and stitching (with the Interior Package), matte plastic copper and silver trims that don’t feel cheap, and clicky manually-adjustable air vents.

Unfortunately, the front door cards are thinly padded – including the armrests – and Cupra has cheapened out with the rear door cards implementing a particularly hard and hollow plastic material. It could be better for a $60K-plus new car.

Practicality.

2026 Cupra Tavascan Endurance dimensions:

Length x width x height	4644 x 2108 x 1597mm
Wheelbase	2766mm
Ground clearance	154mm
Boot space (min / rear seats folded)	540 / 1550 litres
Frunk space	N/A
Rear seat split fold	60:40 with ski opening
Child seat anchors	2x ISOFIX and 3x top tethers
Air-conditioning system	Three-zone climate control with rear air vents

Despite being a sporty coupe SUV, the Tavascan still offers a spacious interior and boot fit for families.

The 540-litre boot is large with a flat loading lip (and an adjustable two-level floor with the Interior Package), underfloor space, two proper bag hooks, and deep pockets on each side with securing straps on the left end.

An electric tailgate is standard with a hands-free open and close function via kicking underneath the bumper when the proximity key is behind, too. It works well, but it doesn’t offer a button to lock all doors as well.

Unfortunately, there’s no frunk storage space with the Volkswagen Group’s Modular Electric Toolkit (MEB) EV platform electing to have a shorter bonnet instead.

The door handles are flush with the body, but leaves a gap underneath to easily access the electronic door release button. It’s a weird feeling that the handles are stiff and don’t move, but there aren’t any hand gymnastics required unlike other EV rivals and all four handles are illuminated at night.

Inside, the Tavascan features a spacious rear row with plenty of legroom, surprisingly good headroom despite the sloping rear, and an almost flat floor.

It’s great that Cupra has managed to incorporate a floor that isn’t as high as typical electric cars, with plenty of foot space underneath the front seats.

Unlike the Born electric hatch, there are no compromises to the middle seat when optioning any package.

All Tavascans are five-seat, offer a fold-down centre armrest with three cup holders, rear manually-adjustable air vents, two USB-C charging ports, seatback pockets, large door bottle pockets, and tinted rear windows.

The almost black headliner and prominent bucket seats with integrated headrests make the interior feel somewhat dark, though.

Despite the prominent T-bone design at the front row, the Qi wireless charging pad, two USB-C ports, and small tray (great for the car key) are still accessible underneath and obscures the phone screen.

The centre armrest split opens with a button press and provides deep, but narrow private storage space.

Disappointingly, while the front gripped cup holders are surrounded by copper and ambient lighting accents, both are smaller than ideal – barely fitting two small cups side-by-side. At least the front door pockets are large, but gets narrower at the back.

Similarly, the glovebox is severely compromised and cut in half since Cupra hasn’t moved the fuse box to suit right-hand drive markets.

There’s also some awkward unused empty space underneath the front wireless charging pad area – which could’ve been better utilised when some other EVs offer an open undertray design.

The $4500 Interior Package brings comfortable and sporty microfibre seats with three-level heating, electric adjustment for both front pews, and three memory settings for the driver. A three-level heated steering wheel is standard.

Uniquely, Cupra features the ability for the driver to adjust the front passenger seat using buttons on the driver’s seat or match the position of the driver, even when there’s someone sitting beside – which can come in very handy.

Disappointingly, the Tavascan still adopts the Volkswagen Group EV’s cost-cutting window switches with only two toggles for four windows on the driver’s door, and a four-in-one wing mirror dial that doesn’t remember the previous setting – so you’ll need to switch it to the left every time if you want the mirror to auto dip down when reversing.

While the Tavascan’s standard three-zone climate control is primarily operated via the central touchscreen, it is easy to learn and operate thanks to touch-sensitive temperature sliders underneath that are now always illuminated and much more responsive than the outgoing Born, with physical ridges.

A two-finger tap toggles the heated seats on the slider, while a climate control bar at the bottom of the touchscreen is always visible and clear to see.

The outer two buttons can be customised in the software to suit your preferences; I chose the recirculation and heated steering wheel buttons so they’re always in reach.

You’ll only need to dive into the climate app to change the fan speed, but the Spanish brand’s built-in voice control is fairly good.

Technology.

