Seat Ateca - Any experience?
Discussion
We're looking at buying a mid-sized SUV as a car for the missus to replace her ageing Clio - She's keen on a Tiguan (2015 ->), but the Ateca seems to offer rather more for the money (albeit without the badge / slightly cheaper feeling plastics in the cabin).
Targeting a 2016-17-> model of whatever we buy with sub-35k on the clock (budget £16-17k)
We've looked at the Q3 - You'd get a 2016/17 1.4 S Line for the money, but the interior looks quite dated to my eyes (hasn't changed all that much since 2011 launch)
Skoda Karoq was also considered - I like the flexibility of being able to remove the rear seats completely. Not sure about the looks of the lesser versions (budget won't stretch to a VRS version) and the cabin looks a bit low rent without a pile of options and the digital dash (also out of budget)
The Tiguan is quite a good looking machine, but budget again limits us to an SE / SE Nav spec, without LED lights and all the other bells & whistles
Which leaves us with the Ateca - Would need to be a petrol, and I wouldn't want the 1.0 engine - For the same price as a Tiguan SE, you get full LED's front and rear / heated leather / carplay / keyless entry / power tailgate etc etc, if you pick the 'Xcellence' version in 1.4 guise.
I've read the ride can be harsh / there's a few corners cut here and there to get it down to the attractive price, but I'd be interested to hear of any actual ownership experiences?
Targeting a 2016-17-> model of whatever we buy with sub-35k on the clock (budget £16-17k)
We've looked at the Q3 - You'd get a 2016/17 1.4 S Line for the money, but the interior looks quite dated to my eyes (hasn't changed all that much since 2011 launch)
Skoda Karoq was also considered - I like the flexibility of being able to remove the rear seats completely. Not sure about the looks of the lesser versions (budget won't stretch to a VRS version) and the cabin looks a bit low rent without a pile of options and the digital dash (also out of budget)
The Tiguan is quite a good looking machine, but budget again limits us to an SE / SE Nav spec, without LED lights and all the other bells & whistles
Which leaves us with the Ateca - Would need to be a petrol, and I wouldn't want the 1.0 engine - For the same price as a Tiguan SE, you get full LED's front and rear / heated leather / carplay / keyless entry / power tailgate etc etc, if you pick the 'Xcellence' version in 1.4 guise.
I've read the ride can be harsh / there's a few corners cut here and there to get it down to the attractive price, but I'd be interested to hear of any actual ownership experiences?
fluoxetine said:
Which leaves us with the Ateca - Would need to be a petrol, and I wouldn't want the 1.0 engine -
Why not, it's brilliant. I had the 1.0 for a week on trial and it was great. SE Tech spec as a minimum, comes with nav etc. 115bhp is more than enough for 99% of real life driving, and fuel economy is great. I ended up with the Arona 1.0, because I wanted auto and the 1.0 Ateca wasn't available with DSG. The ride is a bit harsh, that's true, on the Ateca and the Arona. Not a dealbreaker though.
It's a fair challenge - I guess the longer term plan is to probably drop to one car, as we're both likely to be WFH for the foreseeable.
My current car has a good smattering of options (heated leather / adaptive cruise etc) so I'd be keen to have some similar toys to soften the blow, which the Xcellence spec seems to offer - The only petrol options in this spec for my budget are the 1.4 or 2.0 (Not the 1.0).
To a lesser extent, I haven't owned a car with less than 200bhp for over ten years (current daily has ~400bhp) so I do wonder if 115bhp might feel a bit too pedestrian - I may not miss the extra grunt, however the usual commute involves a lot of motorway driving, and the ability to overtake 'B' road dawdlers with ease is also desirable.
My current car has a good smattering of options (heated leather / adaptive cruise etc) so I'd be keen to have some similar toys to soften the blow, which the Xcellence spec seems to offer - The only petrol options in this spec for my budget are the 1.4 or 2.0 (Not the 1.0).
To a lesser extent, I haven't owned a car with less than 200bhp for over ten years (current daily has ~400bhp) so I do wonder if 115bhp might feel a bit too pedestrian - I may not miss the extra grunt, however the usual commute involves a lot of motorway driving, and the ability to overtake 'B' road dawdlers with ease is also desirable.
