Cupra Raval
Our convoy of three Raval prototypes winds its way up and out of the neighbourhood of Cupra’s Martorell technical centre towards the hills. In urban traffic, the car’s top-level drivability seems to strike a good compromise between simplicity and configurability. Cupra’s usual wheel-rim-mounted button for drive mode lets you cycle between the familiar Comfort, Eco, Individual, Performance and Cupra modes - with some noticeable digital engine noise manufacturing apparent in the latter two. Throttle response feels a little overly touchy and sensitive in the sportier modes. But brake progression is always cleverly managed - without the sudden jump up in feedback and retardation that some EVs show when moving between motor regen and friction braking.
“I didn’t want any non-linearity in the driving experience of this car,” Tietz says, when I feed back a few first impressions. “We aimed to make it consistent and predictable in every way; to respond always as you expect.” It’s the kind of approach you might have expected the Volkswagen Group to take, particularly in a class where more impish and expressive, potentially less well-rounded competitors already reside.
But does it make it fun? These mountain roads aren’t quite as useful as a circuit might have been in answering that question. The Raval VZ certainly has that dynamic maturity factor Werner’s talking about. It tackles each sweeping bend with plenty of grip and zip, unwavering lateral body control and chassis composure, and lots of traction as you feed in what feels like a gutsy amount of power. It inspires confidence with its sheer competence. The car’s mechanical vectoring front seems to lock up quite subtly under power, but stay open under braking; making the car composed as you commit it to a corner, and locked onto its line as you accelerate.
There’s lots of sophistication apparent here. An isolated, composed ride. Nicely weighted, consistent steering that doesn’t feel aggressively quick or over-assisted, and lets you guide the car instinctively. Unintrusive driver aids that don’t seem to bother you much when left on - but are also only ever one flick of a finger from accessing, via the upper edge of the infotainment screen, to switch off (apparently Cupra test driver and ex-WTCC hotshoe Jordi Gene’s one request was for a ‘bullshit button’ that would turn everything off at one press; though Tietz wasn’t able to provide it).
Could the car have been more agile, I wonder? It’s certainly got a bit more ‘big car’ feel than it really needs. Would trading a little of that outright grip, composure and handling precision for a more playful, engaging cornering posture have been worthwhile? There might be just a shade too much of the ever-composed, all-electric VW Group ‘GTI’ about the Raval; although it’s very early to say with any certainty.
