Your Definitive Guide to the new Cupra Born VZ electric car Lease

The new Cupra Born VZ electric car Lease - Your Definitive Guide

One of the initial obstacles for many personal and business leasing customers going electric was the range of the vehicle. This rudimentary argument has been soon displaced by more interesting and poignant observations, now that almost all customers understand that the range of an EV is suitable for most driving styles. 

The old adage of “the range of an electric car just isn’t good enough” no longer applies. When you see new and improved derivatives, like the high-performance Cupra Born VZ, come to market this does cement the confidence of the UK’s automotive customers.

The Cupra Born VZ has a great range but how much does it cost to charge?

As discussed below, in adding a substantial 79 kWh usable battery option to the mix, we have another credible hatchback which can achieve almost 300 miles on a full charge (real range). But in adding the extra capacity, how does this affect the cost to charge?

The cost of charging your electric car is actually more simple to ascertain than many customers believe. Whilst many of us in the combustion world don’t do this with our petrol / diesel options, we understand that EVs are held to higher standards until they become wholly mainstream.

As our leasing customers will note, we set out a “full charge cost” on the website, so that this cost is discussed early into the process. In particular, many fleets and company car schemes do look at Whole of Life costs more heavily and the cost per mile is something which helps them make an effective and strategic decision when it comes to anything automotive.

However, for any personal, business or salary sacrifice driver looking into costs, they can quickly get their answers based on the below:

•  Battery - every EV will have a battery size shown as kWh (Kilowatt-hour). This is different to kW (Kilowatt) which is a unit of measurement for the rate of power i.e. an alternative to PS or BHP. When you look at the kWh on the manufacturer description you do need to be careful as some list the overall size and others adopt the usable battery. Just to succinctly explain this, many manufacturers will reduce their overall battery size by about 5%, so that the battery can never be charged beyond its full capacity. While e-car do use the battery capacity and usable capacity, this is not consistent across other businesses. However, it is the usable battery which you must consider in order to calculate the cost. So for the Born VZ this has a battery capacity of 82 kWh but a usable capacity of 79 kWh;
•  Cost - a unit of electricity will have a price affixed to it. This is key to your analysis as if you know the usable battery size (i.e. the parameters of 0 - 100%) you simply need to know the cost for each kWh. As we will discuss below, charging is not a unilateral experience in the UK and the form (AC or DC) will influence the time it takes and the price you pay. For the Born VZ, because this has a bigger capacity of 79 kWh compared to the 58 kWh for the standard option this is going to cost you more. However, it is where you charge which will complete this conundrum;

•  Where you charge / speed of charge - charging your EV will take place at home, work or on the public network. At each juncture you can charge at different speeds in AC (slower and more methodical) and DC (rapid and brief). Many public charging stations will often charge you more, shown as pence per kWh, for utilising a quicker charger. However, on each charging element there will be a cost, such as the price on your electricity bill or the price on the charger itself. Once you have that information you can make the final calculations as per the example below:
• Supported Tariff - many leading energy companies now offer a dedicated charging tariff for your EV. For example, the OVO Charge Anytime  will offer a 7p per kWh rate subject to their terms and conditions. For the Born VZ this means a full charge cost of £5.53 (and a cost per mile of 1.94 pence);
•  Standard Domestic Tariff - the price you pay for electricity at your home will be based around the Ofgem CAP . Until the end of June 2024 this is set at 24.5p per kWh. For the Born VZ this means a full charge cost of £19.36 (and a cost per mile of 6.79 pence);

•  Rapid Charge - if you charge your vehicle in the public network you are subject to that operator’s pricing. Each company has a different rate according to the charging speed, location and any other relevant offers. This is why we encourage customers to sign up with Zap Map, because their software not only helps you understand where to charge but it shows availability / ratings and prices. As you can see on the Zap Map website the current average for rapid / ultra-rapid is 80p per kWh. For the Born VZ this means a full charge cost of £63.20 (and a cost per mile of 22.18 pence). While we understand that on a rapid charge solution you are only topping-up (i.e. adding 30-40%), this is still a good illustration.

The new Cupra Born VZ went live on the e-car website this week (June 2024). Now available with a 5-year warranty, or 90,000 miles, the VZ Born is an EV centred around power, style and efficacy.

Some of the key features include the CUP bucket seats, regenerative paddle shifts on the steering wheel, dynamic suspension, 20” alloys, improved new dampers, two new colours (Dark Forest and Midnight Black) and immersive Sennheiser Sound System. This option will also provide Smart Light technology, adaptive cruise control with lane assist, front light assist and dynamic display. Even more detail can be garnered from the Cupra manufacturer website.

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