Petrol power propels Seat Ateca’s star

QUITE a number of people have been moaning to me recently about the treatment they received at the hands of car dealers who sold them diesel cars at the height of the oil-burning boom of the last 10 years.

Convinced by salesmen that diesel was the must-have thing because of its incredible economy figures and tax-friendliness, few were warned that diesels really need constant use and high mileage to extract the most from them; otherwise they clog up and present all manner of ongoing problems with nasty stuff you don’t want to know about — particulate filters and injectors, amongst other things.

Upon returning cars to the garages from which they were purchased, many owners found themselves being told they should never have bought such a car because of the low mileage they do, despite the fact the sales personnel actively steered them into these machines in the first place.