2026 Cupra Tavascan Endurance tech features:

15.0-inch touchscreen running Cupra OS	5.3-inch driver instrument display
Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto	12-speaker Sennheiser audio (with Interior Package)
Qi wireless charging pad	Smartlight dash lighting (with Interior Package)
4x USB-C and 2x 12-volt charging ports	Proximity key with Auto unlock/lock,  auto-folding mirrors, Cupra logo puddle lights, and door handle lights

The Cupra Tavascan features substantially improved in-car technology compared to the pre-update Born that’s far more usable than before.

The 15.0-inch central touchscreen is bright with what appears to be an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) display, is high resolution and pivoted towards the driver. It runs on Cupra’s iteration of Volkswagen’s latest ID Software 5.0, with illuminated touch sliders at the bottom and a more user-friendly interface.

A key improvement is much more responsive software and processing speed – which was a key usability pain point of the Born EV hatch.

Cupra’s software is fairly intuitive with customisable three-widget home screen pages, swipe down for shortcuts, and persistent climate control bar. It even subtly changes the background according to which ambient light theme is selected.

Unfortunately, unlike its Volkswagen ID.5 sibling, it doesn’t offer connected services and a mobile app in Australia – when it’s standard on almost every rival car brand, from Toyota to BYD.

Neither is there built-in navigation (which is rarely useful but a nice-to-have backup) and it doesn’t automatically set the time zone.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connect quickly, reliably, and with good performance.

The single Qi wireless charging pad is actually usable, unlike the Cupra Born, even though it lacks ventilation. Both systems integrate with the instrument display by showing navigation arrows, too.

The 5.3-inch motorcycle-style driver instrument screen is small, but presents pertinent information well with customisable views, including showing map directions or trip computer, safety assists or both. There’s even a simplistic view that just displays the speedometer.

But, unlike the Cupra Born sports hatch, the display isn’t attached to the steering wheel column, so you could block parts of the screen depending on your driving position.

It’s also awkward that Cupra hasn’t blocked out the touch-sensitive buttons to control the head-up display – when it isn’t fitted to the Tavascan Endurance – with the instrument cluster showing an error message (it’s only standard on the VZ).

While the steering wheel ‘satellite buttons’ are touch-sensitive, it has good sensitivity, response speed and haptic feedback. It is fairly easy to learn with the ability to both press or swipe – substantially more usable than the Polestar 4.

Moreover, the Cupra SUV features a bright ‘Smartlight’ strip that stretches across the dashboard. It animates different colours for notifications such as the forward collision warning, voice control speech, and charging status.

While a unique touch, it feels like wasted potential as it rarely activates and isn’t used as an ambient light.

The Tavascan Endurance with Interior Package or flagship VZ also boasts a 12-speaker Sennheiser sound system with configurable surround-sound immersion levels. It’s a great speaker system with a bass heavy bias.

Safety.

2026 Cupra Tavascan Endurance safety features:

Front AEB with vehicle/pedestrian/cyclist/junction turning detection	360-degree camera system (with Interior Package)
Blind-spot assist	Front, side and rear parking sensors
Rear cross-traffic assist	Door open warning
Lane-keep assist	Full LED headlights
Adaptive cruise control with lane-centring assist	Full LED tail-lights with sequential indicators

The Cupra Tavascan offers refined and non-intrusive safety tech without any irritating overspeed warnings that’s mandated overseas.

Most active safety assistance systems are standard, with subtle lane-keep assist intervention, generally dependable adaptive cruise control, and smooth lane-centring assist.

Cupra’s safety systems work with the driver rather than against it – and that’s commendable when some cheaper-priced rivals dial the sensitivity up to constantly blast and criticise drivers by default.

Fortunately, Australian-spec Tavascans don’t have any speed sign recognition, overspeed alerts and driver monitoring camera systems that are required in Europe. While these safety features can be useful, they are often intrusive for drivers.

While the Endurance’s $4500 Interior Package gains a 360-degree surround-view camera system, it is disappointingly low-resolution and has a distorted wide-angle view when new cars half the price can do better in 2025.

It also cuts out when driving above 15km/h speeds. There’s a rear camera washer spray, though – which makes more sense than the new Tesla Model Y’s front washer.

Full LED headlights provide good visibility at night with automatic high beams. Stepping up to the flagship VZ grade adds adaptive matrix functionality. A light bar (separated in three sections) and light-up Cupra logo are standard.

It’s also easier to manually change the exterior lights than the Cupra Born with a dedicated panel of physical buttons beside the driver, rather than fiddly and sluggish touch-sensitive ones.

The full LED tail-lights have the option of dynamic or static turn indicator styles, with the coupe electric SUV taking influence from the best-selling Cupra Forementor; the rear spoiler brake light is integrated into the centre of the light bar.

