Cupra Ateca 2018 review

The arrival of the Cupra Ateca marks a significant moment for the Spanish arm of the VW Group as it delivers on a promise to promote Cupra from its position on the sidelines, as Seat’s performance division, to the more prominent role of standalone brand.

Cupra was first introduced in the mid-1990s and has since become synonymous with go-faster Seats, but from this moment on it will be recognised as a car maker in its own right. It isn’t just about performance; individuality and sophistication will also be core attributes, apparently.

At least, that is the ambition. Its first model is a 296bhp version of Seat’s SUV with uprated suspension and styling revisions. The new Cupra models will be built alongside their Seat counterparts at the Martorell factory on the outskirts of Barcelona and they will be sold through selected Seat dealerships, albeit by dedicated staff.

As is the way with the VW Group the Cupra Ateca is less a ground-up engineering exercise and more a cherry-picking one, for it plucks from the enormous VW Group toolkit every item of hardware that’s needed to turn a family SUV into a sporting one. The 2-litre turbo engine, seven-speed DSG gearbox, Haldex four-wheel drive system, MQB architecture and plenty more besides are all shared with other Seats, VWs, Skodas and Audis. Cupra is the first brand in the group to bring all of those bits and pieces together to build a fast SUV, but no individual element is in any way unique to the Ateca.

Why launch the new-look Cupra with an SUV? That’s where the volume is. For the time being, the Cupra Ateca is the only performance SUV in the sub-premium sector, which helps it stand out. Going where the volume is will undoubtedly be good for Cupra’s bottom line, but the risk is that people who really love driving and therefore wouldn’t consider an SUV of any sort are left wondering if Cupra in its new form is actually aimed at them at all.

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.