Seat Ateca review

Prices start at £28,385 for the entry level 1.0-litre 108bhp petrol in SE trim. The mid-range 1.5-litre 148bhp petrol starts from £30,010 (and it's an extra £1,300 for the DSG auto option) rising to around £35,565 for the 2.0-litre all-wheel-drive petrol auto. The Cupra costs around £40,000.

In terms of monthly payments, the entry car would cost you around £300 a month on a three-year contract with £6k down and 10,000 miles a year. The top-spec Xperience Lux model on the same terms would cost around £440. That puts it at the cheaper end of the spectrum against rivals, which include the Nissan Qashqai, Skoda Karoq, Kia Sportage, Peugeot 3008 and the VW Tiguan. 

What are my trim options?

The range begins with the SE, which offers an 8.25-inch touchscreen with wireless charging and smartphone link-up, dual zone climate control, front and rear parking sensors, cruise control, 17in alloys and keyless entry.

Next comes the SE Technology, which adds full LED headlights, built-in navigation on 9.2-inch screen and bigger 18in wheels.

Spend more money and you get more luxuries, obviously. The FR and the FR Sport are the, erm, sportier looking ones. And they do look the part, with their big wheels and special trim. FR is enough – over SE Technology it adds better seats, fancier look alloys, ambient lighting and auto mirrors/headlights/wipers. FR Sport adds 19in wheels, digital instrument panel and heated front seats.

Top of the range Xperience trim adds a more robust look – think black front and rear bumpers, wheel arch surrounds and the like. You get auto headlights and wipers and a rear-view parking camera in the Xperience car, the Xperience Lux brings in the digital dashboard, heated seats, 360-degree parking camera and an electric tailgate. 

There’s plenty of safety tech across the board, including airbags galore, two Isofix points in the back and front assist, which incorporates autonomous emergency braking. The top-spec cars get side and exit assist which applies the brakes if a car, cyclist or pedestrian passes behind you while you’re trying to get out of a parking space.

What’s the ideal spec?

The 1.5-litre petrol paired with the six-speed manual in FR trim, we’d wager, is peak Ateca. That gets you a handy bit of extra grunt over the 1.0-litre with little impact on economy, while FR trim comes with pretty much everything you might need at £32,180.