Cupra Raval in the mountains, day 2: 427 km over Trans Rarău at 11.8 kWh/100 km
On day two of the test I took the Cupra Raval from Iași over the Trans Rarău road and back, in a convoy with seven other EVs. 427 km, 11.8 kWh/100 km on average and just two short charging stops.
After day one, where I checked space and charging, I took the Cupra Raval on a long trip. I left Iași with 80% battery at 5.5 °C on a loop through Pașcani, Gura Humorului and the Trans Rarău mountain road, in a convoy with an Xpeng P7, a Tesla Model Y, a Zeekr 7X, a Hyundai Ioniq 5, a Ford Capri, a Ford Puma and a Dacia Spring. The route was the idea of Ică Munteanu from the "TeslaHolic" channel. Everyone drove their own way, in convoy, within the speed limits.
Disclosure: the video is supported by iHunt Romania (affiliate link), and the car was provided for the test by Moldo Trans Iași. The video is in Romanian.
The final numbers
- 427 km in almost 8 hours, at an average 53 km/h;
- 11.8 kWh/100 km average for the whole day;
- two charging stops of about 10 and 6 minutes, adding 25 kWh in total;
- from Gura Humorului over Trans Rarău and back to Iași: 284 km from 80% to 20% at 10.5 kWh/100 km.
In the cold morning, consumption was higher, around 15 kWh/100 km, for every car. On the roughly 10 km descent from Rarău, the battery went up from 52% to 56%.
Charging: little and often
At the iHunt charger near Pașcani, the Raval went from 51% to 76% in about 8 minutes at over 90 kW. At the new iHunt chargers in Gura Humorului it started at 93 kW and was back at 80% in about 6 minutes, the time it took to change my daughter's nappy.
On the shared leg from Iași to Gura Humorului, the Raval used 12.7 kWh/100 km, versus roughly 13.6–14.1 kWh/100 km for the Ioniq 5 and the Model Y, which are bigger, heavier cars. The navigation's battery estimate was always pessimistic: I reached every stop with a few percent to spare. Travel Assist slows down by itself before bends, but I still recommend keeping your hands on the wheel.
My verdict: the Raval is a frugal hot hatch that handles a long mountain trip without fuss. Day three is next, probably with a 20–80% charging test.
