The CUPRA Raval Has Arrived... What Do You Think? 👀

[Swansway Motor Group (SEAT & CUPRA)]

CUPRA has always been about sporty design, performance and standing out from the crowd - and the new Raval has arrived!

But we want to know what you think...

Can the Raval become the next iconic CUPRA?

Would you choose it over a traditional hot hatch?
Would you make the switch to electric?
What would your dream specification look like?


Let's hear your thoughts

 

[alanjs]

Saw one, sat in one, ordered one (launch edition). I'm currently driving a Born, and I've been waiting for the Raval to become available.
I was tempted by the VZ, but I can't justify it and SWMBO made veiled threats about a new pair of earrings!

 

[MarkHa]

I have a Born, I ordered the Raval Extreme before seeing it in real life. I decided on it after viewing many reviews on Youtube. Test drove it last week and it is so much more fun to drive over the Born. More Sporty, lower on the road, brakes have great feel and the way it lays the power down with precise steering again is better than my Born. My Born I still rate as a great car but technology has moved on greatly in 4 years. All my small gripes over the Born have been addressed in the Raval, plus a bigger boot despite being a smaller car. No HUD but not the end of the world. Smaller battery on the Raval but I never use all my Born battery capacity anyway. Told to expect delivery early September.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Great to hear, I was suspecting the Raval would be even better to drive than the already great Born and love that they fixed the brakes which to me is an underrated part of the car, I remember especially my first "proper" car a Honda Civic Sport 1.8l 2007 had so satisfying brakes I almost ended up braking more than I needed to get that satisfying "feel" of it. I don't know what kind of braking feel it goes for though, personally I tend to prefer a more linear breaking response, ie. you press a little and it just brakes a little giving a smooth gliding feel, and the more you press obviously the more stopping power but I want it to be rather linear rather than exponential and especially shouldn't be too short of a range so it grips like immediatly. I also consider Raval roomy enough even if it's a little on the smaller side but you can fit two adults in the back as well that's up to 185 cm or so which is very good for this size car, not to mention the unusually good boot space (doesn't matter much to me personally). Plus with 439 km WLTP (I went for eco tires option with a VZ for maximum range but wanted the DCC so I can configure it to my liking) you can use it as a daily car if you want to, for me, I see roughly 440~460 km WLTP or thereabouts as something I'd consider minimum as not just a 2ndary car around town and Raval sits right at the minimum range for that. Shame custom spec Raval will be produced from September onwards, the Launch Editions would have began to ship from end of June here.

I've not yet experienced one pedal driving but I suspect I will regularly use that (I mostly drive around town).

The only thing I had gladly paid extra for is a headsup display, coming from a Mazda 3 with headsup display even standard across all trims (which is unusual) it really made me like seeing that speedometer right in my peripheral view but I suspect it won't be a big problem with Raval as it has a rather large instrument panel display that is very clear (my Honda Civic before that had a nice little digital speedometer display in similar spot just below the windshield that worked for me just fine as well)

As for why I picked Cupra Raval as my first electric. I prefer a sporty & aggressive good looking smaller fun to drive hot hatch style (doesn't have to be super fast for me, but the driving dynamics and feel is much more important). But it needs to be roomy enough (say at least 184 ~ 185 cm or so tall adults can fit in rear seats which ruled out most of the previous compact EVs (except perhaps "Born" but the styling or rather the shape didn't captivate me) when you both factor in fun to drive and compact size) and have decent enough range ~440 km WLTP was roughly my minimum. Fortunately Cupra Raval hits all those spots for me. Between Raval and ID Polo GTI the Raval wins clearly on the exterior styling (ID Polo GTI still has too much of a ordinary family car look for my tastes, not enough deviation from the original Polo) but Polo wins in some regards in the interior styling for me minus the steering wheel which Cupra has perfected.

