2016 SEAT Ateca
The Ateca is SEAT’s first attempt at a compact SUV and is available in front-wheel and 4-wheel drive depending on whether you want to go mud-plugging or simply enjoy the SUV’s style and great driving position.
If you didn’t already know, SEAT is actually part of the Volkswagen group so the Ateca is practically based on the more expensive VW Tiguan . When you look at the car you can almost immediately see the family resemblance both in the silhouette and the range of engines that are available. What this car offers above the Tiguan in and other top-end SUVs in the market is a design with much more energy. You can see this in the graphical shapes used in the front and rear daytime running lights and the aggressive honeycomb grille. These features really help this car to turn heads and stand out from the crowd.
Unfortunately, the cabin isn’t as interesting to look at as the outside of the car. However, all of the controls are logically presented and the standard of fit and finish is of a real high quality. All version of the Ateca benefit from seven airbags and a driving position that can be tailored to your fit thanks to a height adjustable driver’s seat and a steering wheel that also adjusts height and reach. With regards to practicality, storage is pretty decent. You’ve got amicable space in the glovebox as well as inside the central arm-rest and underneath the driver seat. There’s also a lot of space in the cubby spaces inside the doors so you can easily fit your bottle of water here on long journeys. There are two USB ports to charge your phone but annoyingly the two pair of cup holders are, for some strange reason, different sizes which means you and your passenger might have to have a fight over who gets the cappuccino in the morning.
In the rear there is enough head and leg room for two adults to sit quite comfortably. The outer chairs benefit from ISOfix mounting points and top-tether anchorage making it really easy to install a child car seat.
The boot offers more useful space than the Nissan Qashqai with really easy to tumble split folding rear seats. However, if you’re after a flat loading bay or a space saving spare tyre then you’ll need to add them to the options list.
Entry level models receive air conditioning and alloy wheels but the interior really doesn’t look all that great with cloth seats and the smaller 5-inch touchscreen display. If you can, we would recommend going for the more popular Xcellence trim level which adds a high resolution 8 inch touchscreen for all of your entertainment needs including smart phone integration. This trim also cherry-picks some really desirable equipment including keyless entry and go, tinted rear windows, a reversing camera, wireless phone charger and even branded puddle lights which look great at night. The biggest benefit though is the leather trim with heated front seats which completely transforms the cabin and elevates the Ateca way above cars such as the Qashqai and the Kia Sportage for premium feel. The only downside with the Xcellence trim is the 19 inch alloy wheels. While they look absolutely great they really do compromise the ride on an already firm riding car. You need to watch out for the things you can’t spec. VW have been pretty canny in that they don’t want to give the entire family jewels over to SEAT, so options on the Tiguan such as the sliding and reclining rear bench and even the brilliant trailer-assist system all remain exclusively on the Tiguan.
Due to the jacked up driving position some SUVs are a little bit guilty of rolling around in the corners or suffer from pitching when you go under breaking. However, the Ateca breaks these rules as it doesn’t really behave like this at all. In fact, this is arguably one of the best handling compact SUVs on the market. The Ateca is great at keeping all those body movements in tight control so at all times the car feels really secure, safe, planted and in complete control. Regardless of the type of corners you are experiencing you’ll find that the car still provides an enormous amount of grip even with the front-wheel version. You might believe that a big SUV like the Ateca has to have a diesel, and while the 1.6 litre diesel is a very flexible offering, the 1.4 litre petrol unit will certainly make buyers think twice. This is because it’s really smooth and nippy with its 6-speed manual gearbox. It also has technology which can effectively shut down part of the engine so that it can conserve fuel when the engine’s not got to work particularly hard.
If you’re planning to use the Ateca for short journeys such as to work or to pop out to the shops then the 1.4 is certainly the one to get. Be a little wary of the official fuel consumption figures however as if you’re the sort of person that likes to spend a lot of time on the outside lane of the motorway then you’ll be lucky to see 40mpg. There is a compromise with the nice handling too and this is basically the lack of comfort you will experience. The Ateca just isn’t as comfortable or as cosseting to drive as a Qashqai or a Renault Kadjar. The big wheels does have some part to play in this but the suspension just doesn’t seem able to smother any of those bumps that you regularly come across on UK roads. Also, if you’re after a 4-wheel drive or an automatic version then your choices are pretty much confined to the bigger and pricier 2.0 litre diesel units. If this is what you’re after then you may want to take a look at other rivals that offer just that little bit more choice.
