Seat Ateca: Value for money and outrageously practical without being flamboyant or flash
In some respects, the Ateca is all things to all men (and women) without being in any way flamboyant or flash. It may not be quite as white-hot as it used to be, but it is still a favourite because of its latent value for money and outrageous practicality.
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Seat Ateca |
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Rating |
★★★★☆ |
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Price |
€31,910 - €44,546 |
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Engine |
A clean and frugal turbodiesel |
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The Spec |
Not much extra to be added to the Xperience package |
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VerdictN |
ot as close to the top of the pile as the original, but still in the frame |
SOMETIMES in this business, you come across something which hides its light under the bushel of apparent blandness — and this week’s tester is very much an example.
Since going on sale back in September 2016 — having first been unveiled as the IBX concept at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, and subsequently, as the more production-ready concept 20V20 at the same venue in 2015 — Seat’s first SUV, the Ateca, has sold more than 300,000 units across Europe.
It might have been a non-shouty, underwhelming design, but the price, practicality, and all-round abilities of this SUV have stood it in good stead among the most important people that matter — the buying public.
Since 2016, the importance of the SUV to any given motor manufacturer is inestimable given the rise in popularity of the species. And even in shark-infested waters competing against the likes of the Ford Kuga, the Nissan Qashqai, the VW Tiguan, and the Skoda Karoq (the latter two of which the Seat is closely related to), the Ateca has more than held its own.
Indeed, since it was launched, the Ateca has been joined in Seat’s SUV quadrant by the Arona and the Tarraco — and the three of them now outsell the company’s previous bestseller, the excellent Ibiza, by some margin here in Ireland.
The Arona has this year been the company’s most popular product here, followed by the Ateca, the Tarraco (which is the seven-seater and which we will be testing in these columns in the near future) and then the Ibiza. But, as the flag-bearing SUV from the Martorell outfit, the Ateca has won many friends and been a major force in the company’s recent profitability.
It might have been nice to have been able to say ‘return to profitability’ just there but, as long as I can remember — even going back to when the firm was a Fiat sub-brand — there was never a time Seat was profitable.
That the Ateca allowed a black hue to appear upon previously blood-red accounts is indicative of its importance in Spain — and also at group HQ in Wolfsburg.
While the car was originally a class leader in terms of its driving characteristics, roominess, decent specification and cost, it was never really a remarkable car — one that stood out from the crowd or took the eye from your head.
Indeed, if there was a Spanish place called ‘unremarkable’, then the Ateca could have been named after it, rather than a small town west of Zaragoza.
Four and a bit years into its shelf-life, the Ateca has now received its mid-life facelift and, to be fair, the Seat designers have done their best to spruce up the look of the car and give it a more dynamic appearance.
To this end, the car has got new front and rear bumpers, new front LED lights, and redesigned fog lights, a new grille design, new rear lights, and — gasp — a handwrittenesque script for the ‘Ateca’ badge, replacing the old block capitals badge.
On the inside, you now get multicoloured ambient lighting, updated door cards, a new steering wheel, and a choice of upholstery designs. You also get more tech, what with a new VW Group infotainment system with either 8.25” or 9.2” screens, depending on spec.
Oh, and you also get a new digital voice recognition system. With other marques, you usually activate such a system by saying “Hey Mercedes” or “Hey Volkswagen”.
In Skoda’s case, they gave the digital assistant a name, so you say, “OK Laura”.
Space was always a positive Ateca characteristic and nothing has changed on that front as, dimensionally, the car might be slightly longer as a result of the new fore and aft bumpers, but the interior remains the same — vast.
The boot is positively voluminous so, if you’ve got kids, be assured you will easily lose all their stuff in there without breaking sweat.
The only slight problem with the interior is the masses of matt black in there, making the car appear significantly less affluent than it’s VW compadre, for one.
There’s nothing really to get excited about when it comes to the decor, but then there’s nothing worth complaining about either.
On the engine front, there are the usual choice of units from the VW parts bin, including 1.0 and 1.5l petrols and two diesels, both of which are 2l in size and which output 115 and 150 bhp respectively. The old 1.6 TDI option has been discontinued.
Our tester was fitted with the more potent diesel and, on top of that, it came with a seven-speed DSG auto ‘box, and only the front wheels are driven, although 4WD is an option.
But this is where things get slightly more tricky for the Ateca. Upon launch back in 2016, it was widely regarded as a class leader in the ride and handling department and was a driver of some merit for those people who regard such things as important.
But, as time has moved on, so has the opposition — and the quality of those machines in the same segment has largely improved over those four and a bit years. Seat, on the other hand, seems to have adopted a ‘good-enough-as-is’ viewpoint here, and not much work appears to have been done to ensure their car was still top of the pile.
As a result, it is no longer top of the pile. It is very good and acceptable, sure, but others such as — in particular — group rivals such as the Tiguan and the Karoq, would now appear to have a slight edge on the Seat. For drivers who clock up huge distances behind the wheel, this could well be an important factor when it comes to lashing out the cash.
In Xperience trim as tested, the car is loaded with safety tech, some of which is actually quite annoying and intrusive, but then that’s the way of it these days. Truth is, though, in this department, the Seat will compare favourably with anything in the class and leave a good few trailing in its wake.
On the engine front, the big difference between this one and its immediate predecessor is that NOx emissions have been considerably lessened by a new AdBlue system which twin-doses the exhaust gasses and greatly reduces the nasty stuff coming out your back pipe. For those not yet ready for electrification or PHEV-ing, that means an annual tax bill of just €280.
Performance is good, if not sensational or anything.
The 150 bhp on tap translates into a leisurely 8.8 second 0-100 km/h time and a top speed of 200 km/h, but the consumption figure of 5.5 l/100km (51 mpg) will satisfy many.
In some respects, the Ateca is all things to all men (and women) without being in any way flamboyant or flash. It may not be quite as white-hot as it used to be, but it is still a favourite because of its latent value for money and outrageous practicality.
Throw in decent comfort levels and a lengthy spec sheet, and you have still a formidable package — one which makes a virtue of not shouting about itself.
