Posher and sportier
Steve Teale laments the demise of the low-rent Seat marque but finds succour at the wheel of the upmarket Cupra Ateca VZ2 2.0 TSi, even if it does come with a £45,000 price tag
BY the time you read this, you may have digested the fact that new Seat models are being killed off. Bad news for Seat, obviously. But a real boost for Cupra, which in my mind is still simply the premium sporty wing of Seat, and which I am testing here. At the time of writing, I am still trying to get my head around the idea. I’ve always admired this brand for making affordable cars fun. Leons, Ibizas, Toledos, the list could go on and on.
And to say it is one of the smaller motoring marques, it is an established part of our street scene. Have a look next time you’re out and I bet you see no end of them.
But the brand is being phased out, to be replaced by a relative newcomer, Cupra. This name was created as an upmarket, sportier brand to enable Seat to cover two markets in effect – from cheap and cheerful to premium and prestige.
I don’t think anyone ever imagined Cupra would do so well that Seat would be shelved and Cupra expanded, but that is what has happened.
Part of the reason is the earthquake going through the motor industry at the moment with the dash to electric. As we have seen with the demise of the Fiesta, nothing is sacred any more.
It is one of the unintended consequences of the headlong rush to EV. The cheaper car is vanishing and the average consumer is forced to pay more.
OK, the cars are undeniably better but the choice to go for a new, cheaper car is diminishing.
So it is quite timely that I am testing a new Cupra this week. The Cupra Ateca is a posher version of the standard Seat Ateca and I love it.
A friend who is a BMW enthusiast wasn’t quite so convinced. He liked the Seats (he’s right, they’re sumptuous) but wasn’t too sure about the door quality (the way a door feels and closes is often a good indicator of premium quality).
But I must say the overall package, which after all is what most people judge a car on, is excellent.
The cost is eye-watering: £45,000. There again, in this iPhone age no-one ever pays that up front. Rather, we lease cars so the monthly figure is far more pertinent and that’s in the range of £400 a month, according to a quick internet search.
So what do you get for your money? Well, if Seat is low-rent, Cupra is much more upmarket. It will sit easily next to a BMW or Audi in the company car park (if those things still exist in this working-from-home era).
Cupra has a Volkswagen flavour to everything – the switchgear, the ride and handling, the overall quality – which is no bad thing. The essence of VW has now pervaded everything from Skoda and Seat to Audi and Lamborghini. OK, a little less so in the Lambo, but you get the drift – VW quality is obvious through the marques which make up the VW group.
Cupra is described by its bosses as the “unconventional challenger brand that brings together emotion, electrification and performance to inspire the world”.
It has proven that electrification and sportiness are a perfect match, and in 2022 the brand hit new heights with more than 150,000 vehicles delivered. Each successive launch of a model has marked a new milestone in defining the brand’s character, with a challenging and original design.
Cupra Ateca is said to be a unique model in its segment and it is sold alongside Cupra Leon, its first electrified model thanks to a plug-in hybrid electric engine; the Cupra Formentor, the first model to be developed exclusively by the brand and the company’s best-selling vehicle to date; and the Cupra Born, the brand’s first 100 per cent electric vehicle.
Now Formentor is my favourite Cupra but after a week at the wheel of the Ateca, I am torn. For Ateca is versatile – it eats motorway miles, takes tight town centres in its stride and carries passengers and loads with ease.
‘It eats motorway miles, takes tight town centres in its stride and carries passengers and loads with ease.’
So what do you get for your money? It has some of the smartest 19in alloy wheels I’ve seen. It has park assist and an electric pushbutton tailgate plus four driving modes – Normal, Sport, Eco and Individual). And 4Drive versions include off-road and snow modes, throttle response and gear shifts mode.
It has a vast and deep boot (485 litres) and it rides and handles with a sportier manner than its height and bulk might suggest.
This is the mid-range VZ2. The entry-level VZ1 trim is so well equipped that there isn’t much VZ2 can bring to the table. As such, it won’t cost you all that much more to upgrade but it adds only heated and leather front bucket seats, an electric tailgate and the Safety and Driving Pack.
Ateca started the SUV charge from Seat and it has been transformative, not only increasing sales but also introducing new people to the brand that would previously have not chosen a Seat or a Cupra.
As the customer trend towards SUVs continues, the model has been refreshed. It is claimed to be pound-for-pound, one of the best value vehicles on the market.
The engine is stunning. The 2.0-litre turbo engine is essentially the same as you’ll find in Volkswagen's flagship Golf R hot hatch, so there’s more than enough firepower.
It has sprint numbers which are comparable to the BMW X2 M35i, Volkswagen T-Roc R and Cupra Formentor.
Cupra Ateca VZ2 2.0 TSi: £45,680; 2.0-litre petrol engine generating 300ps via four wheels; top speed 155mph and 0 to 60mph in 4.9 seconds; 31.7mpg combined; insurance group 31; emissions 202g/km; three years warranty, 60,000 miles.