Styling
The styling of the Raval is clearly still under wraps for now, with a full reveal of the car due sometime in 2026. Even so, it's clear that it will visually share much with the existing
Born and
Tavascan EVs in the Cupra family, complete with a beaky, smoothed-off nose and angular side panels. What we do know is that it measures 4,046mm long (with a 2,600mm wheelbase), 1,784mm wide (excluding the mirrors) and 1,518mm tall, while base cars will sit on 18-inch wheels with the top two grades wearing their own designs of 19s. The other big talking point externally relates to the latest matrix-LED lights fore and aft, which feature funky welcome/goodbye animations and a light-up Cupra logo in the full-width lamp strip on the bootlid. Anyway, from what little we can infer from this disguised prototype, we'd venture that the Raval is going to be a good-looking thing, provided there are some nice, bright, eye-catching colours available for its creased bodywork.
Interior
The interior was even more of a mystery than the exterior, as it was clothed in obfuscating cloth. But again, we have a few key points. First of all, the Cupra Raval will debut a new generation of in-car interface, with the usual twin-screen set-up of a central infotainment display and then a driver's digital cluster. This latter item looks far fancier and glitzier in terms of graphics than existing Cupra efforts, while the central touchscreen also seemed visually sharper and super-responsive too - what little of it we interacted with.
Besides that, we can report that we saw lots of physical switchgear inside the Raval, including on the rather tidy steering wheel, and that while the base two specs (likely to be called Dynamic and Dynamic Plus, although whether Cupra UK will switch to its familiar 'V1', 'V2', 'VZ1' etc line-up remains to be seen) enjoy Dinamica bucket seats at the front, the range-topping VZ Extreme receives an exquisite and thoroughly supportive set of 'Cup' buckets, which are wonderful to sit in. That's a big tick for the Raval, right there.
Practicality
We won't comment on this section in any great detail, as the Cupra Raval's cabin was so heavily disguised. We do know the company says that, due to the 2.6-metre wheelbase, the second row of seating is supposed to be surprisingly capacious, as is the boot. Anecdotally, while we didn't sit in the back ourselves, nor did we open the Raval's tailgate, those who did at the event said it was roomy in the rear and that the boot looked generous (VW has already revealed the related ID. Polo has 435 litres of cargo capacity with all seats in use), so fingers crossed for some impressive stats in these regards when the production version of the Cupra is finally revealed in full.
Performance
We have no data on the battery packs for the Cupra at this stage, although - again - Volkswagen has, subsequent to our test-drive of the Raval, released information for the ID. Polo that reveals it will have access to 37- and 52kWh units, the former LFP in make-up and the latter NMC. However, that bigger unit is likely to be the only one found in the Raval, given that it a) uses only the 210- and 226hp propulsion units because Cupra is a sporty brand, whereas the ID. Polo will have lower-powered 116- and 135hp drivetrains for use with the 37kWh LFP battery, and b) the Spanish firm has confirmed all Ravals will do between 248 and 279 miles to a single charge. You're not getting that sort of range out of 37kWh, no matter how hard you try.
So the Dynamic/V1 and Dynamic Plus/V2 models will use the 210hp powertrain, whereas this VZ Extreme (VZ1?) runs a 226hp motor that also delivers 290Nm of torque, and from a very rough finger-in-the-air appraisal of the car's acceleration without recourse to timing gear, we'd say a sub-seven-second 0-62mph time is not out of the question. This feels a very rapid little machine, certainly up to 60mph (where acceleration does then start to tail off markedly), and the company has even coded in a synthetic noise which overlays the pick-up of speed in both Performance and Cupra modes for the Raval, something that won't please everyone but which we think brought an added edge of involvement to pushing the prototype along a twisting Spanish road.
The best news about the Raval, though, comes not so much with how it gains speed, but how it then sheds it. This is the first VW Group EV to run proper disc brakes on the rear axle, instead of the more cost-effective drums, and it also has what it termed a 'one-box' braking system to control it. The result is the most organic and effective brake pedal we think we've encountered yet in any EV at any price; the Cupra Raval slows down like the very best internal-combustion cars of yore.
