Today, we’re driving the evil twin of the VW ID.4 or the ID.5. This is here the Cupra Tavascan, sits on the same platform, but it is quite different already from the looks here, you can see in picture above.
Exterior Design
Let’s go in the front. It’s somewhat like a supercar look already here for an electric vehicle. The Cupra lettering here and the logo in this tribal style, and yeah, in the lower part, it doesn’t look EV-alike. As I said, more like an SUV performance car or something like that.
Then, you have these daytime running light signatures. It always reminds me a little bit of Zelda, you know, and Ganon and so on, and yeah. Who has thought of the Triforce here as well? If you played that game, tell me in the comments.
Then, we go towards the side profile. Of course, you could also get a matrix LED for that here, by the way. And here the length is 4m 64 or 183 inches, so rather than in the compact dimensions. And you can see why it’s rather an ID.5 because it has this coupé styling look.
Here, these simple rubber frames around the windows, I have to say, at that price point, maybe not enough. Yeah, that’s one thing I see from the exterior. Wheels, always large, 19 to maximum 21 inches and then also forged wheels are actually even available. So, large wheels, these are the largest ones available.
We’ll see about that, how it turns out. You can also get it with DCC as the adaptive suspension. We also have it equipped with this very vehicle right here.
And if we follow it, well, it’s always been a design object for sure, and even more so in the rear. It begins already right here, and then the light strip goes all the way through, including this illuminated Cupra logo here in the central part that looks, once again, look at that. Such a huge Cupra lettering right here, and VZ.
This is then the performance version, the all-wheel-drive version. Because you get a rear-wheel-drive version 6.8 seconds in the acceleration figure or this one here, the VZ, the all-wheel-drive version. One electric motor per axle and then you are at 5.5 seconds in the acceleration figure. Yeah, and we’ll take a look at that very, very soon.
And is there a frunk or not? Let’s take a look here. Sadly, no, there is none, so you can refill the wiper fluid here, and that’s basically it. But this is interesting, right? Like, look at that. Like, who thought about this? Yeah, really interesting. That is basically all of this design, why not?
Battery size, by the way, it’s 77 kilowatt-hours net. And recharging 135 kilowatt-peak and that will give you like 10 to 80% state of charge in about 28 minutes.
The real-world range. We’ll test this vehicle here thoroughly motorway, dynamic driving, and so on and at the end of the day give you our final realistic world consumption and then also calculate the range then for you at the very end of this review.
Yeah, I wanted to show you this cool effect here where it’s a little bit darker in the shadow. Yeah, if you have collected enough Triforce pieces in Zelda then they also appear yellow in the Cupra Tavascan. Here the turning indicators or hazard lights.
I think it looks really cool in the front already, doesn’t it? If you have this matrix LED here in the rear, pretty cool, also with the cascading effect, and it’s not only cascading, if you come around to the side, you can see it’s also layered behind each other. Pretty cool, isn’t it? And better to see in the shadow here, even the central Cupra logo is illuminated. Cool, right?
Interior Design
Let’s check out the interior, the car key, yeah, like all the group keys has the Cupra logo in this case here, but the high-gloss black, not my favorite. The door handles are flush here, but you can grab inside. And door closing sound. A solid.
Rear. Yeah, it’s also solid, just not again here that you have these rubber lips here around the windows, not my favorite. Then, inside of the doors, here is also somewhat soft touch. And dramatic design here also right around here. Then this typical Cupra copper accentuation.
And nice holes on the inside as an additional design element also for the ambient lighting blue then in the styling here. However no felt covering for the inside door pockets. And steering wheel here with the capacitive BS button, sadly. They don’t give you a feedback when the vehicle is off, they do so that’s not the best solution actually.
Seating and Comfort
Seat control in the lower part. They are actually quite complicated, I think. They look cool, but I think they are actually a little bit complicated. But more to the seats and the comfort.