We had a 1.4 TSi 150 SE Tech for 2 years. Engine was refined and quiet. Economy was 45 to 50 mpg. Roomy with decent boot space. Handled well and was more than fast enough. Felt solid, interior plain looking, but I liked that. No reliability issues or things breaking. Negatives..... wife said it was too wide and stalled easily. I found the traction on wet roads poor, particularly if pulling away up hill or out of junctions quickly. Overall a good car.
fluoxetine said:
It's a fair challenge - I guess the longer term plan is to probably drop to one car, as we're both likely to be WFH for the foreseeable.
My current car has a good smattering of options (heated leather / adaptive cruise etc) so I'd be keen to have some similar toys to soften the blow, which the Xcellence spec seems to offer - The only petrol options in this spec for my budget are the 1.4 or 2.0 (Not the 1.0).
To a lesser extent, I haven't owned a car with less than 200bhp for over ten years (current daily has ~400bhp) so I do wonder if 115bhp might feel a bit too pedestrian - I may not miss the extra grunt, however the usual commute involves a lot of motorway driving, and the ability to overtake 'B' road dawdlers with ease is also desirable.
My daily drivers have dropped from 200 to 150 to 125 to 115PS over the last five years, and the 1.0l TSI really doesn't feel underpowered at all on my regular commute. It's also relaxed and quiet on the motorway, happily cruising at 85-90mph all day long (on the autobahn, obviously). But...the effortless B road overtake isn't in its armoury, and the one thing I miss compared with previous cars. My current car has a good smattering of options (heated leather / adaptive cruise etc) so I'd be keen to have some similar toys to soften the blow, which the Xcellence spec seems to offer - The only petrol options in this spec for my budget are the 1.4 or 2.0 (Not the 1.0).
To a lesser extent, I haven't owned a car with less than 200bhp for over ten years (current daily has ~400bhp) so I do wonder if 115bhp might feel a bit too pedestrian - I may not miss the extra grunt, however the usual commute involves a lot of motorway driving, and the ability to overtake 'B' road dawdlers with ease is also desirable.
The 1.0l engine isn't very economical in an Ateca or Karoq, either - I'm pretty sure the 1.4 or 1.5 would get better fuel consumption as you don't have to work it as hard.
We have a 1.0 115 Arona and our next door neighbour a 1.0 115 Ateca, bought within about a week of each other 2 years ago.
The Ateca is great, but in my opinion the interior lets it down a little - but they are much cheaper than the equivalent Tiguan.
The 115 engine is also good, and having driven the Ateca a few times it's fine.
The Ateca is great, but in my opinion the interior lets it down a little - but they are much cheaper than the equivalent Tiguan.
The 115 engine is also good, and having driven the Ateca a few times it's fine.
Daughter has Sept 18 1.0 SE-L (115PS)
She's very happy with it (had a Golf before). I was happy with the deal - paid just under £20K. And the dealer kindly loaned her an Arona for 4 weeks while waiting for the Ateca to arrive as her Golf had been written off after being rear-ended.
The spec of hers is great - even has leather seats - but I think it was a bit of a WLTP emissions crisis special. The 1 litre engine is what it is, if that makes sense - it's obviously not a ball of fire, but the car goes perfectly adequately and drives nicely. You wouldn't know it was 3cyl. Her's is on 17" wheels.
There's usually only her and maybe her daughter and bit of shopping in it, so it's not being asked to do anything arduous. I haven't driven it much but it seems overall pretty highly geared - in 6th it's only doing about 2K rpm at 70 - so it's quite economical.
Bit of wind noise - I think from the upper front doors or maybe the mirrors.
SEAT dealers don't have a good reputation - the one we used was great with the deal and the loan car but has been useless after that. Even collection was terrible. However it's all standard VAG stuff so shouldn't be an issue.
She's very happy with it (had a Golf before). I was happy with the deal - paid just under £20K. And the dealer kindly loaned her an Arona for 4 weeks while waiting for the Ateca to arrive as her Golf had been written off after being rear-ended.
The spec of hers is great - even has leather seats - but I think it was a bit of a WLTP emissions crisis special. The 1 litre engine is what it is, if that makes sense - it's obviously not a ball of fire, but the car goes perfectly adequately and drives nicely. You wouldn't know it was 3cyl. Her's is on 17" wheels.
There's usually only her and maybe her daughter and bit of shopping in it, so it's not being asked to do anything arduous. I haven't driven it much but it seems overall pretty highly geared - in 6th it's only doing about 2K rpm at 70 - so it's quite economical.
Bit of wind noise - I think from the upper front doors or maybe the mirrors.
