Cupra's first dedicated model wasn't one for the purists, but it remains hard to fault on its own terms.
Note for reference: car weight and power data are hard to pin down with absolute certainty. For consistency, we use the same source for all our guides. We hope the data we use is right more often than it’s wrong. Our advice is to treat it as relative rather than definitive.The Cupra Ateca was, and still is, fast. Its official 0-62mph time was 5.2 seconds, but if you’re old school enough to remember when acceleration was measured on the 0-60mph stretch you’ll surely be impressed by the 4.
Despite the four pipes, as opposed to the two Popes, the Cupra Ateca was more refined than rorty. It must have been difficult for SEAT to decide on what kind of aural edge to give this car. Who was it aimed at, family folk or enthusiasts? Well, both ideally, but that kind of blanket approach inevitably brings compromises and you could end up suiting nobody.
There was plenty of braking power via the standard 340mm/310mm discs, even if for some drivers the brake pedal sat a little too high in relation to the throttle. Bigger ventilated Brembo discs were available in the optional Design Pack. SEAT’s PR dept was claiming these Brembo discs were 18-inchers, but they looked way smaller than the copper-coloured 19-inch wheels they sat behind, so we’ll put that down to a bit of over excitement when the release was being written.
For an extra £1,930 the Comfort & Sound pack added an excellent Beats audio system, electric tailgate, traffic sign recognition, lane assist, high beam assist, spacesaver spare and heated front seats, or the Winter pack as SEAT termed those. The passenger-side cabin bonnet release lever has a tendency to unclip itself if you pull it at an angle from the driver’s seat.
You can understand quality taking a back seat to the more instant sales appeal of technology as manufacturers seek to reduce their costs in these difficult times, but as Mercedes will tell you, toning down the quality is a risky path to tread. There again, it’s not just SEAT, some VW-badged cars have been drifting down the premium-osity scale of late, and the long-term risk of reputational damage caused by cheaper cabin materials is surely greater for VW than it is for SEAT.