The seats are also cool design with a integrated head restraint. They are animal-free, animal-friendly, however you want to call it, so they are no animal-based materials used. But they are actually quite stiff, I have to say, and not the most comfortable ones.
Then, let’s get inside, and they have this entry logo. And interior, really cool what they have done here, right? So, so dramatic styling here with these steps right there, and this has a huge effect for the interior feeling. And as I said, very dramatic, but here’s the thing.
Although it looks very dramatic, it’s not that the package wouldn’t fit. I have enough headroom right here. There’s no panoramic roof inbuilt. Of course, the rear part here is a little bit compromised then, but in the front, it actually does fit. But, this one here, the seating position, and this is really strange.
I cannot put the seat lower. I’m at 1m 86 or 6’1″, and I would like to have it a little bit lower, but it doesn’t work, and I also cannot put the seat higher. This is the highest position. And there is no separate cushion extension. It’s integrated right here, and this is really strange because I would like to put the seat a little bit more forward, a little bit more back, and a little bit higher and a little bit lower, but none of this works.
So, really strange that they have not thought about that. So, the only thing I can do is to put the seat a little bit more backward or a little bit more in the front, and that’s it.
But overall, the seat form, it does fit me, actually, quite well, and also when driving and steering wheel can be adjusted in all four ways, so that’s actually quite good. But here, as I said, just a little bit strange.
Infotainment & Entertainment Features
Then, interior overview. This is a very big change here, isn’t it? With the steps, but it’s actually quite okay, because it gives you more this cockpit feeling, although it’s not too high right here. And then,
you have this big screen setup, 12.5-inch, digital instruments on the left and also 12.5-inch on the right. This one here is the biggest infotainment system, but, I mean, you would use both screens basically at the same time, and, yeah, this is the biggest one, and it looks quite fancy, doesn’t it?
So, this is the main menu. It’s actually quite responsive, so, I can live with that. However, I would like to have a separate volume knob or at least a separate button for that, and here you have to go then to the main menu. This is a little bit complicated then, but overall, the reaction times, they are quite okay.
Apple CarPlay integration like this, and you see, it takes over the whole screen, and that’s also good. And, by the way, you have this capacitive slider here then for the volume, but you also can use the buttons here at the steering wheel, and this is actually the more convenient solution.
Yeah, this is the infotainment system. The GPS, by the way, I can show you here the GPS, pretty cool visualization, and that’s also quite responsive. So, I think that is actually quite okay. And the top part here, this one is also pretty cool.
This is the seat massage function, and that is also included here, but you have to go a little bit deeper in the menu to access that. And here, the side view camera, by the way, this one is really cool. So, when I put the left turning indicator, then I see the left side camera, and that’s a very good resolution, very good system.
We’ve seen that a couple of times now, and this is actually quite good. So, and when I go to the front camera, then you have the fake drone view from above, and the resolution could be a little bit better here for this front view camera, but overall, this is really fancy, and you can also get this virtual drone view while driving at very low speeds, and that’s a very, very good system. So, they did a lot to make the interior more interesting, more fancy, and, yeah, I think that’s also quite cool.
Here, the lower part, by the way, this is the driving mode selector, so when I put it to the right, I can select the driving modes, and then you have this haptic feedback, and you also see it in the screen when I switch the driving modes, and there’s also this off-road mode, so, yeah, at least somewhat off-road capable, so to say, and also when you switch the driving modes, the ambient lighting is also changing. We have set it to blue here, so we cannot change it right now, but I can show you here with this key how it looks like in the rear.
And here, you can also see the lighting signatures, they are really fancy here, aren’t they? Very nice done. So, yeah, that’s very cool.
And, yeah, one pedal feeling, by the way, I have to say, somewhat a little bit inconsistent here. It’s not the best one pedal feeling, so, sometimes it decelerates quite harshly, sometimes it doesn’t. I would prefer to have a little bit more consistency there.
