Seat Ateca review

The only real problem with the Ateca’s interior, and indeed the interiors of all crossovers that aren’t Peugeots, is that it isn’t especially interesting. The design largely mirrors that of the old Seat Leon hatch, meaning the dashboard looks a bit last-gen.

This does at least mean you get actual buttons in favour of those touch-sensitive jobs you’ll find in the new Golf and Leon, which makes everything more user friendly. There are knobs for the aircon, too, so we're not going to complain too hard. 

What’s the tech like?

Depending on spec, you get an 8.25-inch or 9.2-inch touchscreen infotainment system. The graphics are crisp and it responds quickly to your prods and swipes, but the user interface isn’t the easiest to wrap your head around. At least hooking up Apple CarPlay (now wireless) is easy and the stereo sounds decent. USB ports are Type-C, and there’s wireless charging on most specs.

Lower trim cars get a small display between the speedometer and rev counter to display trip info, your current radio station and nav instructions, whereas pricier ones get a configurable 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster. The standard dials are good and clear, but the LCD can't match the clarity of, say, Audi’s Virtual Cockpit. The display is nicely configurable, though, and you can mostly get it to display what you want it to. 

How does it compare with rivals?

It’s hard to fault the Ateca ergonomically, and the material quality is on par with the related VW Tiguan. The Ateca is a little less spacious than the more expensive VW, with 510 litres of cargo volume (seats up). And the seats don’t fold totally flat.

But neither is as commodious as the Skoda Kodiaq, which is the same kind of money as the Ateca and every bit as good, but benefits from having seven seats. Less spacious than the Leon Estate, too...