 

[Swansway Motor Group (SEAT & CUPRA)]

Saw one, sat in one, ordered one (launch edition). I'm currently driving a Born, and I've been waiting for the Raval to become available.
I was tempted by the VZ, but I can't justify it and SWMBO made veiled threats about a new pair of earrings!

Sounds like the Raval has been worth the wait! The Launch Edition looks like a great choice too and coming from a Born, you’ll already be used to the EV experience. What was it about the Raval that you were waiting for?

 

[Swansway Motor Group (SEAT & CUPRA)]

I have a Born, I ordered the Raval Extreme before seeing it in real life. I decided on it after viewing many reviews on Youtube. Test drove it last week and it is so much more fun to drive over the Born. More Sporty, lower on the road, brakes have great feel and the way it lays the power down with precise steering again is better than my Born. My Born I still rate as a great car but technology has moved on greatly in 4 years. All my small gripes over the Born have been addressed in the Raval, plus a bigger boot despite being a smaller car. No HUD but not the end of the world. Smaller battery on the Raval but I never use all my Born battery capacity anyway. Told to expect delivery early September.

Great to hear such a detailed comparison between the Born and the Raval! September will come around quickly! What was the first thing you noticed when you took the Raval out for the test drive compared to your Born?

 

[Swansway Motor Group (SEAT & CUPRA)]

Great to hear, I was suspecting the Raval would be even better to drive than the already great Born and love that they fixed the brakes which to me is an underrated part of the car, I remember especially my first "proper" car a Honda Civic Sport 1.8l 2007 had so satisfying brakes I almost ended up braking more than I needed to get that satisfying "feel" of it. I don't know what kind of braking feel it goes for though, personally I tend to prefer a more linear breaking response, ie. you press a little and it just brakes a little giving a smooth gliding feel, and the more you press obviously the more stopping power but I want it to be rather linear rather than exponential and especially shouldn't be too short of a range so it grips like immediatly. I also consider Raval roomy enough even if it's a little on the smaller side but you can fit two adults in the back as well that's up to 185 cm or so which is very good for this size car, not to mention the unusually good boot space (doesn't matter much to me personally). Plus with 439 km WLTP (I went for eco tires option with a VZ for maximum range but wanted the DCC so I can configure it to my liking) you can use it as a daily car if you want to, for me, I see roughly 440~460 km WLTP or thereabouts as something I'd consider minimum as not just a 2ndary car around town and Raval sits right at the minimum range for that. Shame custom spec Raval will be produced from September onwards, the Launch Editions would have began to ship from end of June here.

I've not yet experienced one pedal driving but I suspect I will regularly use that (I mostly drive around town).

The only thing I had gladly paid extra for is a headsup display, coming from a Mazda 3 with headsup display even standard across all trims (which is unusual) it really made me like seeing that speedometer right in my peripheral view but I suspect it won't be a big problem with Raval as it has a rather large instrument panel display that is very clear (my Honda Civic before that had a nice little digital speedometer display in similar spot just below the windshield that worked for me just fine as well)

As for why I picked Cupra Raval as my first electric. I prefer a sporty & aggressive good looking smaller fun to drive hot hatch style (doesn't have to be super fast for me, but the driving dynamics and feel is much more important). But it needs to be roomy enough (say at least 184 ~ 185 cm or so tall adults can fit in rear seats which ruled out most of the previous compact EVs (except perhaps "Born" but the styling or rather the shape didn't captivate me) when you both factor in fun to drive and compact size) and have decent enough range ~440 km WLTP was roughly my minimum. Fortunately Cupra Raval hits all those spots for me. Between Raval and ID Polo GTI the Raval wins clearly on the exterior styling (ID Polo GTI still has too much of a ordinary family car look for my tastes, not enough deviation from the original Polo) but Polo wins in some regards in the interior styling for me minus the steering wheel which Cupra has perfected.

Great insight, it sounds like you’ve really found the balance you were looking for with the Raval.

