Cupra Raval review: First drive of spicy Spanish hatchback

November 28, 2025 Matt Allan

We say hola to the latest hot hatch contender looking to enliven the EV world

There are a lot of new EVs coming in 2026. But some are more important than others. And among the most important might be the Cupra Raval.

A new model from a Spanish brand with a solid reputation for fun cars is good news in itself. But, more importantly, the Raval is the first of four new cars coming from the Volkswagen Group under its Urban Car Family banner.

As such, it’s the vanguard in a wave of smaller, more affordable EVs from the Group to compete with the likes of the Renaults 4 and 5 and their myriad rivals.

Cupra, whose current EV range costs from £34,000 to nearly £60,000, wants to boost e-mobility with smaller, more affordable options, and has taken the lead on the Urban Car Family. The Raval — named after an edgy, artsy district of Barcelona — is a Seat Ibiza-sized hatchback due on our roads by mid 2026, with the Skoda Epiq, VW ID.Polo and ID.Cross following in its wake.

All four B-segment cars are based on the MEB+ platform – an updated version of the architecture that underpins everything from the Skoda Elroq to the VW ID Buzz. All will also be built in Spain. The Raval and ID.Polo will come from the Cupra Martorell factory while the Skoda and ID.Cross will be built at the Volkswagen Navarra plant a few hundred miles away.

Cupra Raval performance

Cupra has always been the “sporty” arm of the VW Group and its current motto is “No drivers, no Cupra”. Befitting this positioning, the Raval sits 15mm lower than the other models for a more muscular stance and arrives with its most potent versions first.

Although it’s still several months from launch, Cupra has been very open about the Raval range. At launch we’ll see three trim levels and two powertrains, with additional battery and motor choices expected later.

Every launch version will get the same battery. Capacity is TBC, but Cupra says it should return up to 279 miles of range. In Dynamic and Dynamic Plus trims that’s hooked up to a 207bhp motor at the front wheels.

VZ Extreme is the range-topper and gets a 223bhp motor. Range drops to 249 miles but the VZ Extreme gets bespoke steering knuckles for more direct handling, an electronic limited slip differential, stiffer dynamic chassis control (DCC), a 10mm wider track and wider tyres for extra grip. You can balance that extra grip with the ability to deactivate the electronic stability control — another VZ Extreme exclusive feature.

Cupra hasn’t revealed a 0-62mph time yet, but “quick” covers it. It’s not a rocketship but in Cupra mode the Raval VZ Extreme punches up the road rapidly, with immediate response and torque whenever you ask for it. Top speed is 108mph.

My time at the wheel was a relatively brief drive in a pre-production car but first impressions based on some spirited driving in the hills around Barcelona are entirely positive.

At 1.5 tonnes the Raval is a relative featherweight for an EV and it feels light and compact from the wheel, with a pleasing agility befitting its hot hatch ambitions.

There are various drive modes, which all make a perceptible difference. Range mode is there to preserve battery and there’s a clear deadening of the throttle. It still responds immediately to inputs but it’s just not as punchy. For urban pootling the Normal mode feels fine and sensible with enough life to nip through traffic. Then there’s a Performance mode which sharpens everything up a bit.

But it’s really Cupra mode where it comes alive. In Performance there’s still a slight lack of bite to the steering but in Cupra mode it finally gets the weight and speed to deliver proper hot hatch handling.

That’s allied to well-gauged body control that keeps things tidy and an electronic LSD to help it dive in and haul out of corners with real willingness. There’s a delightful nimbleness and directness to how the Raval scurries through a sequence of corners. Sharp steering is aided by immediate and plentiful response from the throttle and lots of grip from the Bridgestone Pontenzas. This might be a pre-prod car but it already feels pretty well resolved and perhaps more alive than the Raval’s most obvious rival, the Alpine A290.

All VZ Extreme models get 15-way adjustable damping courtesy of the Dynamic Chassis Control. On smooth Spanish roads around Martorell even the stiffest setting delivers a firm but not uncomfortable ride. More relaxed modes seemed to cope well with our brief run on some urban roads. I suspect that most UK drivers will use the “Individual” mode to marry Cupra throttle and steering with a more dialled-back ride to deal with our lunar surface-like roads.

One of the big changes for Raval over previous MEB-based cars is the introduction of a “one-box” braking system that brings three previously disparate control elements together, plus the introduction of rear disc brakes for the first time on a Cupra EV. The result – once you switch off the braking regen – is one of the most positive and natural feeling brake pedals fitted to an EV. If you want to use the regen, there are four levels accessed via column-mounted paddles, including an adaptive mode and full one-pedal driving.

Like a number of sporty EVs, the Raval gets a synthesised motor sound which activates in Performance and Cupra modes and adds a spaceship whoosh to heavy throttle inputs. It’s pretty well matched to speed and throttle and dies away at a cruise (pay attention, Abarth!), but it won’t be for everyone, so can be deactivated.

Cupra is adept at taking shared platforms and technology and giving them a recognisable Cupra feel, and the Raval certainly achieves that.

Cupra Raval design

Cupra is also pretty good at adding a stylish Spanish design twist to its models. The test car’s funky camouflage hid the finer details but hinted at a neatly proportioned and sharply styled small car. Even under the wrap the Raval looks more interesting than its VW or Skoda stablemates. It sits low and wide, with 19-inch wheels filling out the arches and a rear light bar that juts out over a concave bootlid to make it look like it’s moving even when it’s standing still.

The triangular logo has inspired three-element light units at the front with slender triangular running and turn lights grouped around slimline Matrix LED headlight units. Cupra’s very proud of what it’s done with the lights. As well as a fancy welcome light show at the front, the taillights perform an elegant boot-up sequence that starts with the illuminated badge and flows out through the laser-etched full-width light bar to the six triangular main tail units.

All very funky and futuristic and something to differentiate it from its VW and Skoda siblings.

I can’t tell you much about the interior because it was mostly under heavy covers, with just the screens and steering wheel exposed. I can tell you the Cup bucket seats of the VZ trim are grippy, supportive and comfortable, and there’s plenty of space up front. Screen-wise everything appears to be the familiar Cupra setup. There’s a 15-inch central touchscreen running the latest and much-improved OS, and a smaller digital instrument panel directly ahead of the driver. VZ models, at least, get a drive mode select button and a dedicated Cupra button on the steering wheel along with proper physical switches.

Cupra Raval price and specification

Trim highlights for the Dynamic model include Dinamica-wrapped bucket seats and 18-inch alloys, plus the 207bhp motor. Dynamic Plus gets an iridescent paint finish, 19-inch wheels, Matrix LED lights and a 12-speaker Sennheiser stereo, as well as more advanced driver aids. VZ Extreme adds supportive Cup bucket seats and a “Manganese Matt” paint, plus the performance upgrades.

Prices for the Cupra Raval will start at €26,000 Euro. In the UK, we’d expect a starting price of around £25,000, rising to the region of £35,000 for the hottest VZ version. That’s a little more than a Renault 5 or Nissan Micra, but sporty Cupra always carries a price premium over more mainstream rivals. At the top of that estimate, it’s up against the Alpine A290 and the various spicy models from Abarth, Vauxhall and Peugeot.

Verdict

This Cupra Raval review is based on a limited amount of time with a heavily camouflaged pre-production car, so things could change. But right now everything points to the Cupra Raval being a Spanish success story and serious rival to all those cars. Even under camouflage it looks great, and it appears to have the performance and handling chops to back up Cupra’s driver-focused approach.