Should you buy a Cupra Tavascan?

Whether you should buy a Cupra Tavascan is down to what you value most from an electric SUV. If it’s style and a sporty driving experience, it ticks a lot of the right boxes, and in a class where there are a lot of similarities between different products, the Cupra is genuinely able to stand out. 

But as an overall package, the Tavascan falls short of the best electric SUVs. Its platform sibling, the Skoda Enyaq is a far more rounded package, with the Cupra’s high list price and technical gremlins making it harder to recommend in this company. 

What is it?

The Cupra Tavascan was a car that was a long time coming. Initially revealed to the world in April 2023, it wasn’t until November 2024 when the first cars started arriving in the UK. 

Cupra as a brand is one on a better upward trajectory than most, with sales now overtaking its parent firm SEAT in the UK. That’s been in part due to some truly excellent products, such as the Cupra Formentor and electric Born, which have been able to combine two traits that are rarely associated with one another – desirability and (relative) affordability. 

But the Tavascan takes Cupra up a level as its flagship model. It’s a well-sized coupe-style electric SUV based on the same Volkswagen Group underpinnings as the Audi Q4 e-tron, Skoda Enyaq and the Volkswagen ID.4 and ID.5. That brings some familiarity in terms of the technology and powertrains available. 

Not that Cupra wants you to know that as it’s draped its electric SUV with wild exterior styling, fancy copper detailing, snazzy alloy wheels and an array of illuminated badges. It’s a same story inside, with the Tavascan having an interior not too dissimilar from the 2019 concept car that previewed it. A fancy halo-like floating centre console is the first thing you’ll notice, and there’s an interesting mix of materials and surfaces. All of this makes this Cupra unlike anything else in this class. 

That’s probably a good thing as it faces no end of rivals, from the best-selling Tesla Model Y to the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5. It also competes in a similar field to our 2025 Parkers Car of the Year, the Renault Scenic.

Steep pricing is a potential barrier to ownership, with the Tavascan starting from £47,500 and rising to more than £62,000 for a top-spec version. It’s several thousand pounds more expensive than its Skoda and VW equivalents, though undercuts the Audi Q4. You do get lots for your money, though, with standard kit including 19-inch alloy wheels, an electric boot, 15.0-inch touchscreen and wide range of driver assistance kit as standard. 

The Tavascan’s trim levels are split between rear-wheel-drive V1 and V2 models and all-wheel-drive VZ1 and VZ2 trims, which both get a performance boost. 

So, is the Cupra Tavascan a car that should be on your electric SUV shortlist? We’ve tried several versions of it already and also run one as a long-term test car for six months so we can give you the definitive verdict – find out more about how we test cars at Parkers.