The 2026 Cupra Tavascan has a four-star Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) safety rating with testing done in 2024. Yet, it still had high crash safety scores with 89 per cent adult occupant protection, 87 per cent child occupant protection, and 80 per cent vulnerable road user protection with only a 67 per cent safety assists score letting it down.

Range and charging.

2026 Cupra Tavascan Endurance battery and charging specs:

Claimed driving range (WLTP combined cycle)	534km
Claimed energy efficiency (WLTP combined cycle)	16.3kWh/100km
Battery size and type	77kWh (82kWh gross) NMC lithium-ion
Battery voltage	400-volt class
Max AC / DC charging speed	11 / 135kW
Bidirectional charging	V2H/V2G capable
Connector type	Type 2/CCS2
Everyday charging limit recommendation	80%

The single-motor Cupra Tavascan Endurance saw a tested energy efficiency of 17.6kWh/100km after a week of mixed city and highway driving.

Therefore, expect a real-world driving range of about 437km on a full charge from its 77kWh usable nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) lithium-ion battery pack.

Cupra recommends charging the Tavascan up to 80 per cent daily for the battery health, which means an everyday usable range of around 349km.

While not super energy efficient, it is respectable for a sports SUV.

Tested on a 150kW capable public fast-charging station, the Cupra Tavascan recharged from 14 to 80 per cent in around 35 minutes.

The electric SUV peaked at just 95kW – well below the 135kW DC claim – and averaged 88kW speeds overall.

There could be a variety of uncontrollable reasons why it charged slower than expected, including the potential that the Ampol AmpCharge station wasn’t operating at full speed due to the electricity grid at the time, but we did pre-condition the battery to achieve optimum speeds.

Cupra uniquely offers the ability to manually pre-condition the battery with a handy graphic that shows the peak fast-charging speed you could get given the pack temperature.

The Tavascan is capable of up to three-phase 11kW AC slow charging speeds. Unlike the pre-updated Born EV, it now offers a scheduled charging feature in Australia to take advantage of lower rates depending on your electricity plan.

A mode 2 home trickle charging cable is included.

The Type 2 CCS charging port is accessible at the rear-right quarter side of the vehicle with an easy manually-operated flap. Unfortunately, the plastic cap covering the DC pins dangle on the bodywork when in use.

While the Tavascan is bidirectional charging vehicle-to-home (V2H) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capable, basic vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality is unavailable.

Driving.

2026 Cupra Tavascan Endurance powertrain specs:

Electric motor	Single permanent magnet synchronous motor
Power	210kW
Torque	545Nm
Transmission	Single-speed
Drive type	RWD
Kerb weight	2238kg
Turning circle	10.2 metres
Payload	462kg (excluding max 75kg towball download)
Towing (unbraked / braked)	750 / 1000kg

The Cupra Tavascan is a genuinely fun to drive electric SUV, but the blended brake pedal needs work.

With the Endurance featuring a single rear-mounted electric motor outputting up to 210kW of power and 545Nm of torque, it strikes a good balance between providing speed and power that you’d be able to realistically use on public roads.

Power and torque delivery is instant and spritely even in the standard comfort mode. In Cupra mode, it dials up the accelerator sensitivity – it’s so touchy that it can be uncomfortable for passengers.

The steering also feels balanced-weighted – not too light and not too heavy – and is genuinely fun to punt around corners, although the Born hatch still feels more planted and nimble due to its lower stance.

Furthermore, the Tavascan introduces paddle shifters to adjust three regenerative braking system levels; however, it automatically adjusts depending on the driving conditions and drive mode with only a pop-up on the instrument display to let drivers know.

Flicking the drive selector stalk to B mode forces regen braking to stay on and the paddle shifters become redundant. I used this the most as it provides more assurance.

There’s no one-pedal driving function – but the regen progressively dials in as you lift off the accelerator and is rather well-tuned. It cuts out at speeds below 15km/h.

Disappointingly, like the Cupra Born, the blended brake pedal feels too light and airy, requiring drivers to press it down more in order to slow down. The transition between regen and physical brakes are noticeable.

On the other hand, noise insulation and vibration suppression is impressively good and on par with luxury car levels, with a compliant ride from the Endurance’s optional 20-inch wheels despite its sporty intentions.

The Cupra Tavascan can conveniently drive off without pressing the start button, too, with a driver’s seat sensor and flick of the drive selector stalk. There’s the back up of a button beside the steering wheel column as well, unlike some other rivals.

