Electric Vehicle Leasing Case Study

Published 03/06/2025

• Name: Ruth Sutherland
• Location: Stromness, Orkney
• Car: Cupra Born V1 – 169kW e-Boost, 59kWh Automatic 2025

Why did you initially decide to go electric?

I thought about it a lot - about the savings on fuel, and it being better for the environment. I’d always imagined that an electric vehicle would be slow, but I’ve been very pleasantly surprised; they’re really quite nippy. I thought I might as well try one - I’m certainly glad I did, I’ve not been disappointed!

How did you decide what car to lease?

I had the Nissan Leaf before – I liked the Leaf – but the Cupra Born is definitely better for me. I absolutely love it! The Leaf was a very comfortable car, and the range was perfect for Orkney. I liked the heated seats in the wintertime to give a peedie bit of warmth. There was nothing I disliked about it at all; I thought about keeping the Leaf, but 3 years with the same car is long enough for me.

I did a bit of research to see what kind of car I wanted to have. I’ve got 2 young granddaughters, and I like that the Cupra Born is a bit roomier for getting the car seats in the back. I did a test drive with the Renault Zoe, which felt great to drive, but I loved the space you get in the Cupra. Having the range be a peedie bit more in the Cupra is great, and the car is so easy to use as well – you get in and it’s like it knows you.

What is your favourite feature of the Cupra Born V1?

I love the interior of the Born, it is very plush inside. I like to have the big screen in the car. Although I don’t need the navigation whilst I’m up here, if I go down south then it’s something I’ll find helpful because it’s all right there. It’s easy to use the radio or get the Bluetooth connected for taking a call – but I’ll need to have a proper look through everything so I can use it to its full potential!

Having the dual climate control – you know, where you can have different parts of the car be different temperatures – that’s been great; We’ve had some really nice weather recently and you can have the car be the right temperature where you need it.

It’s also really handy to have the automatic dip on the headlights, it might be a small thing but it’s incredibly useful. And having the car beep at you when you’re doing over the speed limit, that keeps me in line, definitely!

I feel absolutely brilliant sitting in it.

I feel absolutely brilliant sitting in it. I would certainly like to see more of them up here because it’s such a nice car. Christina has said there’s already another one on its way, and said herself that she’s quite envious because she has test driven one and really liked how it felt! There are more and more electric cars here, it’s great to see.

This is the 2nd car you've leased through ReFLEX, why did you decide to continue your leasing journey with us?

I just found it all very easy! I like the idea of leasing for 3 years, it’s a fantastic way to do it – you know your payments for the length of the lease and it works really well for me. There’s no hassle at all with it; it’s straightforward, going through ReFLEX made the whole process so easy. When I got the Cupra Born, I could pick it up in the evening – Christina was available and that bit of flexibility was really appreciated because I work 4 days a week and have my grandchildren a day a week, too.

There’s no hassle at all with it; it’s straightforward, going through ReFLEX made the whole process so easy.

The 3-year lease is a good amount of time to check in and think about whether the car is what you need, still, or whether you want something bigger or smaller. I would maybe even consider buying in the future – but leasing is so handy in the meantime, and you know your car is always fairly new.

What advice you would offer to someone considering leasing an EV?

I think that people should try before they buy, if possible – I know that here in Orkney we don’t always have the opportunity to try every car, but even just try something electric to get a feel for it. People can feel very negative about EVs without having tried one. Try an EV if you get an opportunity, read about them – look online and talk to people about them, there’s plenty of information out there.

Try an EV if you get an opportunity, read about them – look online and talk to people about them, there’s plenty of information out there.