Design Is there anything interesting about a Narwhal, or a rhinoceros? It’s hard to know whether to give the Tesla Cybertruck 10 out of 10 for how interesting its design is, or zero for how offensive it is, but it would certainly get a solid 20 out of 10 for uniqueness. Sure, in pictures it looks pretty out there, but when you stand before it in all its shiny steel it makes you laugh out loud, to the point where it has taken your breath away. And then you start to notice all the fingerprints on it. Every time you - or any of its many admirers - touches it, you get nasty, oily stains and keeping it clean would make looking after a car painted in a matte finish look as easy as sleeping. So, stainless steel as a choice for constructing a car? Perhaps there’s a reason no one else has ever followed the DeLorean’s lead here, but there’s no denying it grabs your eye, and provides a certain solidity to the whole structure. Much like a Frank Gehry building, you’re either going to love the Cybertruck and think it a work of modern art, or dismiss it as a childish man’s fantasy made real (essentially that was the design brief for this vehicle, “make Elon a toy”, and it has nailed that brief), but either way you’ll definitely have strong feelings about it. A car, or even a pick-up truck, with no round surfaces, nor subtlety of any kind, can’t really be described as beautiful in any way. But interesting? Definitely. Design Cupra talks about its born-in-Barcelona design inspiration, but you can still see plenty of VW in the Ateca's side profile. But that's no bad thing, with the Cupra managing to look both polished and performance focused, but without looking like it's trying too hard. The big change is in the front-end treatment, with a smaller centre grille that houses the Cupra badge (which looks a bit like a fox, and a bit like the Decepticon badge from Transformers, but which was actually "modelled on the attitude of tribal civilisations.") The cool DRL designs, the two-tonne bronzed alloys and the quad exhaust tips all point a pretty strong picture of performance here, and for mine, the Ateca cuts a handsome figure. Inside, though, it definitely feels a little less premium than modern VW products, with a greater use of hard plastics, and last-gen air-con and media controls, which – if you've driven the new Golf, for example – feel a little old-school by comparison. Practicality While the front and rear seats feel plenty spacious, that odd peaked baseball cap roof is a bit challenging in terms of headroom, and I smashed my noggin into it a few times trying to reach into the back seat for more Oreos and Mountain Dew. You can pop up the bench seat in the back to create even more space for storage, or to provide a flat floor to sleep on. You can also lie an American sized pizza box on the vast swathe of dash between you and the wildly angled windscreen, there’s plenty more storage on the floor between you and the passenger and then more storage bins at your hip, as well. A wireless phone charger sits twinned with the spot where you park your Tesla card key. It’s a practical, semi-rugged feeling space, but with the usual kind of Tesla less is more feeling, except when it comes to the screen, which is stupidly large and requires far too much input when you’re driving to be safe. And there’s still no speedometer where you need one, in front of your eyes, and no head-up display, despite Tesla’s love of other jet-fighter tech, like drive-by-wire steering. Practicality The Ateca measures 4386mm in length, 1599mm in height and 1841mm in width, and there is some 485 litres of boot space with the rear seats in place, and a substantial 1579 litres with the back pews folded flat. It's a strong back-seat story here, too, with ample leg and headroom, individual device charging ports, and a pull-down seat divider that houses two cupholders. There are two more upfront, as well as storage in every door, along with the ISOFIX attachment points in each window seat in the back. Now it must be said that our test was conducted on a racetrack, with limited laps, no on-road driving, and no chance to fill the vehicle with passengers or baggage, so for a full practicality play-by-play, you'll have to wait until we get the Ateca through the CarsGuide office for a more comprehensive test. Price and features How does one define value when it comes to the vehicular equivalent of a cockroach, one that seems capable of surviving the apocalypse with it indestructible (but possibly slightly rusty in appearance) stainless-steel exterior, HEPA filters (will protect you from pollution, pollen and “industrial fallout”) and (almost, kind of) bowling-ball proof super-strong windows (it can allegedly survive the impact of a baseball at 112km/h - handy if someone is trying to kill you with a baseball)? And what price can you put on the kind of attention driving a Cybertruck gets you? Perhaps only a Bugatti or a Pagani could match the level of wide-eyed, slack-jawed excitement you see from other people when you drive this thing around. Then there’s the fact that it accelerates like an actual rocket, is allegedly so cosseted in the cabin that it’s “as quiet as outer space” (this is a comparison test I am up for, if Elon’s Space X would like to arrange it), and can tow “an average African elephant”, or 4,990kg, and has a 1134kg capacity in that vast rear tray, covered by a standard, automatic tonneau cover that’s so tough you can stand on it. In that rear tray you’ll find a bottle opener, and some storage tubs with drainage holes to keep your beer cold or your fish frozen. You could sleep in there, on the composite bed, which is tough you don’t need a liner, but why would you when you can sleep in the truck - the dash is so large you could comfortably lie under the windscreen to sun yourself - using 'Sleep Mode', which runs the air con all night from its giant battery to keep it at your set temperature. Speaking of your battery, you can also charge things with it using the integrated power outlets, and that includes the ability to charge another Tesla, or to re-zap your Tesla Powerwall at home and run your house during a blackout. Or the Apocalypse. Tesla has put a price on all this, of course, and in America it ranges from US$81,895 to US$101,985. Frankly, that seems like quite good value when you add it all up, or at least it would if the Cybertruck really could tow five tonnes further than the end of the street, and if range - surely something of an issue for an outdoorsy vehicle like this - really could be guaranteed at 547km. If and when it gets to Australia, of course, its value will need to be reassessed on what is sure to be a much, much larger number. Price and features Cupra describes itself as an "unconventional challenger brand", and it essentially sits below the mainstream VW line-up, with cheaper pricing and a focus on fun over finery. So the Ateca – which is about the same size and offers similar outputs to the Tiguan R – lists at $60,990, or $65,990 drive-away, which is significantly cheaper than the VW product, which lists at $68,990 before on-road costs, or – according to Volkswagen's website – $77,279 drive-away for a NSW shopper. Interestingly, Cupra has launched an agency model in Australia, which means you buy the vehicles from the brand itself, with the transition occurring online and for a fixed price with no negotiation, rather than from a dealer. The Ateca might not deliver quite the same grunt as VW's R product, but that's a significant saving. Oh, and metallic paint is free, too – as is servicing for the first three years – which means more savings. So what do you get? The Ateca arrives in a single VZx trim level, and outside you'll find 19-inch alloy wheels, LED lighting front and rear, roof rails, a powered boot, quad exhaust exits, auto headlights and keyless entry and start. Inside, there's three-zone climate, blue leather-wrapped sports seats that are heated in the front, wireless charging for your devices and ambient interior lighting. You're well served for tech, too, with the VW Group's 10.25-inch Digital Cockpit, a 9.2-inch centre screen with navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto that works wirelessly as well as when you plug in, a nine-speaker (plus sub) Beats sound system, as well as Dynamic Chassis Control and custom driving modes - including full-attack Cupra mode. Under the bonnet Yes, I’m giving it 10. Because how could you want for more than a torque figure of 13959Nm, and a Ferrari-humbling 630kW of power to boot? The Cybertruck is the perfect example of Elon Musk’s approach to what we’ll call science, or Twitter, or X. If it can be done, just do it, don’t ask whether it’s a good idea, or batshit insane. So because he could fit a vast 123kWh battery and two crazy powerful motors to this pick up monster, and that could provide enough grunt to send three tonnes of mass to 100km/h in 2.8 seconds, they did. Is it wise? Probably not. Is it wild and almost, somehow, strangely admirable? Yep. Under the bonnet Right, so the Ateca's 2.0-litre TSI petrol engine produces 221kW and 400Nm, which is slightly less than the 235kW and 400Nm generated by the new Tiguan R. But the Cupra is faster, knocking off