Kiwi prices for new Ateca SUV revealed
New but strangely familiar SUV will be launched in NZ in September.
Want a Volkswagen Tiguan that’s not exactly the same as the neighbours’? Wish your Skoda Kodiaq was a bit more Spanish?
You probably need the Seat Ateca, a new SUV that’s being launched in New Zealand from September.
Seat is the Spanish arm of the Volkswagen Group and the Ateca is based on the same platform as the latest-generation Tiguan and Kodiaq models.
Seat NZ has announced more detailed specification and pricing for its Ateca range. It will feature three specification levels and three engines across four models.
There will be a 110kw petrol engine available in Style and Xcellence specification; a 140kw diesel with 4Drive also available in Xcellence specification; and a 140kw petrol engine with 4Drive in FR specification. All models will be standard with 7-speed DSG gearboxes.
Ateca carries a five-star safety rating from EURONCAP and includes items such as front assist with City Emergency Braking and Pedestrian Protection, Blind Spot monitoring and a rear view camera. The brand’s Full Link system is standard on all Kiwi models and features Apple Carplay, Android Auto and Mirrorlink.
The Ateca range will start at $38,900 for the Ateca Style; the Ateca Xcellence will be $44,900 with the two 140kw 4Drive models being $52,400 and $52,900 (FR 4Drive and Xcellence 4Drive respectively).
The Xcellence and FR specifications are of a similar level – the FR being more sportingthemed. The Xcellence and FR include a number of features over and above the Style specification, including adaptive cruise control, a top-view camera, alarm, keyless entry, alcantara upholstery, full LED headlights, a hands-free electric tailgate and 18-inch (Xcellence) or 19in (FR) alloys.
The Ateca is the first of three SUVS that Seat will release in the coming two years. A smaller brother to the Ateca, the Arona, will be revealed for the first time this month and is due in NZ in the first half of 2018. Then in early 2019, the third SUV will arrive – this model will be larger than Ateca and available with the option of seven seats: essentially’s Seat’s Kodiaq equivalent. Seat is currently running a world-wide competition to choose the name for this new model. But we’re guessing it will start with an "A".
The Ateca Xcellence 4Drive will be first up for NZ: on sale from September. The full model range will be available by years’ end.
Seat will also have two variants of the Leon hatchback in NZ. The FR is powered by a 110kw 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine and will be priced from $35,900.
The performance flagship for the Spanish brand in NZ will be the Leon Cupra, with a 221kw 2.0-litre turbo-petrol powerplant. The six-speed manual model will cost $55,400, while the six-speed DSG will be priced at $56,900.
The Leon Cupra will be launched alongside the Ateca Xcellence 4Drive in September. The FR model will follow early in 2018.