Seat has made a sportier Ateca

It was inevitable. First Seat launched its sportily minded SUV, the Ateca. And now there’s a sportily styled version, the FR.

It’s a stepping stone towards a circa-300bhp Cupra performance version – which is happening, apparently – and so uses existing engines, with more assertive styling for the bits you can see.

So the Ateca FR gets a choice of 18in or 19in wheels, the latter a machined design, making them even more expensive to nerf on kerbs. There are sportier bumpers and spoilers, black detailing – including the roof rails – and lots of performance car-esque touches inside.

Touches like Alcantara trim, aluminium pedals and smart red stitching. They’ve not suddenly transformed the Ateca into a high-rise hot hatch, but they should do a good job of lifting an interior that’s a little gloomy as standard.

You’ve a choice of the Ateca’s more powerful petrol and diesel engines, the most interesting being a 187bhp 2-litre petrol, which can also be specified with four-wheel drive. You’ve a choice of manual or paddleshift DSG gearboxes.

Like it? Or should an SUV be more about function than form?