Seat Ateca, the Spanish compact SUV with the classy look, is the segment newcomer of the Volkswagen group and a design-welcome change from the similarly arranged VW Tiguan. As a 1,4 TSI with a tranquil 110 kW / 150 PS, it costs 25.120 euros and is therefore pretty unsuspicious to be a proven joker. So let's put 3.650 euros on it and order the multi-function car with all-wheel drive and six-speed dual clutch transmission. Then the average NEDC consumption increases from 5,3 to 6,2 l / 100 km while maintaining the same performance, but the Seat suddenly gets a certain appeal: Because now the "off-road vehicle" actually gets something like off-road capability, even if you don't have any Must have terrain in order to be able to use the acquired qualifications sensibly. Let's just take bad weather conditions.
Admittedly, the probability of snow is not as high in all regions as in Tyrol, where Seat put its four-wheel drive to the test - but maybe you want to travel sometime. A few days of decent weather chaos is enough to learn to appreciate the advantages of the system called Seat “4Drive”. The driver does not have to know much about this, after all, the rear axle is automatically integrated into the drive without being aware of it. A disk set in the central differential takes over the moment assignment, and an electronic brain determines when and how much power is sent where and according to the current traction conditions. In any case, snow-covered passages can be tackled much more relaxed with the 4Drive. But please don't be careless, because when braking and driving through slippery corners, the 4 × 4 is quickly at the end of its Latin. To do this, he pulls up snowy slopes, where the front-wheeled counterpart only scratches helplessly with his hooves. Suddenly the 150 HP Ateca is in a good mood and the corners of the driver's mouth point upwards.
When the snowfall has subsided and the massive salted roads have grip again, the Spaniard's excitement factor decreases again. Then he gives the tourer, who is not exactly a candidate for traffic light races with his performance, but also leaves nothing to be desired in terms of drive technology, assuming average locomotion. With a little speed, the 1,5-tonner even gets quite lively and swings up to a standard sprint from 8,9 seconds to 100 km / h. His four-cylinder looks lively and refreshes with a pleasant key. The sometimes hectic automatic switching nevertheless leads to an increase in driving comfort overall. Speaking of comfort - in terms of suspension, Seat also takes the sporty path with the Ateca, which means a very tight set-up. If the customer then also has the optional 19-inch model installed, he should not be surprised if uneven tracks sometimes become the focus of driving.
Space and seating quality are convincing - the Ateca is a successful touring car. One that is also moderately practical with a maximum trunk volume of around 1.550 liters. And since the 150 PS all-wheel drive is only delivered from the “Style” version, the basic equipment is also notable with aluminum rims, Bluetooth hands-free system, parking sensor and cruise control. A few more thousands make the Ateca a true high-tech vehicle with LED headlights and extensive driver assistance including autonomous emergency braking, traffic sign recognition and active cruise control. But the most beautiful feature is definitely the all-wheel drive. At least on snowy winter roads. (Patrick Broich / SP-X)
