Barcelona was the place where Seat representatives offered a steering wheel of their new 2016 SUV Seat Ateca for the first time. Spaniards claim that new Seat Ateca is a hot car, confirmed by the fact that it already convinced over 18 million people to visit this car on their website.

Seat Ateca has a difficult job ahead. With this car, they expect to raise the reputation of the whole Seat brand. With a spacious interior, smart driving assistance and technique, the new Seat Ateca seem to be rather well prepared to fight the demanding and more and more established SUV world.

New Seat Ateca 2016 highlights

• The first Seat real SUV model, fully developed in Spain.
• Spacious and comfortable interior.
• Luggage compartment: 485 liters in 4×4 4Drive and 510 liters in the two-wheel drive 2WD.
• The choice between turbocharged petrol (TSI) and diesel (TDI) engines, with a power range of 115 to 190 horsepower.
• Responsive 4×4 4drive. Electronically controlled four-wheel drive with Haldex clutch of the fifth generation. A hill descent control system and the electronic differential lock (EDS and XDS).
• 360-degree live image from the camera with the possibility of separate selection of each view.
• Front Assist with City Emergency Braking.
• Serial Multi-Collision Brake system with automatic braking to prevent collision on highways at higher speeds and in the city at lower speeds. Pedestrian Protection (up to 65 km / h). Automatic driving (up to 60 km / h) in heavy traffic or congestion (Traffic jam assist).
• Smartphone connectivity, application and services support: Seat full link system with smartphone screen display (MirrorLink) on 8-inch display with support for Apple Carplay and Android Auto.
• The possibility of wireless inductive charging of a phone and a connection to the car antenna for better reception of voice, messaging and data.
• Entry-level model should cost around 20 thousand euros.

A difficult task for the new Seat Ateca

We first met Seat Ateca face to face in the spotlight of Palexpo exhibition center in Geneva in the spring. We complimented space and again we must say that the space in the cabin is above average in all directions. Of course, in relation to the external dimensions of the bodywork.

On the rear bench, there is no problem with space for knees, shoulders, and head. It is evident that 2016 Seat Ateca is at the forefront in practicality and usability. And of course the easiness of entry and exit for the widest range of people.

In short, with Ateca, Seat managed to highlight all the most important advantages that are pushing forward the popularity of SUVs and crossovers.

How very important is a newcomer for the future of SEAT, eloquently testify words of the first man of this Spanish brand, Luca De Meo. He referred Seat Ateca as the point of turnaround, which will open the door to the most growing segment of the European (and Worldwide) market.

Spaniards want Ateca to become the third key pillar of sales, besides Ibiza and Leon. Luca De Meo says that they are quite optimistic about the potential newcomer, since one month before the official premiere, Ateca’s website recorded 18 million page impressions. And 400 thousand Seat Ateca SUVs were assembled in their car configurator.

It is a response from the market, which has not yet occurred at Seat, said their main strategist. Seat Ateca must, therefore, make what Altea Freetrack could not. It must or should provide the financial growth and in addition, enhance the reputation of the Seat brand.

Full attack in next 18 months: four new models in sight

Therefore, Seat Ateca is a very important model in terms of the future of Seat. They recorded a 54 million euro profit in the first quarter. A rather modest figure in terms of large automobile manufacturers, but for Seat, this is nevertheless an important achievement because it represents the best quarterly result since 2001. In addition, this result represents a 64 percent increase compared to last year’s first quarter profit. Spaniards are in urgent need of fresh, dominant genes of a car like Seat Ateca.

Maybe it does not represent an automotive revolution. But because of the awareness of the importance of this model, it can be written, that they thoroughly did their work and sent a highly competitive model to the market. Seat managed to include all the best technical solutions in the fields of safety and comfort, currently available in the VW Group. In addition, they intend to reveal four completely new models until 2018.

Already next year comes small SUV, while the remaining three models are still rather mysterious. New Seat Ateca, accompanied by Leon X-perience as a station wagon crossover, now takes over the mission to attract as many customers as possible and achieve an important position in the SUV segment, which is growing rapidly.

Seat Ateca appearance is a compromise between dynamics and practicality

As far as Seat Ateca appearance, it is a mixture of clean sculptures, tense lines, and the character expression. Designers paid great attention to styling details. Such as the light channels inside LED lights, where the white colored light gets covered with the orange luminous dressing of the turn signal. The interesting detail from the interior is, when the driver enters the new Seat Ateca, the start/stop engine button starts to flash, resembling a heartbeat.

Nevertheless, we believe that Seat Ateca could be designed even more sporty, you know. And slightly more emotional. According to our taste, Spanish temperament should be a bit more underlined. Especially given the fact that they are proud to have the car fully designed and developed in Seat main headquarters in Martorell, Barcelona.

