NEVER DRIVEN A SEAT BEFORE, HAVE NOW AND LOVED IT
SEAT, and its Cupra performance arm, arrived in the NZ market last year. Having never tried the Spanish brand before, I was dead keen to get stuck in
Confession time. Up until this year, this writer had never driven, nor even sat in, a SEAT. For those who aren’t familiar with the brand, let’s put some gravy on the meat. SEAT has been THE Spanish car manufacturer for the last sixty years, ever since the first SEAT rolled off the production line in 1953. Models like the Cupra, Leon and Ibiza have gained a cult following in Europe and SEAT has gained a sterling reputation in motorsport, in both rallying and the British Touring Car Championship.
SEAT entered the New Zealand market last year and now, they have a home in Canterbury too. With a range of hatches and SUV’s on offer, I was allowed to spend a few days with their Ateca mid-sized SUV, and from the get go, things certainly impressed.
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Three models of Ateca are on offer in NZ, with the range kicking off with the Style base model at $38,900. The Sportier mid-range FR and range topping FR 4Drive, our test car, come in at $45,900 and $51,900 respectively. Underneath, the Ateca shares the same platform and architecture as the Volkswagen Tiguan and Skoda Kodiaq. This is hardly surprising as SEAT has been a member of the Volkswagen family for many a moon.
Under the bonnet, the standard Style and FR Atecas come with a 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with 110kW of grunt and 250Nm of torque. The range topping FR 4Drive which I was testing gave a bit more in the power stakes. With a 2.0-litre turbo four pot purring away, you get an extra 30 kW and 70Nm making 140kW and 320Nm respectively. The extra bit of go means zero to the national limit in 7.9 seconds, which makes the FR 4Drive, for a mid-sized SUV no slouch.
All models get SEAT’s seven speed DSG, which like many DSG gearboxes is very smooth in the way it doesn’t wastes time shifting gears. Fuel economy is good though with the Ateca FR 4Drive sipping away at 7.0L/100km from its 55-litre tank.
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Inside, everything is easy to fathom and understand. Although some features like the trip computer read out feel a tad last week, the Ateca claws back with a very clear and cutting-edge infotainment system. Every touch button looks polished and a gentle press is enough to activate each menu.
Another SEAT strong point is the sheer amount of kit which has been thrown into the Ateca. Adaptive Cruise Control, Reversing Camera, Blindspot Detection, reversing camera, keyless entry, dual zone climate control, heated seats, which for an extra $1600 you can have leather but the cloth provides more than enough comfort, ambient lighting, the list goes on. Also, the addition of Apple Car Play and Android Auto is a welcome presence.
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As far as space goes, there is plenty. The semi-alcantara seats are buttock-hugging to say the least and rear legroom is very generous. Driver and passenger entry and exit is easy. Plus loftier folk won’t have their knees round their elbows in the rear. Boot space is decent at 485-litres and if you fold the seats down, this increases to a fairly substantial 1,579 litres. More than enough in anyone’s language.
Heading off and around suburbia. The Ateca FR sports a very linear power delivery. However, upon planting boot for the first time, you don’t expect it to take off like a hot hatch, but it does, rather well. Despite riding high, the FR still sports a very balanced and planted feeling chassis, thanks to that 4Drive four-wheel drive system, torque vectoring and multilink rear suspension. This also means ride comfort is up there too.
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Leaving the city and onto a bendy B-road and wow, things are tight and together. Multiple drive modes are at your command. Eco, Normal, Sport and for the rough stuff, snow and mud. Though snow was in short supply, one can safely say Sport mode utterly transforms the FR. In tight corners, the sheer amount of grip generated by the four-wheel drive will easily keep your hooter out of the hedges.
In summary, what you have here with the SEAT Ateca FR 4-Drive is an SUV which not only goes like a hot-hatch, but comes with more kit and other goodies than anything else for the same price. Basically, what on earth took SEAT so long to get here?
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Comments (4)
I bet you had sat in a Seat before.
I see what you did there ;)
SEAT Ibiza's were imported to NZ in the mid-80s. Pre-VW involvement, but engineering by Porsche. Moller Corp in New Plymouth were the importer. Probably a side order of FIAT when Mollers were Fiat importers. There may also have been SEAT Malaga's. The Ibiza was a well put together car for its time.
That explains why there is an old Cordoba in Christchurch! Thanks Tony :)