Used Seat Ateca 2016-2020 review

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Is Seat's first SUV a more appealing used buy than a Volkswagen Tiguan or Nissan Qashqai?

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A stylish alternative to the mightily successful Nissan Qashqai, the Seat Ateca plugged a conspicuous SUV-shaped gap in Seat’s line-up when it arrived in 2016 and helped to turn the tide for the cash-strapped Spanish marque.

The introduction of a crossover was crucial for the future success of Seat. The marque had been absent from the class for far too long and needed a high-riding Leon alternative to recapture the attention of European buyers.

Closely related to the Volkswagen Tiguan, the super-smart Ateca was an instant hit, not only for its looks but also for its capable handling, practical interior and affordable price – and now you can buy one for around £6000. And you should.

For starters, the Ateca was the class leader in terms of ride and handling, offering an engaging yet comfortable drive that makes it feel like a Leon on tiptoes – and that’s no bad thing.

The Ateca takes full advantage of its lighter weight and stiffer chassis to offer an impressive level of handling precision, which is uncommon in this segment, where cars typically struggle to find the right balance between soft-roader and agile hatchback.

Its engaging feel is helped by its tactile steering, which adds an extra layer of character to its drive.

Its body movements highlight that it’s a crossover, but it grips well through corners to keep you involved when pushing on.

If you’re more geared towards ride quality, though, we’d direct you towards the diesels, which can be had with four-wheel drive and benefit from the Tiguan’s multi-link rear suspension, which is a little more forgiving on UK roads than the standard front-wheel-drive car’s torsion-beam set-up.

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With the oil-burners, there are 113bhp 1.6-litre and 148bhp and 187bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder units. The 1.6-litre is by no means sluggish and is more than up to handling daily duties. If you’re after a proper mile-muncher, though, opt for the 2.0-litre diesel.

The peppy 1.0-litre petrol should serve urban dwellers well, but our all-round pick of the range is the 1.4 TSI. With 148bhp, it has more than enough grunt and it will do around 40mpg.

The 1.4 was replaced by a 1.5 TSI in 2018, when a more potent 2.0-litre TSI was also added to the line-up.

Being a well-packaged compact SUV, the Ateca is both spacious and practical inside. There’s room for adults in the rear, and the 510-litre boot is bigger than the Qashqai’s, making it ideal for school runs and family holidays.

The Ateca’s cabin is light and airy, but understandably it comes across as slightly less affluent than the Tiguan’s, being the cheaper of the two. Still, there’s a pleasing robustness and sense of durability to all the cabin fittings, which is reminiscent of the Skoda Yeti that was briefly built alongside the Ateca.

In terms of trims, we’d avoid the entry-level S and the stiffly sprung FR and go for the modestly equipped SE with smarter alloy wheels, cruise control and an 8.0in touchscreen.

If you’re after luxuries like heated seats, the Xcellence model (called Xperience after the 2020 facelift) is the one to go for.

But regardless of the flavour you pick, the Ateca’s capable handling, clever proportions and handsome exterior make it a highly useful – and, crucially, capable – family companion.

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RELIABILITY

Is the Seat Ateca reliable?

In What Car's reliabilty survery, the Ateca finished 17th out 34 cars in the family SUV class, beating the Kia Sportage and Volvo XC40. Just like any used car there are some common issues (see below) but overall the Ateca shouldn't be a cause for concern. 

Dealer networks and specialists are plentiful so you should have no issues when trying to source parts.

Engine: The later 1.5 TSI can be a little hesitant to pull away from cold so check there’s no ‘kangarooing’ (fluctuating revs). It’s a well-known issue and a software update is often the cure.

Leaking coolant could be a sign of water pump failure. Such an issue should flag an engine management light too.

Gearbox: Take a DSG automatic on a long test drive to make sure it’s swapping cogs smoothly. It can sometimes judder when pulling away and when changing from first to second. A gearbox service can fix the issue but a new clutch is also known to solve it.