SEAT dealers don't have a good reputation - the one we used was great with the deal and the loan car but has been useless after that. Even collection was terrible. However it's all standard VAG stuff so shouldn't be an issue.
Thanks all for the feedback - Most helpful
Thinking about it, I did have a Focus 1.0 Ecoboost as rental a few years back, and it was perfectly fine in mixed driving (my only concern was the expected lifespan of a 999cc / 3 cylinder lump being thrashed continually to haul 1200kg of Focus around).
The Ateca SE Technology seems to have the main things, and I could grudgingly forego leather / heated seats and keyless go if I was saving a couple of thousand from the purchase price. (Or seek out an SE L, if I could find one at the right price).
Thinking about it, I did have a Focus 1.0 Ecoboost as rental a few years back, and it was perfectly fine in mixed driving (my only concern was the expected lifespan of a 999cc / 3 cylinder lump being thrashed continually to haul 1200kg of Focus around).
The Ateca SE Technology seems to have the main things, and I could grudgingly forego leather / heated seats and keyless go if I was saving a couple of thousand from the purchase price. (Or seek out an SE L, if I could find one at the right price).
rfn said:
We have a 1.0 115 Arona and our next door neighbour a 1.0 115 Ateca, bought within about a week of each other 2 years ago.
The Ateca is great, but in my opinion the interior lets it down a little - but they are much cheaper than the equivalent Tiguan.
The 115 engine is also good, and having driven the Ateca a few times it's fine.
I agree. My wife test drove one and said it felt like she was in a hire car. The Ateca is great, but in my opinion the interior lets it down a little - but they are much cheaper than the equivalent Tiguan.
The 115 engine is also good, and having driven the Ateca a few times it's fine.
We have an SE-L (so 1.0), even though I don’t drive it much I wouldn’t get another 1.0 Ateca. It’s fine for the day to day running round my wife does (she didn’t even notice the difference in power from the Leon Cupra we had previously 
) but when you hit the Motorway it feels that bit too sluggish for my liking.
Great spec though
Can’t say I’ve noticed the ride being particularly harsh either.
A good car overall though and may go for another.
) but when you hit the Motorway it feels that bit too sluggish for my liking.Great spec though
Can’t say I’ve noticed the ride being particularly harsh either.
A good car overall though and may go for another.
I hadn't really considered the Karoq (or 3008) - Prices seem comparable.
Having looked into the Karoq a bit further, it does seem perhaps to be a better option for me than the Ateca - It's entry price when new was a bit higher, which would suggest it's pitched slightly above the Ateca. (I realise they're built on essentially the same production line).
Reviewers seem to commend the interior in the Karoq as being of slightly higher quality, in terms of materials used. I like the flexible rear seating fitted to the SE L spec and above, as well as the plethora of storage bins.
I also note it's won What Car / Which best mid-size SUV for the past couple of years, so it appears to be well rated in the motoring press.
The 3008's cabin looks great, but I do wonder about future residuals, as well as how the striking looks will age over the next 3-5 years.
In the old days, I'd do a tour of the marque dealerships to see each car in the metal and poke / prod / test drive, but this seems to be a bit of challenge at the moment...
Having looked into the Karoq a bit further, it does seem perhaps to be a better option for me than the Ateca - It's entry price when new was a bit higher, which would suggest it's pitched slightly above the Ateca. (I realise they're built on essentially the same production line).
Reviewers seem to commend the interior in the Karoq as being of slightly higher quality, in terms of materials used. I like the flexible rear seating fitted to the SE L spec and above, as well as the plethora of storage bins.
I also note it's won What Car / Which best mid-size SUV for the past couple of years, so it appears to be well rated in the motoring press.
The 3008's cabin looks great, but I do wonder about future residuals, as well as how the striking looks will age over the next 3-5 years.
In the old days, I'd do a tour of the marque dealerships to see each car in the metal and poke / prod / test drive, but this seems to be a bit of challenge at the moment...
My wife has had an Ateca 1.4 TSI for the past year and loves it.
Economy has averaged around 40mpg, 50 is possible on gentle runs if you nurse it.
It’s plenty quick enough considering the power available, it never feels underpowered in normal use, even motorway cruises around 80 are fine.
