Cupra Tavascan review

The drama of the Tavascan’s exterior is carried over to the inside of the car, with a swoopy, aggressive, minimalist design that will wow your passengers. That and the gloomy dark colour scheme with copper accents that gives particularly swanky boutique hotel vibes. You half expect to find a Nespresso machine and a sewing kit in the centre console. 

Most of the materials don’t stand up to close inspection, the Tavascan is more premium in design than it is in execution. The dramatic spar that runs from below the screen down to the console is like a gothic buttress, only made of creaky grey plastic rather than stone.

More troublingly, its shape means there's only a small tray below it, where most EVs can provide a deep and useful storage bin. There is space below the armrest though.

Where are all the buttons?

Where indeed. The only button on the central part of the dash is for the hazard warning lights – which you can accidentally turn on if you’re trying to rest your arm amid the never-ending task of adjusting anything on the touchscreen.

The Tavascan also gets VW Group’s ill-advised. touch-sensitive steering wheel controls with haptic feedback underneath – they mostly work fine, but it’s still too easy to press something unintentionally when you’re going through an involved corner. Look, we don’t mind technology, but only when it actually makes life better.

How’s the tech overall?

The 5.3in digital instrument panel is a bit small but does the basics. Most action goes on in the 15in centre screen: it works snappily and can be customised with useful shortcuts and widgets. For instance your favoured combo of assist settings (by law they all default to on when you stop the car) can be activated with just one downward swipe plus one jab.

Wireless phone mirroring is included, but this is a rare car where you might consider using the native satnav. Not because it’s any good, the map is a bit fussy and washed out. But you do get route instructions on the digi dash and arrows that float around the windscreen thanks to the augmented reality head-up display that comes on V2 models and above. 

There's also an LED rail along the base of the windscreen that gives you peripheral vision clues, for instance sweeping left to right as you approach a right turn.

What’s the space like in the back?

In the back, the outer seats are quite dished, which both supports you and provides a bit more room, but that makes the middle one a booby prize. But there's enough headroom despite the plunging roof line, and plenty of leg space if the front seats are lifted from their very lowest position so you can tuck your feet under.

The sportier buckets feature a hard plastic back, so your passengers’ knees will appreciate the extra space. They make it a bit dark in the back, too – the panoramic glass roof that comes on all but the entry model is a welcome addition.

Boot space is deep and fairly tall if you drop the two-level floor, so it's 540 litres under the parcel shelf. There’s no seats-down figure from Cupra, but you’d have to assume it’s at least 541 litres.