Handbrake: It can stick on when you pull away, so make sure it releases without any fuss.

Body: Check the power tailgate opens and closes properly as these can fail. Rust can appear in the rear door seals so inspect the edges and near the wheel arches for any orange accents.

Driver Assistance: The lane keep assist is known for being faulty so be sure to test it. If it’s not working properly, it may need a new radar and sensors. There have also been cases of the brake assist activating when no other vehicles are nearby.

Electrics: There are a few electric gremlins to look out for, such as the mirrors not folding in, the keyless entry and USB ports not working properly and the central locking turning on and off at random.

Infotainment: A software glitch in the SOS emergency system can knock out the infotainment screen. Switching the car’s privacy setting to private can cure the issue in the short term but a software update will fix it for good.

An owner’s view

Ben Gunton: “I’ve owned my 1.5 DSG Xperience model since March 2023 and have covered 11,000 miles to date. It drives well, it’s safe, it’s fairly economical for its size and it has a good amount of tech. Other than issues with the infotainment (which have now been fixed via an update), it’s been very reliable with no major issues or expenses. I’d definitely recommend the car to anyone with a small family.”

Also worth knowing

The Ateca achieved a five-star Euro NCAP rating and scored highly for adult occupant safety (93%) and child occupant safety (84%).

If you’re after more dynamic appeal, then there’s the Cupra Ateca, which came with the same 296bhp turbocharged four-cylinder engine as the Golf R. It’s quick but lacks true driver engagement.

Most Atecas cost £190 to tax annually but the 1.0-litre Ecomotive and 1.6-litre TDI Ecomotive cost just £35.

DESIGN & STYLING

Seat Ateca rear

It was to the Ateca’s good fortune that the previous-generation of Leon had always been considered something of a looker since its launch in 2013 – because, rather conspicuously, that car was the design inspiration here.

A ‘big brother’ was the description apparently favoured in Martorell, and that was largely the way it transpired in the metal, with the crossover sporting a similar quota of sharp lines and high shoulder creases.

There was a sibling relationship with the Tiguan, too, that car being the first SUV outing for the omnipresent MQB platform underneath both it and the Ateca, but this association was kept firmly under wraps.

For one, the Ateca was noticeably shorter than the larger-scale VW, and for another, it was decidedly more sporty-looking.

This, of course, was no accident. Being a tiny bit sportier was Seat’s long-standing raison d’être, and the firm said the identity extended to the slightly different way its crossover had been tuned. In hardware terms, the Ateca adopted the established MQB characteristics.

There was a choice of two petrol engines (the three-cylinder 1.0 and four-cylinder 1.4 TSIs) and two diesel lumps (the 1.6 TDI tested and the 2.0 TDI, available in both 148bhp and 187bhp configurations).

Most drove the front wheels exclusively, although both the larger oil-burners came with the option of a Haldex clutch-based four-wheel-drive system, with those models also benefiting from the more sophisticated multi-link rear suspension already tested in the Tiguan.

Without a driven rear axle, all other Atecas made do with a cheaper torsion beam at the back.

Trimming niceties from the bottom line did at least tend to help with a car’s kerb weight. The lightest Tiguan clocked in at 1490kg; Seat claimed 1280kg for the three-pot model. 

All versions at the time came with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, save for the 2.0-litre diesel, which got a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic, either as an option or standard if you opted for the higher-output version.

And except for the entry-level model, all Atecas received Seat’s Drive Profile dial, which (as the suspension was passive) was generally limited to tweaking the throttle and electric steering feel – although in the all-wheel-drive versions, it added Snow and Off-road modes.

INTERIOR

The necessary positioning of Seat as a brand had left some of its products feeling short-changed inside. The Ateca’s slightly starchy, unadorned cabin was much like those of its stablemates – notably the Leon – and explicitly less affluent in appearance than the equivalent Volkswagen.

