Cupra Born vs Kia EV4

The Cupra Born costs £1,250 more than the Kia EV4. For that premium it adds 30 miles more WLTP range. The Kia EV4 is not just cheaper - it also offers 50 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Cupra Born comes out ahead overall.

The Kia EV4 is £1,250 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £128 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Kia EV4 comes out roughly £1,170 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 250 miles for the Cupra Born and 226 miles for the Kia EV4 - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Cupra Born goes roughly 25 miles further between charging stops.

The Cupra Born is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 51 mm narrower than the Kia EV4. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 591 mm of total clearance for the Cupra Born and about 540 mm of total clearance for the Kia EV4. The Cupra Born also turns in a 0.7 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the Cupra Born and 89% for the Kia EV4. That gives the Kia EV4 a modest edge in retained real-world range. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.