What is it?
The arrival of the Cupra Ateca marks a significant moment for the Spanish arm of the VW Group as it delivers on a promise to promote Cupra from its position on the sidelines, as Seat’s performance division, to the more prominent role of standalone brand.
Cupra was first introduced in the mid-1990s and has since become synonymous with go-faster Seats, but from this moment on it will be recognised as a car maker in its own right. It isn’t just about performance; individuality and sophistication will also be core attributes, apparently.
At least, that is the ambition. Its first model is a 296bhp version of Seat’s SUV with uprated suspension and styling revisions. The new Cupra models will be built alongside their Seat counterparts at the Martorell factory on the outskirts of Barcelona and they will be sold through selected Seat dealerships, albeit by dedicated staff.
As is the way with the VW Group the Cupra Ateca is less a ground-up engineering exercise and more a cherry-picking one, for it plucks from the enormous VW Group toolkit every item of hardware that’s needed to turn a family SUV into a sporting one. The 2-litre turbo engine, seven-speed DSG gearbox, Haldex four-wheel drive system, MQB architecture and plenty more besides are all shared with other Seats, VWs, Skodas and Audis. Cupra is the first brand in the group to bring all of those bits and pieces together to build a fast SUV, but no individual element is in any way unique to the Ateca.
Why launch the new-look Cupra with an SUV? That’s where the volume is. For the time being, the Cupra Ateca is the only performance SUV in the sub-premium sector, which helps it stand out. Going where the volume is will undoubtedly be good for Cupra’s bottom line, but the risk is that people who really love driving and therefore wouldn’t consider an SUV of any sort are left wondering if Cupra in its new form is actually aimed at them at all.
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Four star rating for a three star review: must be VAG!
It's obvious, if you read the full review, that it's a fairly mediocre vehicle.
But VAG spend a lot on advertising so here's an extra star or two to keep 'em sweet...
If it had a Fiat or Toyota or Nissan badge, it'd be a grudging 3 stars.
For Caravan Clubber in a
For Caravan Clubber in a hurry to be first to the dogging site.
The Apprentice wrote:
I hope so! Myself and Kboothby are picking one up soon. We'll be hooking up our caravan and setting off for a weekend of hard rimming, can't wait.
The Apprentice wrote:
The encouraging thing for you re this post, is that future efforts can ONLY improve. Are you a child, let loose on a computer, while the adults are in another room?.
FMS wrote:
You sound like one of those humour bypass snowflake liberals... no antifa marches today?
Confused?
"The next model in the Cupra era, the Seat Leon Cupra R ST estate (which will still be badged a Seat, unlike this Ateca) will almost certainly be faster, more engaging to drive and not a whole lot less usable."
How will this make any sense? Seat will be undermining their new sporting sub-brand if they do this.