Cupra Ateca 2018 review

The Ateca’s cabin is solidly built, loaded with kit and it is spacious, too, while the digital instrument binnacle that is standard equipment does make the car feel like a high-end product.

The standard-fit seats offer only minimal support in cornering, which is a pity because the Ateca is good to drive on a winding road. With the Dynamic Chassis Control adaptive dampers (also standard-fit) in their firmest setting there is good body control and decent steering precision, so the car doesn’t heave and roll in bends the way a conventional SUV might.

A switch from Cupra into Comfort mode ensures the Ateca is refined and effortless in daily use, making no more demands of its driver than any other Ateca. Sitting 10mm closer to the road on retuned springs and dampers and 19in wheels, the ride quality will inevitably be more connected and less plush than a Seat Ateca’s, but on smooth Spanish asphalt it was never at all harsh or uncomfortable.

The 296bhp, 2.0-litre petrol turbo engine is a familiar one these days and it is strong, responsive and energetic throughout the rev range. The seven-speed DSG gearbox is just as effective, being unobtrusive in auto mode and usefully snappy in manual mode - although other twin-clutch 'boxes are more urgent still.

Thanks to four-wheel drive the Ateca is sure-footed even when driven at its limits, which means you can hustle it along a mountain road without ever feeling as though you’ve overstepped the mark. As far as performance SUVs go, this is a very capable one. It does many of the basic things that any half-way decent performance car must do, which is to say it generates lots of grip and traction, it returns strong performance in a straight line, body control and steering precision are both good and it even looks suitably menacing in darker shades.

The trouble is, the Cupra Ateca doesn’t do a single thing that marks out a great performance car. Its steering isn’t brilliantly detailed or communicative. There is no adjustability in the chassis mid-corner. It doesn’t sound so evocative that you drive with the windows down wherever you go.

The Cupra Ateca starts at £35,900, while the optional Performance Pack, which adds bigger Brembo brakes and bucket seats, lifts that to a shade under £40,000.

The Cupra Ateca would be the ideal car for the family man or woman who isn’t yet ready to give up some level of performance and handling response. Because of its taller ride height, though, it cannot hope to be as involving or as rewarding to drive as a more outwardly sporty car. The next model in the Cupra era, the Seat Leon Cupra R ST estate (which will still be badged a Seat, unlike this Ateca) will almost certainly be faster, more engaging to drive and not a whole lot less usable.

Cupra’s graduation from performance division to independent brand will only begin to make sense to died-in-the-wool driving enthusiasts when it starts building Cupra-specific models, cars that are either not derived from existing Seats or would have been beyond the reach of a Seat sub-division. A Cupra-only model has been confirmed for late 2019, although there’s no indication yet exactly what that might be. A purpose-built Cupra sports car, meanwhile, is at best several years away.

Cupra Ateca specification

Where Barcelona, Spain Price £35,900 On sale Early 2019 Engine 1984cc, four-cyls, direct injection, turbo Power 296bhp at 5300-6500rpm Torque 295lb ft at 2000-5200rpm Gearbox Seven-speed twin-clutch Kerb weight 1615kg Top speed 153mph 0-62mph 5.2sec Fuel economy 33.2mpg CO2 192-201g/km Rivals Audi SQ2, Mercedes-Benz GLC