the sprint to 100km/h in 4.9secs compared to the VW's 5.1secs – and it feels plenty quick from the driver's seat with your foot pinned to the floor. That power is fed through a seven-speed DSG, with AWD standard fit on the Ateca. Efficiency Tesla claims a range of 547km between charges and that even when towing something of “reasonable size” (a smaller Tesla perhaps) it will still get 400km. I, for one, very much doubt that. Tesla also claims you can recover up to 235km of range with just 15 minutes of Tesla Supercharging, while a charge from 10 to 80 per cent on that same Supercharger would take 44 minutes. On a 110V American plug it would take 110 hours, or 4.5 days, to fully charge from zero to 100 per cent. Efficiency Cupra is yet to reveal official fuel figures for the Ateca in Australia, but international guides claim an 8.9-9.5L/100km figure on the WLTP cycle. That's not a small number, and it's one that will no doubt be made worse if you drive it the way you're almost certainly going to drive it, but such is the price of performance. The Ateca will also demand 98RON fuel, which will sting at the bowser, too. Driving It’s fair to say the Tesla Cybertruck is an intimidating prospect in the metal. It towers over you and seems to stretch into forever, because it does, at 5.68m long (too long to fit in a standard Australian parking space). It’s also a full 2.0m wide, 1.8m tall and weighs 3.1 tonnes, but along with its size comes the fact that it just doesn’t look… right. There’s not a round surface on it but there are plenty you could cut yourself with, or lose a finger in. It’s no less weird inside, as the giant A-pillars, vast dash, crazy yoke steering device and graphically lovely screen confront you, making it feel like you might be on the Starship Troopers ride at Universal Studios rather than in an LA car park. Then, while you’re getting used to this and having a good laugh at the Easter egg on the touch screen (smash the windows on the graphic of the car with your finger and you hear the sound of Elon freaking out at the infamous failure demonstration of its unbreakable glass), you’re warned that it is going to be almost as weird to drive as it looks. This is, in part, due to the Cybertruck’s unique drive-by-wire steering - a technology previously popular only with jet fighters and other planes - which allows it to have a yoke instead of a steering wheel without being annoying, because your hands will never cross over and be left grasping air. Yes, the Infiniti Q50 debuted with 'steer-by-wire' a decade ago, but featured a full mechanical system as a fail-safe back-up. No mechanical safety net here. The Cybertruck has less than one full turn lock-to-lock, and it has not just passive but aggressive rear wheel steering, allowing the back wheels to turn the opposite direction to the front ones at parking speeds, quite radically, which, once you’re used to it, makes it much easier to park than seems possible. It also makes this Tesla incredibly sharp and direct and means that, for the first few minutes of driving it you will turn the wheel, sorry, yoke, far more than necessary. Once you get used to it, however, it is fabulous, as long as you don’t think about what would happen if the software that’s the only thing connecting you to the wheels - rather than actual moving parts - failed. The steering makes the Cybertruck shrink around you to the point where you forget, at times, just how big it is. Combined with the low centre of gravity and the bank vault solidity of the chassis, it also makes it turn-in and handle like a much smaller sports car (and it has a turning circle that defies belief, one that’s sharper than some sedans). Speaking of sports cars, most of them won’t keep up with the Cybertruck if there’s someone brave in its driving seat. Indeed, you’d need a proper hypercar to match its constant, surging torque (no, I don’t believe it can really have 13,000-plus Newtons, but it’s a lot), and its purely outrageous, surging speed. Tesla has a habit of calculating torque at the wheels, not the motor(s) and gearing reductions increase torque markedly. Yes, I do believe it would do 0 to 100km/h in three seconds, maybe slightly less, but I’m also equally sure it’s not a great idea to try (I'm also very grateful I didn't experience the problems with the throttle sticking open on some examples that recently saw every Cybertruck recalled). The problem is that 3.0-tonne weight figure, and all that mass. It feels beyond weird to move something this big, that fast, and it quickly makes you pause for a chilling thought about whether it’s all going to be