Cupra is now a independent performance brand. Paul Acres

The Cupra Ateca’s closest rivals are the Audi SQ2 and Volkswagen T-roc R. All three stablemates use the same 296bhp turbocharged petrol engine, four-wheel drive system and seven-speed dualclutch automatic transmission. It sports a number of unique design features to give it a more dynamic and aggressive appearance, including a honeycomb-effect grille bearing the Cupra badge, black gloss detailing, unique 19in alloy wheels and quad exhausts. Inside there are few hints that you might be sitting in anything special but the sports seats are worthy of particular mention. They are wonderfully comfortable and supportive, which means you can tackle high-speed sprints along twisty country roads with as much pleasure as you can longer excursions on major roads. The driving position is excellent. All your infotainment needs are catered for via an eight-inch touchscreen that’s embedded in the centre of the dashboard. It looks less like an afterthought than the ones mounted on top

of the dash as a result but, of course, you have to divert your eyes further from the road to operate it.

You do, thankfully, get physical controls to operate the air con. It’s a spacious car. It’s really easy to get into and out of thanks to its raised height and, once inside, even taller passengers will find they have plenty of head and legroom in the front.

Naturally, in the back there’s a little less legroom but thanks to a reasonably upright seating position and that same tall, flat roofline the rear bench will comfortably accommodate a pair of six-footers.

Boot capacity is 485 litres which is slightly down on the standard car’s 510.

The cabin is reasonably tranquil, even at motorway speeds, where there’s a modicum of tyre roar permeating the passenger space. The engine, meanwhile, is barely audible at a steady cruise.

So, we finally arrive at the Cupra’s raison d’etre. It’s a performance SUV so how it goes, how it slows and how it handles would surely be right at the top of your list of priorities if you’re looking to buy one.

Power – all 295bhp – comes from a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine. It’s essentially the same one you’ll find under the bonnet of the Golf R so it certainly shouldn’t be lacking the grunt necessary to get your spine tingling.

It is quick, too, with the 0-62mph sprint taking just 4.7sec while top speed is 152mph. It’s a shame, then, that there isn’t much of a soundtrack to accentuate the excitement. This is a high-riding SUV so it already has the laws of physics working against it. Compared with lower-slung hot hatches the Cupra Ateca leans significantly more in corners and the front end takes a while longer to consider its response when you turn into a corner and it will run out of grip quicker too. Compared to other cars of the same ilk, however, the Cupra Ateca is very accomplished. The standard car is already one of the best-handling in its class and the lower, stiffer suspension fitted to the Cupra ensures that it stays much flatter through corners.

A rotary dial on the transmission tunnel gives you access to a number of driving modes – off-road, Comfort and Cupra among them – and sticking to the middle one of those three keeps the car’s suspension soft enough to just about live up to its billing. In fact, the Cupra does a decent job of isolating occupants from broken road surfaces considering its sporting DNA.

The Cupra Ateca is well equipped, just as practical as the standard car and very, very quick. Of course, you can have all that by buying a hot hatch and, in a straight fight around twisty roads, it would leave the Ateca in its wake despite the small SUVS impressive handling. The quality of the interior, as well as the ambience, could be a tad better and the lack of an enticing engine to add an extra layer of excitement could be seen as a significant oversight At first glance, then, and given the Cupra Ateca’s humble roots its asking price might appear a little steep but, if you’re heart is set on a performance SUV, then it is cheaper than both its main rivals, the T-roc R and Audi SQ2.