[Chris (Chester)]

Hello everyone

I know my previous post was written the day after we took delivery and I was a bit angry (with myself!) for not double checking the spec when ordering and for being upset with the Lane Assist system being faulty.

Later that day I also noticed that one of the rear light clusters was cracked but this will teach me a) to buy a car from a dealer 210 miles away (for a £250 AP discount) and b) from not spotting it when I was there.

BUT

with a clear head and having driven the car a bit more, this is my honest and impartial scoring below, hopefully to aid future buyers:

• Car Design/Styling/Wheels: 10/10 (albeit objective of course)
• Engine/Gearbox/Suspension 9.5/10 (plenty of poke, good DSG, firm ride if you can take it but goes round corners brilliantly for an SUV)
• Technology/Digital Cockpit: 9/10 (great graphics and plenty of capability, menus could be easier to use but this is one of the better systems out there, same across the VW Group)
• Build Quality and Luxuries: 6/10 (ok I’d give my old Karoq an 8 because it feels better made and has all the little thoughtful bits on the doors, boot, dash that bring it up a notch)
• Practicality: 7/10 (yes the Skoda sliding and smart rear seats are amazing and I would have liked a flat boot floor but) overall the space is good and the touch free boot with sliding your foot underneath works every time (didn’t at the Skoda)

So in brief, the car is fine, great to drive which I knew about and took it for granted. Maybe my initial frustration was based on the fact that I expected an even better car than my old Karoq and got a car that is slightly worse but a) it looks nicer and b) it’s still one of the best SUV out there at this price level.

What I should have made clear is that my previous Karoq was on a private lease, it was the top of the range model and then I had paid myself for every possible option available on top of that. So really unfair on the Ateca to complain about the stereo when I had paid extra for this option on the Karoq…

So I would recommend the Ateca; do your research, test drive it and look at the spec sheet carefully.

 

Happy motoring friends!

 

Chris

Topic

[file28]

Glad to hear you’re happier with your Ateca now and yes some improvements could be made to the interior quality but overall its not a bad vehicle for the price and has good driveability

"the world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams-its heaven and hell "(RJD)
Peugeot 2008gt
Selenium grey

[DaveW]

Two cracking (and varying!) reviews.
Thanks for taking the time.

Out of interest – can you not take it to your local dealer for the light cluster rather than the supplying dealer?

 

[Markw]

Thanks for the update,  it does take time to really assess and get to know a vehicle and understand the positive and negative aspects,  your efforts are very much appreciated , It made me laugh to see the wildly incorrect and uneducated contributors who leaped on your previous review to give the Ateca a good kicking.  Those of us who actually use the vehicle are confident and comfortable in it’s ability and superiority.

Currently driving Seat Ateca 2.0 FR Sport TDI 190 DSG 4drive

Mokka E ultimate on order

[Glos Guy]

Good to hear that things have calmed down Chris and that you are starting to appreciate some other aspects of the car! The good thing is that one or two of the issues are faults which can and will be resolved. We had a fault with the Front Assist system on our Tiguan which very nearly caused an accident on a couple of occasions and I was quite wary driving the car (unless I switched it off) until a while after it was fixed. I’ve never had a car that didn’t have at least one thing that disappointed me, but you tend to get used to their peculiarities. That being said, there are some things about our Tiguan that still irritate me after 3 years! Happy Motoring!

[Leslie Ingley]

Hi Chris can you tell me how much SEAT Connect: Safety, Service, Remote & Online: cost after the free trial.  Thanks

[Phaedra]

I’ve had my 2020 Xcellence Lux for almost 9 months, previous car was a Yeti.

No real complaints about the comfort or ride, it may be a bit firm but I don’t mind it.

I love the heated front screen, remote boot opening, heated seats and reversing/all round camera.  And the rear “ATECA” badge is much nicer than the new 2021 version 🙂

However, the ACC is a pain if used around town, I have quite a few roads which are a good stretch of 30 and 40mph with only a couple of roundabouts.  The ACC has a nasty habit of slamming the brakes on when it thinks it’s too close to a car slowing in front or driving past a car parked at the side of the road. If it was a DSG not a problem, just foot down and off you go, with the manual you have to drop from 6th to 1st and often have to re-start the engine with other cars coming up behind.

Sound system is “adequate” for the top of the range model it’s not great.  It’s worse than either my previous Yeti or Kuga, at the time (last batch brought over before the facelift) there was no way to get the Seat Sound System as an option.

Lack of traction in any amount of snow, even with less than 1cm it has no grip (19″ Alloys)

Windscreen wipers all needed replacing, very poor water clearance and very, very noisy, this has been a common problem with the Ateca for many years, the Bosch replacements are 200% better and much quieter.

Will I be looking at another Ateca when it’s time to change cars? I don’t think so.

Please excuse spelling/typos. Apart from being a clot it turns out I had one on my cerebellum that's now causing various problems!

[Markw]

Funny all the Experience lux owners disgruntled,  all the FR Sport owners quite happy,  standard ?, that’s why it pays to research and test drive for a day the exact model designation your signing up for.

Currently driving Seat Ateca 2.0 FR Sport TDI 190 DSG 4drive

Mokka E ultimate on order

[Chris (Chester)]

Thanks everyone for the comments and feedback.

 

Yes I’ll be taking it to my local dealer for the rear light cluster but I’ll have to pay for it I assume as i can’t prove it was like that when i collected from Crawley.

