That car manufacturers try to make lots of money by sticking on their sports-labels on all of their cars, is something we've known for years.
However, that such a sports-label becomes a standalone manufacturer, that's much more special. I can only remember Abarth, which split from Fiat.
But it's what Seat has done as well. Cupra's aren't sporty versions of Seat's anymore, they're standalone cars. Of course, they're still built...
on Seat-platforms. Cupra kicked their brand off with the Cupra Ateca, but because the Seat Ateca has been around for a while and was due for...
a facelift, the Cupra Ateca joins in on the facelift-fun. And this is the new one.
A facelift wouldn't be complete without a new bumper set. They also enlarged the grille. It now features more small vents.
Fully according to today's style. Also, it comes with fog lights, which the old version didn't have.
In the middle, there's the copper-colored Cupra-logo. I still have to get used to it. To me, it looks like a Thunderdome-tribal combined with...
the logo of the Decepticons, from Transformers.
Before I dive into this car, I want to refer to the Roman senator Cato. He started or finished every speech with the words 'Furthermore,
I consider that Carthage must be destroyed.' Furthermore, you always have to consider a Cupra Leon instead of this Ateca.
It doesn't matter if you get the 5-door hatchback or the station wagon, why would you even consider an SUV in the Netherlands?
Anyway, that was my rant. Surely, other countries might like this segment a lot better. In Spain for example, where the roads are pretty bad.
However, I am going to judge this car within its segment. Compact SUV's are very hot, so even if I say otherwise, people will still want these.
And they'd love to know which fast version they should get. Anyway, we've talked about the exterior-updates, so let's move...
to the inside. And it has been upgraded in here as well. It has a new steering wheel, it has a new multimedia system which we already know from the Leon.
That means it's very comprehensive and it looks very good, but it tends to freeze sometimes.
What makes me very happy however are these two buttons on the steering wheel. Not only the starter button, which I like as well, but...
more importantly this Cupra-button. With that, I'm able to select all of the modes. Comfort-mode, Sport-mode, Cupra-mode, Off-road-mode,
and this is the only way to go. You shouldn't have to get into a menu to put it into Sport-mode and look away from the road.
Before you know it, you're already through the corner. This button on the screen, which was first used by Ferrari, is the way to do it.
The hardware hasn't really changed. It's still powered by a 2.0-litre TFSI producing 300 horsepower, which is an engine we already know from other...
Volkswagen Group-cars. It's always connected to a DSG-gearbox. Also, the chassis has been lowered and hardened compared to the normal...
Ateca. Also, this has dynamic dampers. Right, it remains an SUV, but after a few miles I still feel like it's good.
I remember driving the Skoda Kodiaq RS and thinking it wasn't sporty at all. How dare they putting those holy RS-labels on it, I thought.
People said 'what you'd expect from an SUV', and my answer to them is this Cupra Ateca. This is what I expect from a sporty SUV.
If you put the dampers in Sport-mode, it's incredibly sturdy. You really notice the difference. Especially if you put in Cupra-mode.
It's quick, the throttle response is good, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with the steering. I can feel exactly what's going on beneath me.
Sure, it has a higher center of gravity and it heaves a bit more than the Leon, but in its class it's a car which reacts very well...
on short distances whilst offering a lot of trust at higher speeds. You can truly blast this car onto the Autobahn without any troubles.
And that says enough to me. Especially if you consider this segment is getting better and better. So what cars will this go up against?
It easily devours the Skoda Kodiaq, but an Alfa Romeo Stelvio? We're not talking about the Q, because that's much more extreme.
Both in price and in experience. If we compare it to the most powerful 2.0-litre, the Stelvio would offer more feeling, but the Ateca would win on handling.
It's going to be interesting how this will hold up next to the new Cupra Formentor. That isn't a lot larger than this car, but it's much more extreme.
Also, they have pretty much the same drivetrain. The Formentor will become available with 310 horsepower or as a plug-in.
And then you've got this Ateca next to it, which is a tad more spacious and higher. But they're very similar. On the other hand, BMW also has the...
X3 and X4, so maybe we should look at it like that.
As a part of the Cupra-range, this Ateca kind of forms the base. It's incredibly popular as well. It's only a question how Cupra...
will expand in the coming years with the Cupra Formentor and Cupra eL-Born, which is going to be the first electric hot hatch ever.