Watching others cut off the thick pieces of the SUV cake? Does not work, they told each other Seat, Finally, fit such a cool vehicle well to the mark. Now the time has come. In their lifestyle city Barcelona, the Spanish VW subsidiary recently presented their first SUV, called Ateca. At the Geneva Motor Show, the compact crossover will have its premiere in the trade fair, and it is expected to go on sale in summer.
"The aim of the Ateca is primarily on models such as the Nissan Qashqai," says Ulrich Selzer, responsible for worldwide sales. The starting price is correspondingly low. Even if Seat does not officially announce anything, at short under 20.000 Euro should start. A challenge. Seat can consciously calculate scarcely here, after all, one had not alone to lift the sinfully expensive development costs. Much comes from the group shelf of the mother in Wolfsburg. Mainly these are the chassis and the entire drive architecture. The crisp dress, however, could not be Spanish, reminiscent in the lines of the in-house Léon.Als peculiarity was to come up with LED daytime running lights, which also take over the turn signal function. And as a so-called "Welcome Light" sends a light spot under the exterior mirror signature and name of the car on the pavement as soon as you unlock the doors.
The driver receives sporty, contoured seats and a classic, functional cockpit with neatly contoured instruments and an 8-inch display in the center of the dashboard. Below are the usual knobs for air conditioning and ventilation. Nobody should be overwhelmed with the operation. Everything looks clean and of high quality. Seat maintains a good connection to the quality level of Volkswagen here. You even had money for a little gimmick. The red text on the starter button pulsates as soon as you get into the car. A nice feature that you probably learned from Jaguar.
With 4,36 meters, the Ateca is about the size of the first Tiguan. The wheelbase is 2,64 meters. Adults are also very comfortable in the back. In the trunk remain pretty lush 510 liters luggage volume. However, only in the front-wheel drive variant. The four-wheel version loses 25 liter. Optionally an electric tailgate with gesture control is available. It can be opened with a foot swivel not only contactless, but also close again. "In addition, we have the lowest sill in the segment," says Seat Development Board Matthias Rabe. A sliding rear seat, as the larger Tiguan II possesses, does not have the Ateca. For this, the backrest can be flattened by remote unlocking from the trunk.
Engineers attached great importance to agility during development. "No competitor in comparison drives more handy," promises Rabe, who has approved the three-cylinder TSI for the Ateca itself. The small one-liter unit forms with 115 PS the entry-level engine and is, according to Rabe "with the vehicle in no way overwhelmed". But very economical, at least on the chassis dynamometer. Here is the consumption of only 5,2 liters. As the second petrol engine Seat offers the well-known 1,4-liter TSI with 150 PS. In the diesels are two engines to choose from, an 1,6-liter TDI with 115 PS (consumption 4,3 liters) and a two-liter TDI with 150 and 190 PS. Later, a sporty FR version will follow. The very hot top variant called Cupra is currently being discussed.
When it comes to connectivity, Seat uses the second generation of the modular infotainment kit (MIB). All smartphone operating systems can be easily linked to the car. There is also a wireless charging cradle for mobile phones. The Ateca is also up to date when it comes to assistance systems. In stop & go traffic, the car brakes and steers independently. The emergency assistant is new. Here the car stops automatically and stays in the lane if the driver passes out.
The Ateca is not the only SUV shot from Seat. By the end of next year, another vehicle will be launched. This time, the Spaniards have the city SUV segment in the sights. Here, guys like Opel Mokka and Nissan Juke are no longer supposed to play the solo entertainer.
Author: Michael Specht / SP-X