It is also true that the experience from Leon show that prescription for dynamism and elegance must be in the correct proportions. Seat Ateca, given the high-level goals, has to please at least two completely different target groups. Families with an active lifestyle on one hand, as well as calm seniors who appreciate the values of SUV design with a higher seating position, facilitating entry and exit as well as greater visibility on the other.

With some of its featured design elements, such as lights and grille, this Seat’s first wholly SUV clearly expresses dynamism. But at the same time, Ateca is slowing the matter with thoughtful lines, which lead the bodywork in the way of practicality, essential for the space inside the cabin.

City or countryside – no problems for new Seat Ateca, as expected

The driver has a rotation button available on the console between the seats to select the driving experience. Furthermore, he can adjust the choice of driving profile or adjust the operation of the driving systems. In four-wheel drive 4Drive, you have two more options available. Besides normal, sport and individual, you can also choose between snow and off-road driving program.

Of course, Seat Ateca is not a serious terrain vehicle, but still, knows how to climb some pretty steep hill or break through a serious muddy track. When descending, the absence of reduction gearbox is replaced by the Hill Descent Control. If the slope exceeds 10 degrees, the electronics will take control of the safe descent.

Seat Ateca with petrol engine is a good choice

When choosing a motorization, it is worth considering the 1.4-liter TSI petrol engine. Traveling with this engine is very pleasant, more refined than the diesel. This engine is powerful enough, with 250 Nm of maximum torque, available between 1,500 and 3,500 rpm, takes care of continuous acceleration and completely correct flexibility. With moderate abuse of the gas pedal, the engine will need just a little above 7 liters of petrol per 100 kilometers.

The 2.0-liter TDI with 150 “horses” will likely be the most popular choice of Seat Ateca SUV customers. It is sufficiently flexible and powerful, but nevertheless, in Ateca it is a bit too loud and at times also still rough. Anyway, it offers a good driving experience and an average fuel consumption of between 6.0 and 6.5 liters. However, it is not hard to achieve even lower gas bill, if you are more eco oriented and think about the environment while driving.

See the list of all engine options at the end of this article.

Driving assistance – new Ateca has it all

Seat Ateca is equipped with virtually all the major driving assistance. Which means that it can read road signs, monitors blind spots, automatically controls the headlights, rotate the steering wheel in the parking lot and controls what is happening behind the vehicle in a radius of 25 meters, when the driver puts in reverse.

Seat Ateca also brakes and prevents you from crashing into a flower planter. Ateca can also safely stop in the case of non-response of the driver. And it can virtually automatically drive up to a speed of 60 kilometers per hour in heavy traffic. The condition is still the driver’s hands on the steering wheel, which is determined by law.

The system works by using the radar cruise control system to maintain the vehicle within the boundaries of the lane. Car monitors the safety distance, turns by itself within the boundaries of the driving lane, accelerates, decelerates, stops and starts in combination with DSG transmission.

New 2016 Seat Ateca technical details

Dimensions

Length: 4,363 mm
Width: 1,841 mm
Height: 1,601 mm
Wheelbase: 2,638 mm
Fuel tank: 50 liters
Luggage compartment: 510 liters (2WD), 485 liters (4WD)
Mass: 1,280 – 1,590 kilograms
Tyres: 215/60 R16 do 225/45 R19

Engine options

Petrol

1.0 TSI 115
gasoline 4-cylinder turbo engine with direct injection; volume: 999 cm3; power: 115 hp; torque: 200 Nm; 6-speed manual transmission, start-stop; front-wheel drive; top speed: 183 km/h; acceleration (0-100 km/h): 11.0 s; consumption: 5.2 l/100 km; CO2 emissions: 119 g/km.
1.4 TSI 150 ACT
gasoline 4-cylinder turbo engine with direct injection; volume: 1,395 cm3; power: 150 hp; torque: 250 Nm; 6-speed manual transmission, start-stop; front-wheel drive; top speed: 201 km/h; acceleration (0-100 km/h): 8.5 s; consumption: 5.3 l/100 km; CO2 emissions: 124 g/km.
1.4 TSI 150 ACT DSG
gasoline 4-cylinder turbo engine with direct injection; volume: 1,395 cm3; power: 150 hp; torque: 250 Nm; 6-speed dual-clutch transmission; front-wheel drive; top speed: 198 km/h; acceleration (0-100 km/h): 8.6 s; consumption: 5.4 l/100 km; CO2 emissions: 125 g/km.
1.4 TSI 150 ACT 4Drive
gasoline 4-cylinder turbo engine with direct injection; volume: 1,395 cm3; power: 150 hp; torque: 250 Nm; 6-speed manual transmission; all wheel drive; top speed: 192 km/h; acceleration (0-100 km/h): 9.0 s; consumption: 6.2 l/100 km; CO2 emissions: 143 g/km.
1.4 TSI 150 ACT DSG 4Drive
gasoline 4-cylinder turbo engine with direct injection; volume: 1,395 cm3; power: 150 hp; torque: 250 Nm; 6-speed dual-clutch transmission; all wheel drive; top speed: 189 km/h; acceleration (0-100 km/h): 8.9 s; consumption: 6.1 l/100 km; CO2 emissions: 141 g/km.

