SEAT Ateca Review 2025: Price, specs & boot space

If you want a stylish yet incredibly competent family SUV, the SEAT Ateca could be the car for you. It’s good to drive, cheap to run and is likely to be a reliable choice. Look elsewhere if you want a forgiving suspension setup, but small wheels help in this regard.

There’s no shortage of very competent alternatives to the SEAT Ateca. You should also look at the Skoda Karoq (which is closely related to the Ateca), and the slightly more premium Volkswagen Tiguan. We also rate the quirky Peugeot 3008 while the Ford Kuga is also a very competent choice. Of course, there’s also the ever-popular Nissan Qashqai, while the Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage both come with a long warranty.

Newcomers to the class over the last few years include the Alfa Romeo Tonale, another car in this class with a bit of flair, while Renault offers a couple of models you might consider: the Symbioz and Austral, both of which use very efficient full hybrid drivetrains; the Symbioz is also a bit of a bargain in this class, with a similar starting price to the Ateca despite its more advanced and fuel-efficient drivetrain. The Dacia Bigster is hard to overlook too, with a starting price of around £25,000.

Earlier Ateca models come with an eight-inch media system (including navigation on most trim levels), which is easy to use. It’s a touchscreen display, with useful shortcut buttons and quick responses to inputs. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, too, meaning you can mirror apps from your phone.

Later models come with bigger 8.25- or 9.2-inch (from SE Technology upwards) displays that look a bit smarter but rely on touch-sensitive (rather than actual, physical) buttons as shortcuts. This feels like a backwards step, to us, but it's nothing you won't get used to with time.

High-spec SEAT Ateca models also come with a 10.25-inch Digital Cockpit instead of conventional dials. This looks pretty snazzy, while also being clear to read and easy to customise.

In terms of space, the SEAT Ateca scores pretty well. Access to the front is easy thanks to wide-opening front doors and a high seating position. There’s plenty of adjustment in the driver’s seat and steering wheel, too.

In the back, there’s more room than in a Nissan Qashqai, with impressive head- and legroom. The doors open nice and wide, while ISOFIX child-seat mounting points make life easier for parents. Three adults will find space in the back a little tight (a Citroen C5 Aircross is better at that kind of thing), but two will be more than happy.

Unfortunately, there’s no sliding rear bench, but the Ateca's boot space is pretty big anyway – with up to 510 litres of luggage space (485 litres in four-wheel-drive models). Access is good, too, thanks to a usefully square boot opening. High-spec models get an electric tailgate that opens by waving your foot underneath the rear bumper.

The Ateca is similar in size to most other family SUVs of this class, measuring just under 4.4m long and a little over 1.8m wide. 

Petrol offerings include 1.0-, 1.5- and 2.0-litre units. The entry-level 1.0-litre is surprisingly eager considering its capacity, so don’t dismiss it right away. That said, if you do a lot of out-of-town driving, you’d probably be better looking for a 1.5. This replaced the earlier 1.4-litre engine (although they’re much of a muchness for performance, really), and is sold with a choice of manual or DSG automatic gearboxes. 

The 2.0-litre TSI is good fun but sells in limited numbers due to its appetite for unleaded. This isn’t helped by the fact that it only comes with four-wheel drive and the automatic gearbox. If you want a fast Ateca, you’d be better looking at the hot Cupra Ateca (which we’ve covered elsewhere).

There’s a 1.6-litre diesel if you really want a frugal Ateca, but most buyers will be better with one of the gruntier 2.0-litre models. The 150PS 2.0 TDI is a popular choice, although the 2.0 TDI 190 will appeal to caravanners (especially as, like the top-spec petrol, it comes with an auto gearbox and four-wheel drive). The diesels, along with the most powerful petrol, were discontinued later on in the Ateca's life.

Considering its fairly conventional engine options (i.e. you can't get an electric or hybrid model), the Ateca is a very refined choice. The 1.5-litre, in particular, is whisper-quiet, while the 1.0-litre is much less vocal than similar three-cylinder units used in rival vehicles.

You'll notice more noise from the engine bay with the diesel engines but, even so, it's not going to ruin your day. There's very little vibration that makes its way into the cabin and, once you're up to motorway speed, the Ateca's diesel engines don't sound too gruff at all.

