The SEAT Ateca broke new ground upon its launch. The Spanish manufacturer had never attempted an SUV before—but you’d never have known, from the incredible model they produced from the ether.

Along with its Volkswagen Group cousin the Škoda Karoq, the Ateca owes much of its success simply to solid foundations. It’s built on the same underpinnings as the pricier Volkswagen Tiguan—but the Ateca is far from just a Tiguan with a different badge. Rather, it follows the SEAT brand ethos of being a tad sportier than its key rivals, in this case including both the Karoq and the Tiguan, not to mention the Nissan Qashqai and Peugeot 3008.

The Ateca has been around a few years now, but it’s never stood still in the face of increasingly skilful competition. It enjoyed a revamp partway through its life, and now sports more muscular styling than the original. The Ateca’s engines have also been markedly improved, and it’s gained some new gizmos and a whizzier interior, complete with a greater variety of equipment. Speaking of which…

Equipment, options and extras

The SEAT Ateca’s entry-level SE trim is superb value for money, with such luxuries as keyless entry, cruise control, metallic paint, wireless phone charging, power-folding door mirrors, dual-zone climate control and 8in touchscreen infotainment system. That’s more than the entry-level trim of pretty much any of its rivals.

The SE Technology adds in a few more features, including 18in alloys and the larger 9in infotainment screen. Then there’s the FR trim, which offers a sportier look both inside and out-, while being sensibly priced and boasting suede seat trim, privacy glass, ambient lighting, body-coloured wheel arches, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, and automatic lights and wipers.

Costs, insurance groups, mpg and CO2

The SEAT Ateca represents excellent value for money, competing favourably with its rivals the KIA Sportage, Nissan Qashqai and Peugeot 3008. The only rival that undercuts it is the Škoda Karoq—and even then, there’s not much in it.

That being said, if you’re looking at leasing or buying on PCP finance then the Ateca is a little pricier than the Karoq, but again not by much. Moreover, the Ateca is predicted to hold on to its value better, and it’s one of the cheapest cars in its class when it comes to servicing.

The Ateca’s CO2 emissions are relatively high compared to the Qashqai, but they’re still reasonable for BIK tax—although it’s worth bearing in mind that there may be more affordable options if you’re seeking a company car.

Safety and security

The SEAT Ateca comes with an alarm and engine immobiliser as standard, and all versions come with automatic emergency braking and eCall emergency response. However, you can’t add other safety features individually, and traffic sign recognition, lane-keeping assistance and blind spot monitoring are available only on the more expensive Xperience versions.

Reliability

The SEAT Ateca has a 3-year warranty limited to 60,000 miles. This is typical of most car manufacturers, but isn’t as good as the 5- and 7-year covers of its rivals Hyundai and KIA respectively.

The Car Planet verdict

The SEAT Ateca isn’t just attractive and great to drive, but is also impressively capacious, not to mention well equipped and competitively priced. It’s also more specialised in terms of handling agility compared to one its key rivals, the Škoda Karoq.

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