Seat unveils Ateca SUV 11 | 02 | 2016
SEAT HAS LIFTED the wraps from its first SUV, the Ateca, which will be pitched against the likes of the Nissan Qashqai as the Spanish car maker bigs to regain volume in the UK.
Set to be shown at next month's Geneva Motor Show, the Ateca was officially unveiled in Barcelona by company president Luca de Meo.
Scheduled to enter Scottish showrooms in September, order books will open in late Spring, with prices expected to compete favourably with the Qashqai.
Boasting a similar footprint to the Leon — both cars share a 2640mm wheelbase — the five-seat Ateca is built on the VW Group’s versatile MQB platform. At 4360mm long, it's just 20mm shorter than the Qashqai. It also mirrors similarities in the Nissan's width and height, being 1840mm wide and 1600mm tall.
Available with a choice of the standard front-wheel drive, or optional four-wheel drive, the Ateca — named after a village in Spain — will be powered by the familiar Seat family range of engines.
Related: New Seat SUV to be named Ateca
A three-cylinder 113bhp 1.0TSI will provide the entry-level, with the range further supplemented by a second petrol unit, the 1.4TSI with 148bhp and cylinder deactivation technology. Lovers of diesel will get the choice of a 113bhp 1.6TDI, or the larger, more powerful 2.0TDI with either 148bhp or 187bhp.
Standard across the range is a six-speed manual gearbox, though a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic gearbox will be an option on more powerful engines.
Not surprisingly, the 113bhp 1.6 TDI with a manual gearbox and front-wheel drive is the most economical returning 65.7mpg and emitting 112g/km CO2. All-wheel drive is offered on the diesel engines only.
Seat's design team has given the Ateca a sharp, sculptured design which clearly has evolved from that of the Leon range.
Inside the cabin, again there are carryovers from the Leon with family touchscreen infotainment system taking pride of place. The gearstick has also been shortened to to give the Ateca a more sporty feeling.
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Seat's new SUV also comes with a huge bootspace: its 510 litres, which falls to 485 litres on all-wheel drive versions, is significantly greater than the Qashqai’s standard 430 litres.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility are just two of the technology gizmos available, as is wireless smartphone charging. The Ateca also opens the tailgate automatically when you wave your foot under the tailgate.
As for autonomous driving, the new Seat SUV features Traffic Jam Assist which steers, accelerates and brakes the car in heavy traffic at speeds of up to 37mph.
There's also new is a function called Emergency Assist. If it detects the driver has been inactive for a period, it will ping an alert, pulse the brake and then bring the car to a standstill if there’s no reaction.
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Jim McGill