Diesel

1.6 TDI 115
diesel 4-cylinder turbo engine; volume: 1,598 cm3; power: 115 hp; torque: 250 Nm; 6-speed manual transmission, start-stop; front-wheel drive; top speed: 184 km/h; acceleration (0-100 km/h): 11.5 s; consumption: 4.2 l/100 km; CO2 emissions: 111 g/km.
2.0 TDI 150
diesel 4-cylinder turbo engine; volume: 1,968 cm3; power: 150 hp; torque: 340 Nm; 6-speed manual transmission, start-stop; front-wheel drive; top speed: 202 km/h; acceleration (0-100 km/h): 8.5 s; consumption: 4.3 l/100 km; CO2 emissions: 113 g/km.
2.0 TDI 150 DSG
diesel 4-cylinder turbo engine; volume: 1,968 cm3; power: 150 hp; torque: 340 Nm; 6-speed dual-clutch transmission; front-wheel drive; top speed: 201 km/h; acceleration (0-100 km/h): 8.5 s; consumption: 4.4 l/100 km; CO2 emissions: 115 g/km.
2.0 TDI 150 4Drive
diesel 4-cylinder turbo engine; volume: 1,968 cm3; power: 150 hp; torque: 340 Nm; 6-speed manual transmission, start-stop; all wheel drive; top speed: 196 km/h; acceleration (0-100 km/h): 9.0 s; consumption: 5.1 l/100 km; CO2 emissions: 129 g/km.
2.0 TDI 190 DSG 4Drive
diesel 4-cylinder turbo engine; volume: 1,968 cm3; power: 190 hp; torque: 400 Nm; 6-speed dual-clutch transmission; all wheel drive; top speed: 212 km/h; acceleration (0-100 km/h): 7.5 s; consumption: 5.0 l/100 km; CO2 emissions: 131 g/km.

Seat Ateca vs. possible competitors (technical comparison)

BMW X1 vs. Seat Ateca

X1 vs. Ateca. Well, we compare these two based on their similar length and the fact they both belong in the SUV class. But their characters are very different. Anyway, Ateca offers more space for passengers and luggage and is much more affordable. More premium BMW X1 can be equipped with more powerful engines and can offer better performance on the road.

Honda HR-V vs Seat Ateca

Seat models are known for their spaciousness and comparing Ateca vs. HR-V shows exactly that. Seat has more interior room for passengers and luggage and its top of the range engines are more powerful. On the other side, Honda HR-V basic engine option is more powerful and can offer a bit better performance. Looking at the price there is almost no difference.

Jeep Compass vs. Seat Ateca

Jeep Compass is a bit longer, wider and higher. And when you fold rear seats, the cargo volume is a bit bigger. Seat Ateca is more generous with passenger space and basic luggage compartment. Also, its engine range goes a bit higher and if you want a quicker and faster SUV, then the Spaniard is more appropriate. For Europeans, if your budget is very limited, Ateca is a bit cheaper (base model).

Seat Ateca vs. Kia Sportage

Again, almost no difference in base model price when talking about Seat Ateca. vs Kia Sportage. The first has more ground clearance, bigger luggage compartment with folded rear seats, and a bit more spacious interior. Kia Sportage has bigger external dimensions, and its top of the range engine is more powerful, faster and quicker.

Mazda CX-3 vs. Mazda CX-5 vs. Seat Ateca

Seat fits somewhere in between CX-3 and CX-5. Actually, it is closer to CX-3. But anyway, we decided to compare it with both of them. The results are below.

Seat Ateca vs. Peugeot 3008

Two suvs from Europe. Ateca vs. 3008. On average, Seat has more powerful engines with higher top speed and quicker acceleration. Peugeot 3008 is a bit longer, and has more ground clearance.

Seat Ateca vs. Toyota C-HR

Toyota C-HR is something special. We have a hard time comparing it with other small SUVs since our comparisons are based solely on numbers. C-HR serves completely different purposes than other “classic” representatives of this vehicle class. It usually has less interior space, no diesel engines, smaller luggage compartment. But it has something else. Just look at the pictures and you will see what we are talking about.

Volkswagen Tiguan vs. Seat Ateca

Last but not least, here is a comparison between VW Group members. For fun but also to show you the difference between two different house brands. Enjoy.

Image credit: Seat

Video credit: World Auto Evolution