 

Leslie

I don’t bother with car Apps. I had 4 electric cars in the past (2 full EVs and 2 Hybrids) where the app was really important to heat the car up before setting off, no they didn’t work. Then the Skoda I had and loved, I thought I’ll try again with its App and…NO same rubbish again.

If you have the latest iPhone, most car Apps seem to struggle so I no longer bother.

Phaedra

Thanks for your review, I know what you’re saying about assist systems and manual gearbox, I’m really happy with the Auto and haven’t had a manual car for many years now. Good tip for the wipers, thanks for it. There are some online parts suppliers so I’ll order some extra wipers in time for Autumn.

 

Hopefully, there will be some really nice EVs on the scheme in 3 years time when we are due to change again so things like the ID4, Enyaq etc will be on our shortlist.

How’s Marky doing with his Tarraco?

 

All the best

Chris

 

 

[Markymate]

Pleased to hear you’re getting on better with the Ateca now, Chris. It does take a little time to get use to something new and finding out what does what, but it sounds like you are getting there.  Hope you get the light cluster sorted okay.

I’ll be giving a review of my new Tarraco FR Sport at the end of the week, and like you coming from a Skoda to a Seat has been more different than I expected.

Happy motoring.

[Phaedra]

Markw wrote:

Funny all the Experience lux owners disgruntled, all the FR Sport owners quite happy, standard , that’s why it pays to research and test drive for a day the exact model designation your signing up for.

Unfortunately I had an idiot jump out of a Transit coming towards me at 40mph and let it run across the carriageway straight into me writing off the Yeti.  As I was then car-less (it was a private lease car) I had very little choice in what I could find in a very short time.

The Tiguan I’d had on order for months still hadn’t arrived in the UK, when it was finally due and Motability re-opened on July 2nd the AP had almost doubled to £2995.  The only thing I could find a short notice that I could fit into (6′ 5″ with mobility problems) and was actually available was the Ateca.  It was supposed to be the diesel but when I went to place the order the diesel Xcellence Lux wasn’t on the scheme, only the 1.5 petrol and very few of those in stock due to the facelift model being released.

As I said the general ride and comfort are fine.  The only other gripe is the size of the glovebox! it’s tiny!

Please excuse spelling/typos. Apart from being a clot it turns out I had one on my cerebellum that's now causing various problems!

[John Morris]

Love our ateca fr sport as I have said before.  Brilliant car. The glovebox is tiny because all pre facelift models had a cd player in there and also the sd card slot for the maps. Maps is now updated over the air wirelessly and they decided to remove CD player completely.

[Joe]

I ‘ve read a lot of negativity on here in relation to the Ateca, I think its unjust.

I love my Xcellence Lux 1.5 TSI – I did a lot of research into that or the FR Sport trim and you get so much more on the XL and the only thing you don’t really get iOS the body kit. The 360 round view camera is great. The kit that you get on the Seats is hard to get elsewhere, I’m due to swap cars this time next year and I find it really hard to see anything as good (for anywhere near the same money).

I think its the best car I’ve had on the scheme and is head and shoulders above my 2016 Quasqai – I hated it from the day I drove it off the forecourt, to the day I left it back at the seat garage.

[Phaedra]

I felt the same with my gen 2 Qashqai, 1.5 manual diesel, lousy fuel economy, terrible sound system, start/stop would cut in pulling out of junctions etc. and the seats were very uncomfortable (Acenta Premium) completely different to the ones in the Qashqai I took a test drive in.

I was glad to see the back of it after 6 months of terrible driving. I swapped to a 2L diesel manual Ford Kuga, much more comfortable and about 10mpg improvement.

 

The Seat drives OK (apart from the ACC) it’s just not in the same class as the R-Line diesel Tiguan I originally had on order.

Please excuse spelling/typos. Apart from being a clot it turns out I had one on my cerebellum that's now causing various problems!

[Phaedra]

Took mine out on run today, about 125miles round trip, mainly single carriageway 60mph A roads (A68).

I usually get around 37-39mpg on shorter runs (20 mile round trips on 30 and 50mph limits) so was quite shocked to see an average of only 34.4 when I got back!.

My full tank range, which when I fill up says 370 (I usually manage more then that) now works out at 340 miles!.

My previous 1.2 manual petrol Yeti (brick on wheels) would do the same journey at around 39-41mpg.

Please excuse spelling/typos. Apart from being a clot it turns out I had one on my cerebellum that's now causing various problems!

[Mike]

Ive got a 1.5 dsg Tiguan Elegance and struggling to get above 35mpg on the motorway and  30mpg around town.

[Tim]

Mike, mirrors closely my own figures. I’m swapping vehicle for this very reason.

[file28]

I currently manage 41mpg on a 53 mile round trip using A and B roads with a mix of sports mode and eco mode

Beginning to loosen up now

"the world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams-its heaven and hell "(RJD)
Peugeot 2008gt
Selenium grey

[file28]

"the world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams-its heaven and hell "(RJD)
Peugeot 2008gt
Selenium grey

[Menorca Mike]

I’d expect that after your 11119 miles

[file28]

Tbh it’s been pretty good since new

"the world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams-its heaven and hell "(RJD)
Peugeot 2008gt
Selenium grey

[John Morris]

We are getting 39mpg in our 1.5dsg 2021 ateca. Done 2k now and the engine is faster and 5 mpg more economical than the 1.5 man 2020 ateca we had before. Much much better engine. Amazes me when they are meant to be exactly the same

[Author]

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