Nevertheless, while there was little to get excited about while looking at the predominantly matt black dashboard, there was nothing significant to grumble about, either.

The Ateca had been built in the same Czech factory that turned out the Skoda Superb and Yeti and had inherited a similarly durable build quality. In keeping with most MQB products, everything was positioned where you’d expected to find it and had functioned impeccably.

Marginal infractions had been observable – Seat’s Drive Profile wheel could have done with being a bit less flimsy, for example. 

Generally speaking, with its legibility, ease of use, and ergonomics beyond reproach, the Ateca was exceptionally good at making you feel right at home.

It was also acutely well-sized. Even though it was slightly shorter of wheelbase than the Tiguan, the Ateaca still offered ample, family hatchback levels of rear legroom.

The sense of space was amplified further by the amount of rear headroom available, with the car’s bearskin-swallowing roofline being what had really distinguished the Ateca’s cabin from the otherwise similarly sized Leon.

It was significant enough to be the feature most likely to have swayed any parents torn between the two.

That and the well-proportioned boot, which, with a 510-litre capacity, was 130 litres larger than the Leon’s but also 80 litres more generous than a Qashqai’s.

Seat hadn’t quoted a total load capacity, but the near-flat space was suitably commodious once the 60/40 split seatbacks had been flopped forward by the two pull handles in the boot.

Storage options elsewhere inside were less impressive (the glovebox had been pitifully small), but the larger cubby in the centre console and roomy door bins were decent enough.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

Any suspicion that Volkswagen’s downsized 1.6-litre diesel engine might not have been quite up to the job of satisfactorily lugging around a shapely crossover were largely unfounded.

The Ateca’s venerable 1.6 TDI may not have qualified as a spring chicken, nor particularly accelerated like one, but a life cycle pockmarked by tweaks and updates had meant that the unit’s performance was never less than dutiful – an impression corroborated by a recorded 10.5-second 0-60mph time that was a full second quicker than advertised.

As was the case in this engine’s other applications, wide throttle openings had been required to keep up a modest head of steam; sagging much below 2000rpm was generally fatal due to the engine’s tendency to wilt when not being subsidised by its turbocharger.

Given that this tended to occur at 40mph in the predictably long final ratio, it had made economical driving seem a bit more tiresome than in the more giving 2.0-litre variant.

But as it revved keenly enough and came furnished with the snappy gearchanges of the Volkswagen Group’s six-speed manual ’box, it was rare that you felt yourself getting grouchy with the quality of progress.

Such a reaction was best reserved instead for the amount of noise the engine had generated.

The core strength of the current Qashqai was its striking refinement, the cabin being very well isolated from the combined racket of road and engine.

In the Ateca, it was less easy to disassociate yourself from the background drone, and while it never became so unruly as to disrupt quiet conversation, its presence was audible at idle and downright insistent at higher revs.

Our noise meter recorded a 3dB penalty at 70mph versus the 1.5dCi Qashqai we drove in 2014 and a 6dB difference at big crank speeds in third.

Although not ruinous, the highish noise level was a chink in what had otherwise been convincing armour.

RIDE & HANDLING

Compact crossovers rarely combine the characteristics of a proper SUV and peppy hatchback and often result in something that had been neither desperately tall and pillowy nor precisely nimble or engaging.

This suited the target buyer, but we had tended toward faint praise for the segment as a whole and had long bemoaned the absence of anything resembling a driver’s car.

The Ateca hadn’t entirely resolved that, but it was closer than any before in plugging the gap between soft-roader aesthetic and handling aptitude.

Fundamentally, it had made this leap by taking a familiarly short, logical step and seeking to do nothing more than drive like a hoisted-up Leon.

The trick here was that Seat had made the frequently proclaimed intention work.

Rather than adopt the slightly bigger-skin feel that VW had grafted onto the Tiguan’s platform, the smaller Ateca took full advantage of carrying less weight on its simpler, mildly stiffer chassis.

