Seat Ateca and Cupra Ateca (2021 minor change)

The Ateca, the first SUV from SEAT, and its Cupra equivalent, the crossover that started the Cupra brand by itself, have received their slightly big facelifts for the 2021 model year. What changed for the first of their kinds?

Starting with the Ateca's minor change, which starts at around 21,160 Euros plus additional costs, you will notice the new front lamps, the new Tarraco-style front grille, slightly refreshed rear lamps, and then there's the creepy new logo of the Ateca which dons the creepy new font first seen on the new Leon. The Cupra Ateca facelift (priced at 43,471 euros), meanwhile, dons the similar looking cosmetic updates but with even more muscle to make it more macho than when it was born.

While the exterior refresh is anything but dramatic, the refreshed interior still works like the pre-facelifted one, although the new model now boasts an updated SEAT Digital Cockpit with an even bigger sat-nav, smartphone connectivity, voice recognition, and other gadgets to toy with. Same goes to the Cupra version, too. Despite some subtle changes, it still fits up to five people and still fits up to 510-litres of boot space, making it perfect for all drives of life for drivers of all kinds.

Under the hood, the normal Seat Cupra offers a wide range of petrol and diesel engines (the one to avoid), with the range-topper 2.0L petrol bears 190PS of power and mated to a DSG gearbox and 4Drive. Yes, most variants can be fitted to either a manual gearbox (thank SEAT for that) or a DSG. The Cupra Ateca, meanwhile, is still armed with the 2.0L TSi engine producing 300PS of power and 400Nm of torque. Mated to a 7-speed DSG, it's capable of 0-100kph sprint in 4.9 seconds and onwards to 247kph.

Yes, despite their new looks, they still behave on and slightly off the road just like the previous models, but to scare speedo boys straight behind the wheel, they've added the most sophisticated advanced driver assistance systems ranging from Pre-Crash Assist, Predictive Adaptive Cruise Control, Travel Assist, Emergency Assist and Side and Exit Assist, among many others.

Would you give those refreshed crossovers a try?

Photo: SEAT, S.A.

CUPRA Ateca

Seat has made the CUPRA into a high-performance sub-brand in the way Fiat did theirs to Abarth, meaning they really know how to separate the real men from the big boys when it comes to cars and just like Fiat's Abarth, the CUPRA brand from Seat will venture deep to their motorsport involvement and use all of the racing know-how to their new breed of vehicles. Their first outing wasn't what we're expecting for because they've used the Seat Ateca compact crossover as their guinea pig to mutate into their maiden mutant on the road.

2019 SEAT Cupra Ateca

The Cupra Ateca will be the first to don the terrifying copper-colored CUPRA emblem all over and when they see a SEAT like this donning this emblem of doom, they'd better hide themselves because staring at the copper-colored CUPRA emblem is a thousand times scarier than the sequential turn signals from today's Ford Mustang. Scary-looking the emblem is, the Cupra Ateca is basically your basic Seat Ateca crossover mutated with a striking exterior design that sets the new standards of the new CUPRA brand.

On the inside, it still works like the normal Ateca does. It has decent space at the back for some fireworks on New Year's Eve, room for your friends to tag along on a road trip, connectivity features to toy around with, it's everything except for one major difference to the Ateca's interior. Since this is the balls-out CUPRA Ateca, the seats are donned in Alcantara so it's surprisingly smooth and comfortable to relax with.

Under the hood, the CUPRA Ateca is powered by a high-performance 2.0L 4-cylinder direct injection turbo engine producing 300PS of power and 400Nm of torque. That's about as much as what the Subaru WRX STi carries but this is no Subie, you know, because even though this comes with 4Drive four-wheel drive system that behaves like that Subie I've mentioned earlier, the Cupra Ateca is mated to a 7-speed DSG and if you are new to driving, you might be having a hard time starting this car with such gearbox. Come back if you have ample vehicular experience.