We agree that driving feel, especially things like braking response and steering, can make such a difference to how connected you feel with a car. It’s great to hear the Raval has moved things on from the Born while still keeping the practicality you need.

The combination of sporty styling, usable range and enough space for passengers is a big part of what makes it such an interesting EV.

We’ll be looking forward to hearing your thoughts once you’ve had it for a while - especially how it compares to the Born day-to-day!

 

[alanjs]

Sounds like the Raval has been worth the wait! The Launch Edition looks like a great choice too and coming from a Born, you’ll already be used to the EV experience. What was it about the Raval that you were waiting for?

I like the Born and probably would have opted for the new version just announced, but my vehicle needs are changing.
I live in the West Midlands and the roads and traffic just aren't fun. My journeys are mostly local so I was looking for a smaller EV. I started looking at the ID.2 (Polo) and the Raval over a year ago but their release was delayed. I also looked at other manufacturers, but all of their products simply looked like a small box stuck to a bigger box with wheels on the corners. Boring.
When the MEB+ cars were finally announced I looked again at the Polo and Raval and it was no contest. The Raval has style, presence and individuality and all the Raval models have the more sporting suspension set-up which the Polo only has in the GTi. The Launch Edition has a lot of extra tech thrown in (I love tech) for the same price as the normal V2 . No brainer, booked a test drive and ordered on the spot. Now I just have to wait for Martorell to start building RHD cars. And try to figure out how to get access to the Cupra order tracker software like I used to have on my previous Golf orders.
Yes, I would have loved a VZ, but I just don't need it - have e-boost on the Born and I have never used it. V2 will do.
There you go, marketing info.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Great insight, it sounds like you’ve really found the balance you were looking for with the Raval.

We agree that driving feel, especially things like braking response and steering, can make such a difference to how connected you feel with a car. It’s great to hear the Raval has moved things on from the Born while still keeping the practicality you need.

The combination of sporty styling, usable range and enough space for passengers is a big part of what makes it such an interesting EV.

Yes I feel it delivers especially in the key points I was looking for so for that reasons I'm quite excited about it, before this I've had to make too many compromises in what I want, you can get some but not most of it in the same package and I see that as the MEB+ platform's biggest selling point in how it does well in such many areas despite being a small relatively afforable EV. In Raval I'd say the only thing that for my tastes could be even better is the interior could be a slightly more "mature" / grown-up style soft-touch leather with some contrasty coloring to make it feel sporty (I think the new Mazda 6e is a good example that very much falls into my personal taste as far as interior goes with the brown and black coloring soft-touch everywhere style)

Other aspects to Raval I had gladly seen is more rim options, in my case only 2 alternatives, either "Rebel" or "Vandal" when picking a VZ and eco tires. The Icon² rims which had been my favorite appears to be only available with performance tire trim from my understanding asking both a local dealer and checking Raval product catalogue (feels a bit unnecessary "lock-in" tactics, just let customers choose freely...) And also would have loved to pick a more colorful color for the car itself like a bright red with black accents or something or a more unique grey'ish tone, the Fiord Blue came closest to that perhaps so went with that (while Plasma is a bit special with the shifting color, it's still a standard grey color by default and I'm not hugely into that color personally and with a +1000€ cost it was not quite winning me over) but then with the Fiord Blue there's not really any good matching rim options, feels like neither Rebel or Vandal fits nicely at least I'm not a huge fan of how the heavy copper color dominated Vandal rims matches with it (felt too much like some rain-coat / militaristic vibe or something) so figured it's better to go with Rebel alternative then which I think on its own looks great and also together with Plasma but unsure if the light grey plastic aero cover will fit at all with the Fiord Blue but at least I have two options with that, remove the covers altogether or paint them darker, might try go for a dark grey color paint to better match surrounding plastic fenders and seem more integrated, overall I think only black rims matches well with this color (I also like dark/black rims in general that tends to feel more sporty to me, never been a fan of chrome/bright rims).