CUPRA ATECA
Sports SUV is one of the oldest cars on the market. So does it feel like it?
TESTER’S NOTE
The Ateca’s driving position doesn’t feel natural. The pedals are offset to the right and there isn’t enough height adjustment in the steering wheel or driver’s seat.
JB
TESTED 3.8.25, STIRLINGSHIRE DELIVERIES NOW
This is where it all began. In 2018, Seat announced that it was transforming its Cupra model line into a brand in its own right, creating exciting, youthful, sporty versions of Martorell’s regular family cars – and the Ateca was the guinea pig. Now, though, the Ateca is the oldest car in the Cupra range and one of the oldest ‘new’ cars you can currently buy, having gone on sale in late 2018. But with fresh styling touches via a facelift, Cupra believes it’s still a worthy part of the family. In performance terms, that’s certainly true. You can have either a 1.5-litre turbo four with 148bhp or the 2.0-litre ‘EA888’ – familiar from hot Volkswagen Golfs – with 187bhp and four-wheel drive. The halo VZ3 model we’re testing here gets the same 2.0-litre engine boosted to 296bhp and 295lb ft of torque.