Those who have familiarity with how things work, it's good to know that the Cupra Ateca can get through 100kph in 5.2 seconds and onwards to just 247kph. If speed doesn't matter, how about dynamics? Sure, it maybe a crossover but the way the CUPRA Ateca handles is WRX STi-quality behind the wheel. It's pretty good on a weekend drive but when taken to track days and engaged the CUPRA mode, it's crunch time! When engaged, the mild-but-menacing character the CUPRA Ateca comes alive, meaning that its grippy nature makes it more hot hatch-ish for a crossover of this size but be careful though, when the struggle gets all to real, better be prepared with your health insurance.

Should you buy it? The Cupra Ateca starts at 46,044 Euros, which is surprisingly expensive but it's a start. The Cupra Ateca is not the welcoming salvo we're expecting for Seat's new CUPRA brand but as a sports utility hero, it's not half bad to toy around with everyday. With the CUPRA brand introduced to the world with the Ateca, expect jealousy in store for those who want to drive one because in that case, we are jealous to drive one right now.

Photo: SEAT, S.A.

Seat Ateca

This is known to be as SEAT's first ever crossover utility vehicle in history and because this is the first in SEAT's lineup, the new Ateca is a solid all-rounder that fits through everyone's lifestyles at work or at play. Be it a daily driver or a weekend getaway vehicle, the Ateca is all about multitasking at a crossover's pace. So then, what's it all about the Ateca?

2017 Seat Ateca

At first glance, the new Seat Ateca looks like a jacked-up Leon with some sorts but in reality, it's basically a Tiguan underneath so you might expect the similar behavior you can expect from the latest VW Tiguan only this time in Seat's perspective.

2017 Seat Ateca interior

2017 Seat Ateca interior

The inside is just typical SEAT from within but if you're very busy digging deeper on the Ateca's interior, you can spend most of the time toying around with its ambient lighting, class-leading space for some bare necessities before setting off from one point of interest after another, five-seater capacity which is typical for a crossover, Full Link connectivity, and some concessions of comfort and convenience that balances what you can work and you can play. Nothing says mixing business and pleasure in a very unique and clever packaging so it's like a nice stay at a very posh condo in the city.

2017 Seat Ateca

Because the Seat Ateca's riding on the same platform used on the VW Tiguan, you can expect the Ateca to behave just like the Leon as if the new Tiguan behaves like a Golf. MQB relatives, if you know what I mean, but that's just the first half of it because the biggest key point of the Ateca is the available 4Drive system, which uses a newly made multi-plate coupling with hydraulic actuation and electronic control. Seat says that it reacts quickly on different driving situations and in general, the Ateca's four-wheel drive system is a great all-rounder that can be taken anywhere, rain or shine.

Under the hood, the Ateca offers a wide array of engine choices such as a 1.0L TSi, a 1.4 TSi, 1.6L TDi, or a 2.0L TDi engine. They are varied with different configurations, you know. Meaning if you want something powerful, you should go for the 2.0 TDi engine, which produces 190PS of power and 400Nm of torque, or if you want something economical, there's a 1.6L TDi ECOMOTIVE engine that delivers a claimed CO2 emission of 111g/km. Gearbox of choice? Depending on the variant, it can be mated with either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed DSG.

As a technologically advanced crossover, the Ateca comes with a wide array of tech such as Traffic Jam Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control with Front Assist, Traffic Sign Recognition, Blind Spot Detection, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Top View cameras, Park Assist 3.0, Emergency Assist, and High Beam Assist.

Should you buy it? The SEAT Ateca starts at 20,440 Euros, which is five grand less than its relative crossover, the VW Tiguan, making it a good value for those who can't afford the latest VW Tiguan. With that kind of pricing, SEAT's first SUV makes it a healthy competitor in the world of compact crossovers and if the underdog is taking its first steps in this category, so be it.

Available colors: Azul Mediterráneo, Blanco Bila, Rojo Pasión, Blanco Nevada, Plata Brillante, Gris Rodium, Beige Capuccino, Marron Mato, Azul Lava, Verde Jungla, Naranja Samoa, and Negro Magico.

Photo: SEAT, S.A.