Here’s an SUV with a great sounding name!  Tavascan sounds like it should be the name of a dominant sultan living somewhere in a remote part of the world… maybe?  Or at least the main character of a fantasy epic.  Actually, Cupra have taken the name Tavascan from a village that is located in the Pyrenees.  The village is unique because of its stunning landscape and beautiful nature.  A perfect name, then, for what is a stunning-looking new mid-size SUV.

The 2024 Cupra Tavascan SUV is an electric vehicle (EV), so if you’re still hankering for a battery-packed hot new release, then the Tavascan should add a bit of spark into your drive.  It definitely feels as though Cupra have pushed the envelope out with this one.  It isn’t so much the way it looks on the outside (which looks pretty good in the metal – as do all of Cupra’s models), but the moment you open the doors and look inside the Tavascan’s cabin – that’s when it’s stunning.  The seats are sculptured in a slim-lined fashion, offering very good cushioning under the thighs.  The dash is a work of art and quite different from what you’d expect; refreshingly so.  It actually reminds me a little of the earlier Ford Focus models, where the bold curves and angles veered away from what was standard fare at the time.  The very strong anchoring points in the dash’s visual display come from the central console and A-pillar-to-front door windowsills, where the sweeping curves masterfully brace the dash and its components, gracefully pulling it all together.  And the central infotainment touchscreen is huge, as it features prominently as part of Cupra’s high-tech visuality.  Alongside this, on the driver’s side is an excellent digital driver’s display, which delivers awesome graphics and all the right information for the drive.  You can, of course, alter the background lighting right throughout the cabin, and you have various modes for the display screens.

One of the great things about Cupras is that they are fun vehicles to drive.  The Tavascan SUV is no different.  The flow and dynamism you feel in the driver’s seat as you drive the Tavascan crisply across B-road country is hugely satisfying.  The only thing is that you do need to be aware of where your next battery top-up point will be, as this will kipper your choice of route somewhat.  The Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) suggests that your new Tavascan SUV will manage a tad over 500 km on a full charge. 

Living with an EV does mean you will need to structure/restructure your day a little more.  The Tavascan will recharge from 10 to 80% in 30 minutes if you can find a spare 135 kW charging station.  If you can hook it up for a recharge at home or at the office carpark for an overnight top-up, the Tavascan makes for an exciting way to travel to work or home the next morning.

The 2024 Cupra Tavascan SUV comes in two forms.  The first is the rear-wheel-drive (RWD) Endurance model, which boasts a zippy 210 kW of power, which is enough to send the near 2.2-ton SUV from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.2 seconds.  The other model is the all-wheel-drive (AWD) VZ model.  This version is a little quicker thanks to its 250-kW power rating, allowing it to scamper from a standstill to 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds.  Top speed for the Tavascan SUV has been limited to 180 km/h.

Both the Endurance and the VZ are available with an option pack that brings more equipment to the table.  The Endurance comes standard with 19-inch wheels, but the “immersive” pack provides you with 20-inch ones.  The “immersive” pack also adds a sweet Sennheiser sound system, even better ambient light, and a 360-degree outside camera system. This stuff is all standard on the VZ model. 

Both the RWD and the AWD powertrains require you to upgrade to a winter pack before you get things like an upgraded heater, which is essentially a heat pump, or heated seats.  The “extreme” pack adds some really nice deep bucket seats, and you also get the biggest rims, which are 21 inches and come with performance tyres.

Then there is also the “adrenaline” pack, which includes adaptive dampers for the RWD car (standard on the AWD model), a stylish set of matrix LED headlights, a heads-up display, and a glass roof. 

Some of the nice standard features you get at the base price are the whopping 15-inch touchscreen, front sports seats, three-zone climate control air-conditioning, and a powered tailgate to make life easy when you load up the boot with all your shopping.  Speaking of which, the Cupra Tavascan SUV has 540 litres to fill behind the rear seats when they are in their upright position.  This is before you decide you need more space after the shopping spree and discover you will need to fold all the rear seats down nice and flat, or maybe just make use of the 60:40 split-folding configuration for more cargo space. 

The Tavascan SUV is yet to be fully crash tested, but Cupra belongs to the VW stable, so the Tavascan is a solid wee chap and is well put together.  And doesn’t it look sharp!  It has a special exterior style with a lot of flare, bringing a more interest and excitement than perhaps an equivalent Audi or even a Mercedes – although I’m sure there are Audi and Mercedes aficionados who will fight me on this.

The 2024 CUPRA Tavascan SUV models include the:

• CUPRA Tavascan Endurance RWD
• CUPRA Tavascan VZ AWD

For any more information on the new CUPRA Tavascan SUV or, for that matter, any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181.  If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of CUPRA dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours.  Private Fleet – car buying made easy!