Its positive feel was complemented by the credible heft and directness of the electric steering, in turn delivering much the same assured driving style we had credited to practically every MQB derivative since its introduction.

Certainly, the Ateca was a crossover – a fact obvious enough in its body movements – but there was easily enough Leon in its adroit turn-in and abundant grip to keep you interested in pushing on.

The relationship between the two was redolent of the blood tie between the Jaguar XF and F-Pace – and that was meant as praise from the top drawer.

Only the sneaking suspicion that the torsion beam rear axle was striking obstacles at speed with slightly less sympathy than the multi-link set-up would have gently inhibited the front-drive version’s appeal.

That was forgivable, though, given the all-wheel-drive car’s premium, and in all honesty, it had barely dented the lasting impression of the first-rate compromise struck here in the cooking model.

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MPG & RUNNING COSTS

Seat Ateca dynamic lead

While the 113g/km 1.6 TDI couldn't match the 99g/km of the 1.5 dCi Qashaqi, the Ateca was still near the head of the field for CO2, and more importantly, economy. 

You would easily manage around the 50mpg mark for the entry-level diesel – and on a long run the 2.0-litre diesel would perform just as well. 

Its decent economy is a surefire sign that the Ateca's respectable kerb weight had helped to offset the less friendly aerodynamics of a crossover's taller profile. 

 

VERDICT

Seat’s first crossover was an assured accomplishment, instantly establishing its place in a popular, margin-rich segment while also surpassing second- and third-generation rivals to boot.

Its success had ultimately brought to mind the introduction of the VW Up.

The likeable city car – also offered as the Seat Mii – hadn’t reinvented the class or proved particularly innovative; instead, it had shrewdly met buyer expectations in the key areas of practicality, usability, appearance, and fuel economy, then had neatly exceeded them when it came to the chronically undervalued business of actually driving it.

By adopting the same approach, Seat had produced an SUV we liked for the sake of useful comparison and admired full stop.

With a family in tow, we’d not only recommend it over a Nissan Qashqai but would also be inclined to buy one ahead of a Leon. And that just says it all.

Sam Phillips

Sam Phillips
Title: Staff Writer

Sam joined the Autocar team in summer 2024 and has been a contributor since 2021. He is tasked with writing used reviews and first drives as well as updating top 10s and evergreen content on the Autocar website. 

He previously led sister-title Move Electric, which covers the entire spectrum of electric vehicles, from cars to boats – and even trucks. He is an expert in new car news, used cars, electric cars, microbility, classic cars and motorsport. 

Sam graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 2021 with a BA in Journalism. In his final year he produced an in-depth feature on the automotive industry’s transition to electric cars and interviewed a number of leading experts to assess our readiness for the impending ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars.

Matt Saunders

Matt Saunders Autocar
Title: Road test editor

As Autocar’s chief car tester and reviewer, it’s Matt’s job to ensure the quality, objectivity, relevance and rigour of the entirety of Autocar’s reviews output, as well contributing a great many detailed road tests, group tests and drive reviews himself.

Matt has been an Autocar staffer since the autumn of 2003, and has been lucky enough to work alongside some of the magazine’s best-known writers and contributors over that time. He served as staff writer, features editor, assistant editor and digital editor, before joining the road test desk in 2011.

Since then he’s driven, measured, lap-timed, figured, and reported on cars as varied as the Bugatti Veyron, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Tesla Roadster, Ariel Hipercar, Tata Nano, McLaren Senna, Renault Twizy and Toyota Mirai. Among his wider personal highlights of the job have been covering Sebastien Loeb’s record-breaking run at Pikes Peak in 2013; doing 190mph on derestricted German autobahn in a Brabus Rocket; and driving McLaren’s legendary ‘XP5’ F1 prototype. His own car is a trusty Mazda CX-5.