For those wanting to know about the electric-car regeneration side of retardation, with the drive switch in 'D' then there are four settings from 0-3, with '0' allowing the Raval to 'coast' in a natural fashion, while '3' provides a strong level of braking - but not one-pedal driving. For that, you'll need to put the car into 'B' by clicking the drive selector down once already in 'D', whereupon the two settings of well-judged regen here will both bring the car to a complete halt if you lift off the accelerator. Great stuff.
Ride & Handling
Although Cupra is leading the way with the Raval, it said this VZ Extreme prototype sits "15mm lower than the chassis with a 10mm-wider track too". What the company means by that is that this iteration of the MEB+ is deliberately sportier and more focused than what will be used as the standard platform beneath all of the ID. Cross, ID. Polo and Epiq, although the already-confirmed ID. Polo GTI will likely use the same hardware as the Raval VZ Extreme.
Moving onto other details, while all Ravals will have a sporty suspension tune and adaptive shock absorbers, the VZ Extreme gets all the most desirable chassis kit - including 15-way adjustable Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) Sport dampers that are said to "offer five per cent greater rigidity" than the other models, grippier 235-section tyres on the 19-inch wheels, the 10mm-wider track, the ability to completely disengage the electronic stability control (ESC), and also the electronic limited-slip-diff-mimicking system known widely as XDS in the VW Group, although Cupra did not confirm that name here.
It adds up to a car which delivers the sort of engaging, enjoyable and downright fun driving experience which so many of the group's EVs have failed to muster up so far, the rear-driven
Volkswagen ID.3 GTX among them. While the underlying behaviour of the Raval is firm, even if you dial the DCC Sport down to setting 1 of the suspension, it's never uncomfortable as it deals with lumps in the road and broken sections of tarmac, while it can even deal with sizeable speed bumps gracefully. On the motorway, it feels stable, solid and assured, which is remarkable for a small, relatively light EV city car.
When you get to twisting roads, though, the Raval lives up to its Cupra billing. What with the ample power it has on tap at all times, and that wonderful brake pedal to rely on, you can really chuck the VZ Extreme into a series of challenging bends with gusto, enjoying meaty, informative and well-weighted steering, a superb level of body and wheel control, and the apex-seeking joy of that electronic diff. Get on the power abruptly in tight corners in the Raval VZ Extreme, and it won't wash wide into safety-led understeer, but instead bites into the inside of the bend with real verve. There's even a feeling of throttle-adjustability to the back axle, too, so that you can rotate the car with nothing more than well-timed lifts of your right foot. Front-wheel drive it may be, but the Raval VZ feels like a genuinely holistic performance car, rather than just an EV with some powerful motors installed into a platform which can barely handle them.
Value
Cupra has targeted a European-wide starting price of €26,000 for the Raval family. A UK representative of the firm intimated to us at this event that the company is trying to set the prices in a £25,000-£35,000 bracket for this market, which would dovetail neatly with the Born; a V1 59kWh version of that, complete with 231hp and 264 miles of range, would set you back £35,690 as at the time of writing. Obviously, the brilliant VZ Extreme with the 226hp powertrain and diff-equipped, DCC-embellished chassis we've sampled here will be at the top end of these numbers, but if Cupra UK can hit the marks it has outlined, the Raval will be competitive with the likes of the rival Alpine A290.
Verdict
There's still a lot to learn about the Cupra Raval ahead of its full reveal and eventual launch to the market, and we've obviously not driven it for an extensive period of test-driving in all traffic scenarios, so what we're basing our first impressions on here is purely how the VZ Extreme feels to drive if you treat it like a hot hatch. Well, the news is very, very good: it feels superb. Playful, agile and marvellously well-sorted, this is a fabulous first showing from the Cupra Raval VZ Extreme. If the production versions are as good to steer as this, we're all in for a real treat.
