Promoted: SEAT Ateca on tour – a stylish, spacious family SUV

For any new SUV, it’s important to make a positive first impression. With so much competition in the marketplace, a new car has to stand out – and the new SEAT Ateca does just that.

The Spanish firm’s first SUV has been styled on the popular Leon, giving it a different look to many of its rivals in the small SUV class. To find out what the public thought of it, SEAT put the Ateca on display in Cardiff and Edinburgh for a What Car? promotion, inviting members of the public to give their first impressions of the car.

Those first impressions were hugely positive. “It’s very eye-catching,” said Ben, who saw the Ateca in Cardiff. “It’s a very noticeable car as soon as you walk past. It’s got a good-looking front, and there’s a nice flow to the car.”

The Ateca was put on show next to St David’s Shopping Centre in central Cardiff, and in Ocean Terminal on the waterfront of Edinburgh. To find out what families thought of the car, watch this video.

To discover more about the SEAT Ateca, click here.

To pre-order the SEAT Ateca, click here.

While many of the people who stopped to look at the Ateca hadn’t heard of it before, some are eagerly anticipating its launch. Those include Rebecca, who saw the car in Cardiff. “I’ve got a SEAT Ibiza at the moment, and I want a car with a bit more room. We’re looking to start a family soon, and the Ateca would be good for getting a pram in. We’ve got two dogs too, and there’s plenty of room. It would be perfect for us.”

The Ateca certainly has plenty of room: as well as the spacious interior, the boot can hold 510 litres. Hannah, who saw the car in Edinburgh, said: “The cabin is pretty big, so for us long-legged people it means we can sit with the seats back, and still fit in the kids behind us. Trying to find a car we can all fit in comfortably is fairly challenging.”

Another selling point for families with children was the range of driver assistance and infotainment options, which all help to make life a little bit easier. Some of the systems that families in Cardiff and Edinburgh were able to try including Full Link technology, the wireless phone charger, a 360-degree parking camera and the Virtual Pedal, which allows the boot to be opened hands-free simply by waving your foot under the tailgate. That system proved particularly popular with kids – although they were likely more taken by the ability to open a boot with a wave of their foot than how easy it would make loading up your shopping.

Jason in Cardiff said: “I’m keen on the whole media centre, and the Park Assist feature. Life is hard enough, so you just want to make it a bit easier when you can.”

Hannah added: “When you have kids you want to be able to plug in your music and your tablets. The Ateca is something you could easily drive 500 miles in: you could just put the family in and go.”

It wasn’t just grown-ups who were impressed by the Ateca, either. Kids were drawn in by its looks – and even some of the more practical elements. In Edinburgh, Dylan was a particular fan of the interior space, for a very good reason. “I have a little brother, and I like having space between us,” he said. “In our current car he can reach across and grab stuff off me, but the Ateca would give us more space.”

To discover more about the SEAT Ateca, click here.

To pre-order the SEAT Ateca, click here.