Usually, whenever I test an SUV for you guys, I always recommend you to get the lower, 'regular' car instead of an SUV.
I do always test the SUV in a proper way of course, because people do want SUV's. However, I can't say that with this Tarraco.
There isn't a comparable 'low' car for the Tarraco. If you have an Ateca, you could swap it for a Leon, but for this big SUV?
A Leon estate maybe, or ST I should say. You try and fit seven people in the Leon. You can't do that, and you optionally can in a Tarraco.
Admittedly, this particular version only has five seats, but you get the idea. Just like I get the idea of an SUV, the bigger it gets, the more logical...
it gets. If I had to select my three car-dream garage, there most definitely will be an SUV amongst them.
If I had unlimited resources, I would always choose a BMW X5 or something, or a Range Rover Sport.
When you're talking sizes like that, space actually starts playing a role. Just like accessibility. And it's incredibly handy if you have...
a big family or if you go on vacation with your friends. You can just load the car up and set off. It's just more usable than a station...
wagon. And this Tarraco is the turning point if you ask me. If you've got a family with four kids, a big estate car just won't do.
It doesn't matter if it's an Audi A6 or if it's a Skoda Superb, you can't fit four kids on one back seat.
You have to get a seven-seater, and that once was the role of MPV-cars, but nowadays it's a role the SUV's have taken over.
And that's interesting, because we thought MPV's were kind of boring vans, whilst we all love SUV's because they look cool.
And sometimes, it's just a matter of design. Some SUV's have front-wheel drive, are a tad higher and they've got a tough nose,
and all of a sudden it's a SUV. The best example is the Peugeot 3008. Just look at the one we...
have now and its predecessor. Its predecessor was incredibly ugly and now we've got a stylish SUV which sells really well.
Anyway, the Tarraco. It has been around since 2019 and the reason I'm driving it today is because it now has an FR-version.
FR isn't the sports label anymore, like the Seat Leon FR was supposed to rival the Volkswagen Golf GTI.
FR now is a trim level, which is available on less powerful versions as well. At Seat, that means it's a tad sportier. Not always, sometimes it's just...
a sporty design, but sometimes it has some sporty technology aboard. The latter being the case for this Tarraco.
It's a tad lowered and it has dynamic dampers. Also, the steering is a tad more direct. The design is different as well with the FR.
The grille looks different, the rear is wider and it has some side skirts. It even has a sports steering wheel and bucket seats, in a Seat Tarraco...
SUV. And it just sells with features like this. People buy SUV's because they look big and tough, and they like equip trim which makes it look even...
cooler. Then they get these wheels, a sports steering wheel and sports seats.
I already like the way the regular Tarraco drives, so I wouldn't say the sports chassis is necessary. However, you do notice the...
dampers are a tad sturdier. If you get the dynamic dampers however, you can put them in Comfort-mode as well, which means it's incredibly balanced.
It'll be dynamic, but it also won't become annoying whenever the road surface becomes a little rough.
Besides the seven-seat option, there's a lot of space to work with in the Tarraco. Even though this is a five-seater,
the boot is huge. Also, the space on the rear seat is very good. You can even slide the rear seat forwards and backwards.
By sliding it forwards, you create even more luggage space.
Right now, I'm driving the 2.0-litre TSI producing 190 horsepower with four-wheel drive. It's a version which I don't think will sell very well...
in the Netherlands because of the price. It has a lot of options, so this particular car will cost you more than €60.000...
which is a lot of money for a big Seat. However, in the new year a plug-in hybrid version will be released for the Tarraco, producing 245 horsepower...
from a 1.4-litre TSI connected to an electric motor. That'll have four-wheel drive as well. That's going to be a very interesting version for the Netherlands.
The low CO2-emissions will mean the taxes will be low as well, so you can get a lot of power for a relatively low price. It's not cheap of course.
Without you having to look at expensive Cupra-versions. This Tarraco won't get a Cupra-version though.
I haven't driven the new Volkswagen Group plug-in drivetrain yet, so I can't tell you what it's like.
However, if you get the Tarraco with the 1.5-litre engine. For Dutch standards that's more than enough, even if you on vacation.
You do only get 150 horsepower, but especially with the speed limit of 100 km/h in the Netherlands and even on vacation, it still produces enough torque.
I wouldn't get a less powerful version. I don't know if there's a 1.0-litre version available right now, but I wouldn't get that if I were you.
The FR will be the version people are going to want. It doesn't matter if it's got less power, as long as it looks this good.