We video test the 2018 SEAT Ateca FR

Here’s a vehicle we weren’t expecting, and when I say we, I mean New Zealand in general. This is a SEAT – and that’s pronounced “Say It.’’ It’s also in capitals because the name is an acronym, which gives you a hint as to where the brand is from. SEAT stands for Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo which is, as you may have guessed, Spanish.

SEAT was here once before, but very fleetingly. When the brand left, it was thought it would never return, but it has, having marshalled up a healthy and still growing selection of vehicles. We’re reviewing what could arguably be called the best of them, the Ateca FR SUV. 

This is a five-seat rocket-ship which just happens to be crammed full of everything you would expect a modern SUV to be crammed full of.

It has space, it has style, it has all the bells and whistles and it has a simply stunning engine which unleashes 140kW of power and 320Nm of torque from its two-litre EcoTSI engine, which is ‘turbocharged petrol’ for those who don’t do SEAT-speak. 

The Ateca does have some technology that’s new and impressive: there’s the Multiview camera, the heartbeat function, the selectable four-wheel-drive system, wireless phone charging, parking assistance, and those are just some of the highlights.

The Ateca is a car which inspires great driving and rewards it accordingly. It is the perfect road going citizen when such is required, but then when its time to party, its ‘’viva Espanol!’’ with all that entails.

Described as being an extraordinary car in an ordinary world, the Ateca rewrites the book on what an SUV should be.

For more information go to https://www.seat.co.nz/carworlds/suv-ateca/overview.html