So, now let’s get to the rear, and, yeah, as I said, headroom wise, that’s the thing. It works for tall people. It does not work for tall people with a panoramic roof, so, yeah, and I can also still sit here, but, I mean, for a vehicle of that size, this is actually quite okay, and, yeah, I can live with that, and the interior overview here, you see, also with a nice view to the front.
That’s actually quite okay. Isofix at the outside of the seats each, and you also have this armrest right there, which is actually quite soft, so, yeah, you can live with that. Then, you can also flip the seats from here. Actually, quite good, and you can also put some beverage holders there. That’s, by the way, quite interesting. So, overall, a very interesting setup here for sure.
Now, the trunk area, and, yeah, this is actually quite good to use, and, I mean, it’s not too high, but you have a very good square dimensions here for sure, and, yeah, this is actually quite okay. So, overall, you have a lot of space here in the rear, and also to flip the seats, and that’s actually quite good.
So, what do you think about this interior here? Please leave me your comments.
Driving Experience
So, driving wise, let’s get inside, and, yeah, I mean, it’s not the most comfortable car, as I said, with these seats, but let’s test the acceleration. We start in the normal mode, and let’s go. That was 70 already. So, the acceleration is actually quite good, 6.9 seconds to 100 kilometers or 62 miles an hour. That’s actually quite okay, and the performance also feels quite decent.
So, this is the combustion engine here, the 2.5-liter four-cylinder, naturally aspirated. And, I mean, it’s a nice sound, isn’t it? So, I think they have done quite well with this combustion engine here, although it’s naturally aspirated. It feels actually quite good. The power output also feels quite sufficient, I have to say.
Steering feeling, that’s, by the way, pretty good. It feels actually quite direct. You can also put it to the sports mode, and then the steering gets a little bit stiffer, but I think it’s actually quite okay. So, although it’s somewhat very, very spectacular from the exterior, it’s actually quite okay to drive.
So, the suspension here, also a little bit stiffer, but, I mean, that’s somewhat suitable to this vehicle. So, I think they have found a quite good compromise. So, it’s not too rough, but also not too soft, so I think that’s actually quite well done.
Then, of course, the noise insulation here, it’s not the best. I can hear that engine, but I think it’s still somewhat okay. You can live with that. What do you think? And then, the consumption. Well, considering the size of the vehicle and the engine, I think it’s actually quite okay. So, we are about 8 liters on 100 kilometers, which would be 29 mpg US, and that’s actually quite okay for such a size of vehicle.
Driving wise, as I said, it’s actually quite okay. So, here, the side wind, you feel a little bit. That’s due to the very upright windows right here, so that’s one thing to criticize. But overall, I think it’s actually quite fun to drive this vehicle.
The lane change, for example, very, very precise, and you also feel that this vehicle does not wobble around too much, so I think that’s actually quite okay. Also, the blind spot monitor, by the way, we have it built in, and it also shows up here in the screen when I put
the turning indicator, and I think that’s actually quite helpful. So, overall, driving-wise, I think they have done a good job. The question is, would I go for this vehicle here, or would I go for a Model Y, for example? This one here, of course, has the advantage that you still have this combustion engine, so you don’t have to care about charging too much, and also for longer trips, this is still a good choice. So, I think they have done quite well here with the Rav4.
So, what do i think about our driving part? And now, let’s conclude for today with the Toyota Rav4 Facelift. So, exterior, I think a very dramatic change, and they also made it more sensual in the front.
That’s, I think, a quite interesting change. Interior, very dramatic change as well with these steps and the huge screen setup, so I think that’s also very well done. They have thought about the ambient lighting, the driving modes, the infotainment system, all very well executed.
However, they could have done a little bit more with the seat controls, I think, and also the seating comfort could have been a little bit better. Driving-wise, actually quite okay, good acceleration, also good performance, and also very precise handling. The consumption, considering the size and the engine, also quite okay, and the noise insulation could be a little bit better, but overall, I think it’s actually quite a good driving experience.
And overall, I think they have done a very good job here with the Cupra Tavascan. So, what do you think? Please leave me your comments.