All-round visibility is average with a narrow rear-view mirror opening and thick C-pillars due to the sloping rear roof.

At least the 10.6-metre turning circle is tight thanks to the rear-wheel drive architecture, but only on the Endurance; it becomes 11.5 metres on the all-wheel drive VZ.

Warranty and servicing.

2026 Cupra Tavascan capped-price servicing costs:

2 years/30,000km	4 years/60,000km	6 years/90,000km
$485	$485	$485

The Cupra Tavascan has a five-year, unlimited kilometre vehicle warranty and an eight-year/160,000km battery warranty.

Servicing is required every two years/30,000km (whichever occurs first) with prices fixed for the first 12 years/180,000km. After the first five years, it’ll cost $970 to maintain the Tavascan.

Cupra Australia also offers a six-year/90,000km prepaid service plan for $1310 or a 10-year/150,000km prepaid plan for $2190.

As with most electric cars, the Tavascan does not include a spare tyre with only a tyre patch-up kit stored underneath the boot floor.

Price and rivals.

2026 Cupra Tavascan model range pricing (accurate as at the time of publication):

Endurance	VZ
From $60,990 before on-road costs	From $74,490 before on-road costs

The 2026 Cupra Tavascan EV is priced from $60,990 before on-road costs in Australia. 

Two variants are available – the single-motor Endurance or dual-motor VZ – with option packs available depending on the variant.

The Endurance can be had with the $4500 Interior Package (as tested here), which brings a host of additions – not just limited to the interior – including:

• 20-inch Heckla wheels
• Dark Night Deep Blue interior with microfibre seats
• Heated front seats with electric adjustment
• Three driver memory position settings
• Wing mirror memory with auto tilt-down when reversing
• Full ambient lighting
• Smartlight strip
• Illuminated front door scuff plates
• 12-speaker Sennheiser
• Dual-level boot floor

Meanwhile, the flagship VZ gains all Interior Package options as standard, with the $8000 Extreme Package adding features such as 21-inch Etna wheels with performance tyres, and Cupra Racing bucket seats with ventilation.

White Silver and Atacama Desert (as pictured) are free exterior colour choices, but Tavascan Blue and Basalt Grey cost $800 extra.

The Cupra Tavascan directly rivals the following medium electric SUVs:

• Volkswagen ID.5
• Skoda Enyaq Coupe
• Tesla Model Y (full review)
• Kia EV6 (full review)
• Hyundai Ioniq 5 (full review)

Other alternatives to the Tavascan include:

• Cupra Born (full review)
• Polestar 4 (full review)
• Toyota bZ4X (full review)
• Tesla Model 3
• Deepal S07 (full review)
• Xpeng G6
• BYD Sealion 7
• Zeekr 7X

Would I pick the 2026 Cupra Tavascan Endurance?

The Cupra Tavascan isn’t just another Chinese-made electric SUV. It’s a super impressive, fun to drive, and uniquely designed EV that should be at the top of your shortlist.

Bold extroverted design, substantially improved and more usable technology than the pre-update Born, and sporty driving dynamics are key standouts of the Spanish-badged coupe electric SUV.

It is also reasonably priced in line with the Tesla Model Y, Kia EV6 and Volkswagen ID.5 – EVs which offer a level of refinement that aren’t guaranteed with some of its Chinese rivals. It’s surprisingly almost $10K cheaper than the related Skoda Enyaq Coupe, too.

However, the Tavascan is inherently missing connected services and a mobile app when it’s a given from its competitors, the blended brake pedal needs work, and there are cost-cutting signs that shouldn’t be on a $60K-plus new car with condensed window switches and harder materials at the back.

I’d pick the Tavascan Endurance and add the $4500 Interior Package as tested. For less than $70K drive-away, it provides the best level of value and equipment; going up to the VZ becomes quite pricey.

The Cupra Tavascan is simply a great EV with very few weaknesses.

Photographs by Henry Man

READ MORE: 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N review: Ridiculous.

READ MORE: 2025 Polestar 4 review

READ MORE: 2025 Toyota bZ4X review

Pros:

• Competitive pricing
• Sporty to drive
• Responsive tech, illuminated sliders
• Next-level lighting
• Striking exterior, bold interior

Cons:

• Missing connected services and mobile app
• Airy brake pedal feel
• Low-resolution 360-degree cameras
• Cost-cutting interior in areas
• Limited rear visibility