It’s been pretty reliable, one of the door lock mechanisms failed resulting in the central locking going haywire for a while, this is quite a common issue and was sorted under warranty with no complaints. The cam belt was replaced by my local VAG indy for around £500, Seat wanted considerably more. I think the recommended interval for the cambelt has recently been revised…
The later cars have a lot of infotainment issues (the unit will crash and reboot) but as ours is a pre facelift 2018 car ours has been trouble free. CarPlay is standard on the Excellence spec car we have and works well.
I’ve been surprised by it to be honest, I was dead against this genre of car but she loves it and I can see why.
Economy has averaged around 40mpg, 50 is possible on gentle runs if you nurse it.
It’s plenty quick enough considering the power available, it never feels underpowered in normal use, even motorway cruises around 80 are fine.
It’s been pretty reliable, one of the door lock mechanisms failed resulting in the central locking going haywire for a while, this is quite a common issue and was sorted under warranty with no complaints. The cam belt was replaced by my local VAG indy for around £500, Seat wanted considerably more. I think the recommended interval for the cambelt has recently been revised…
The later cars have a lot of infotainment issues (the unit will crash and reboot) but as ours is a pre facelift 2018 car ours has been trouble free. CarPlay is standard on the Excellence spec car we have and works well.
I’ve been surprised by it to be honest, I was dead against this genre of car but she loves it and I can see why.
Deerfoot said:
My wife has had an Ateca 1.4 TSI for the past year and loves it.
Economy has averaged around 40mpg, 50 is possible on gentle runs if you nurse it.
It’s plenty quick enough considering the power available, it never feels underpowered in normal use, even motorway cruises around 80 are fine.
It’s been pretty reliable, one of the door lock mechanisms failed resulting in the central locking going haywire for a while, this is quite a common issue and was sorted under warranty with no complaints. The cam belt was replaced by my local VAG indy for around £500, Seat wanted considerably more. I think the recommended interval for the cambelt has recently been revised…
The later cars have a lot of infotainment issues (the unit will crash and reboot) but as ours is a pre facelift 2018 car ours has been trouble free. CarPlay is standard on the Excellence spec car we have and works well.
I’ve been surprised by it to be honest, I was dead against this genre of car but she loves it and I can see why.
thank youEconomy has averaged around 40mpg, 50 is possible on gentle runs if you nurse it.
It’s plenty quick enough considering the power available, it never feels underpowered in normal use, even motorway cruises around 80 are fine.
It’s been pretty reliable, one of the door lock mechanisms failed resulting in the central locking going haywire for a while, this is quite a common issue and was sorted under warranty with no complaints. The cam belt was replaced by my local VAG indy for around £500, Seat wanted considerably more. I think the recommended interval for the cambelt has recently been revised…
The later cars have a lot of infotainment issues (the unit will crash and reboot) but as ours is a pre facelift 2018 car ours has been trouble free. CarPlay is standard on the Excellence spec car we have and works well.
I’ve been surprised by it to be honest, I was dead against this genre of car but she loves it and I can see why.
nickfrog said:
We had a Karoq 1.5 SE Exec or whatever it was called and really liked it. The current 3008 1.2 is a far better car though but not sure how they compare price wise.
I know this is a comment from a few years ago, but what's so great about the 3008? Reviews put the Karoq as the better car (not by much though). I do preder torque converter auto's (as in the Peugeot) if only for the drive train isolation.
I managed to convince my wife to get the 1.4 TSI Auto Xcellence etc.
It's a great car.
Over bumps the rear suspension is a little harsh, but generally it's perfectly good. Only the big "ramps" on the motorway etc. where you feel it. We live in the countryside and it handles our bumpy lanes perfectly.
We got one with the flat boot floor which really helps with prams etc. The boot is a good size, about average for the segment. Reliability wise there's only one fault I know and that's the power boot struts. There's a revised part but it's about £400 per side to replace. Both ours have gone over the three years we've had it but they're sorted now with better designed parts.
Economy wise it's in the mid-40s over a lot of miles, and has done everything my wife has asked of it with two young kids.
It's a great car.
Over bumps the rear suspension is a little harsh, but generally it's perfectly good. Only the big "ramps" on the motorway etc. where you feel it. We live in the countryside and it handles our bumpy lanes perfectly.
We got one with the flat boot floor which really helps with prams etc. The boot is a good size, about average for the segment. Reliability wise there's only one fault I know and that's the power boot struts. There's a revised part but it's about £400 per side to replace. Both ours have gone over the three years we've had it but they're sorted now with better designed parts.
Economy wise it's in the mid-40s over a lot of miles, and has done everything my wife has asked of it with two young kids.
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