able to stop again. It does, or it did for me, but boy, it puts the wind up you every time you try. Overall, though, it’s hard to overstate just how surprisingly good, and yes, at times even fun, the Cybertruck is to drive. Oh, and for the trainspotters out there, claimed efficiency is 22.4kWh per 100km, but we actually saw 27kWh during our two days of test drives. Our second Cybertruck was also making some distinctly weird metallic clanking noises from underneath, particularly when we switched between forward and reverse. It might be worth waiting for the second generation of this thing before buying one, but that won’t be an issue for Australian fans, anyway. As far as its off-road abilities, we managed to find a bit of beach in a car park and pointed the Cybertruck at it. After an initial fearful moment of being sure we were going to sink, we just put the foot down and let all that torque power us out of trouble. It felt effortless. Driving Choosing to launch your new SUV on one of Australia's fastest racetracks shows either supreme confidence or bewildering foolhardiness, but in this instance, it was also a necessity. See, Cupra is mere months away from official launch now, with orders for launch editions to open in May, and the only vehicles the brand could secure for its media preview were brought in from New Zealand, and unable to be driven on public roads. And so Sydney Motorsport Park would play host to our first experience behind the wheel of the Ateca, and after only a handful of flying laps it was beginning to feel like a masterstroke. This is not your average family SUV, and any vehicle in which you can drop the kids at school before clipping 200km/h-plus down the main straight of your closest race track is something to be celebrated. The downside is that it's next to impossible to tell you what the Ateca is going to be like on your local streets, or whether the sporty suspension is going to be firm enough to shake the hairs loose from your head should encounter some questionable road surfaces. But I can safely report that the power is prodigious, the steering smooth and confidence inspiring, and the AWD grip impressive in both tight and high-speed bends. But perhaps the most surprising thing about the Ateca is its ability to feel both planted and agile in dynamic driving situations, with the SUV feeling altogether more stable than the smaller Cupra Leon, and hanging onto the tarmac in corners with more tenacity than the 140kW Cupra Formentor. On first blush, engagement and enthusiasm are standard fit here, and that's likely no bad thing no matter what your daily commute looks like. Safety Some unkind experts have referred to the Cybertruck as a “death machine” and a “guideless missile”, pointing out that putting a stainless steel body on top of a big old battery is inherently problematic. As is the lack of crumple zones. Making all this very pointy metal move as fast as a McLaren supercar has also raised some questions about sanity. Then there was the recent recall of every Cybertruck built so far: "Cybertruck owners reported that their vehicles were at risk of getting stuck driving at full speed due to a loose accelerator pedal. Video showed the pedal itself falling off and the piece beneath wedging itself into the car’s interior, which would force the vehicle into maximum acceleration. One driver was able to save himself from a crash by holding down the brake pedal." Elon Musk, has claimed, however, that the Cybertruck, is “much safer per mile” than its competitors. Australia has different pedestrian safety regulations to the US and while some have posited that the Cybertruck will pass, pointing to the fact that you can buy an even bigger Ram truck here, others are not so sure. The Tesla Cybertruck does have six airbags, and a suite of active safety features as part of its 'Autopilot' system, but it does not yet have 'Full Self Driving'. Safety The Cupra Ateca arrives with a swag bag of advanced safety kit – helped, no doubt, by only launching with one top-tier model – as well as the expected stuff like airbags (there are seven), and the traction and braking aids. Expect active cruise control, AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection, side and exit assist systems, front and rear parking sensors and a 360-degree parking camera. On the road, functions like Lane Assist will help keep you between the lines, Travel Assist provides freeway autonomy, while a fatigue monitor will tell you if you're getting tired behind the wheel. The Cupra Ateca is yet to be ANCAP crash tested. Interested in a Tesla Cybertruck? Insurance Quote