Car review: Seat Ateca SE 1.4 EcoTSI 150PS

Peppy, economic Ateca sees Seat stride on to SUV scene, says Mike Stone
Mike Stone25 November 2016

All the smart money in the motor industry is going into SUVs — even high-end makes such as Bentley and Maserati have joined the club. So the only surprise about Seat producing an SUV is that the new Ateca is its first.

Named after a Spanish village, the Ateca is going head to head with the Nissan Qashqai and Kia Sportage — among others — and it should give them a run for their money.

It’s available with petrol and diesel engines from one to two litres and 115 to 190PS. I tried the 1.4 litre petrol version with 150PS and fuel-saving cylinder-on-demand technology, which lets it run on two of the four cylinders whenever possible — not that you would ever notice any difference. Seat claims combined mpg of 53.3, which should tempt buyers not keen on diesel. Based on Seat Leon (i.e. VW Golf) underpinnings, this is a smart-looking car with the same knife-sharp trim lines as its sibling and a similar trapezoidal grille. The car’s cabin is neat and well made, with clear dials, pleasant ambient lighting, and the bootspace beats the Qashqai by 80 litres.

On the road, the steering is accurate, if not overly informative about what the front wheels are up to, but the ride can be jiggly — not really its best feature. Equipment levels are good. The test car had a top-view camera, blind spot detection and a choice of four driving modes. Petrol and diesel two-litre versions are also available with optional four-wheel-drive.

This is a pleasant, practical and well-made car which proved surprisingly capable. The VW Group’s 1.4 litre petrol engine produces a terrific combination of pep and economy, which would have been hard to imagine a decade or so ago.

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