Of course, the Ateca's higher ride height and blunt shape compared to the SEAT Leon hatch means there's a little more wind noise, but it's nothing that the radio won't drown out. There's not a great deal of road noise, either, especially if you avoid the bigger alloy wheels. 

If you're buying a new family car like the SEAT Ateca, safety will be high on your wish list. We're pleased to report that the SEAT Ateca achieved a five-star rating when it was crash-tested by independent body, Euro NCAP, in 2016. That includes impressive 93% scores for adult occupants and 84% for children. However, Euro NCAP ratings only apply for a period of five years due to ever-improving safety standards, so this rating has now expired.

All models come with Front Assist autonomous emergency braking, meaning the car can apply the brakes if it detects an impending collision. There's a tiredness recognition system fitted as standard across the range, as well as ISOFIX child seat mounting points on the outer rear seats. XPerience and XPerience Lux models come with the Safe & Driving Pack, which includes predictive adaptive cruise control with speed limiter, lane assist, traffic sign recognition and high beam control. 

SEAT finished 11th out of 33 brands for reliability in the most recent Honest John Satisfaction Index. While not up there with the very best, that was still two places ahead of sporty counterpart Cupra, and a further two ahead of parent company Volkswagen, though Skoda was far further up the table in fifth place. SEAT finished a little lower for owner satisfaction too, in 18th place.

The Ateca wasn’t in the top (or bottom) 20 cars for reliability, though the near-identical Skoda Karoq was second overall, behind only the Lexus NX, which bodes pretty well for the SEAT.

SEAT Ateca insurance groups range from 13 to 19, which means it shouldn't cost any more than rivals to insure. An insurance comparison website provided us with a very reasonable quote of £283/year to insure a 40-year-old teacher on a three-year-old Ateca SE with the 1.0-litre TSI engine. Obviously, insurance prices are heavily influenced by your personal circumstances, so it's a good idea to get a quote or two before buying a new car. 

You’ll pay a flat rate of £195 a year in VED (car tax) for all Atecas registered since 1 April 2017. Earlier models are taxed based on their CO2 emissions, as are the first-year rates for brand new cars. Most start at £540, with CO2 emissions between 137-150g/km, though a few models jump up to the next band, a hefty £1,360, so it’s worth double-checking the CO2 of the car you’re looking at if you want to save a few quid in year one.

The Ateca’s unlikely to be a popular company car, as those CO2 ratings also result in high Benefit-in-Kind rates. The lowest 137g/km still attracts a 33% BiK band, compared to the 3% for an electric SUV of similar size and price.

The Ateca range is broad enough to bring the indecisive out in a cold sweat, with eight different trim levels in all, some of which have also carried other names in the past. The basic SEAT Ateca SE comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, an eight-inch digital cockpit and 8.2-inch media system, cruise control, and keyless entry. The SEAT Ateca SE Technology gets navigation on a larger 9-inch media display, a rear-view parking camera, and larger 18-inch alloy wheels.

The stylish SEAT Ateca FR gets more body-colour trim, dark-tinted rear windows, a rear spoiler, twin exhaust pipes, ambient lighting, metal-finish pedals, and four driving modes, while the FR Line is effectively the same, but adds a rear-view camera and an electric tailgate. FR Sport then steps up to 19-inch alloys, a 10-inch digital cockpit, and heated front seats with electric driver seat adjustment.

The SEAT Ateca FR Black Edition comes with 19-inch gloss black alloy wheels, various other gloss black exterior highlights (including door mirrors, roof rails and window trim), and interior detailing in black.

The high-spec SEAT Ateca Xperience (previously badge Xcellence) comes with 18-inch alloy wheels, front comfort seats in Dinamica microsuede trim, illuminated door sills and LED headlights. Adaptive cruise control is standard, as well as a heat-reflecting windscreen, rear-view camera and wireless phone charger, and adaptive cruise control.

Topping the range is the SEAT Ateca Xperience Lux (another previously named Xcellence Lux). This comes with 19-inch alloy wheels, a 10-inch digital cockpit and leather trim for the comfort-spec seats. There’s a top-view camera to go with the reversing camera too, for even easier parking.