Motoring review: Seat make decent fist of first dip into the bloated crossover market
Somewhat belatedly, Seat eventually took the step into the crossover market to bring their own style to an ever-expanding part of the motoring industry, and the new Seat Arona fits snuggly alongside competitors such as the Nissan Juke, Ssangyong Tivoli, Renault Captur and Citreon C3.
To sum up the Arona quite quickly, it is a perfectly adequate crossover without making any screaming statements or managing to push itself out from the crowd. While Seat have continuously improved in recent years with the Ibiza, Leon and Ateca models, there is a slight sense that the Arona was only brought out for the sake of having a crossover in their armoury without ever putting too much effort into it.
For this review, the car tested was the 1.0 litre petrol 115HP Xcellence version.
Style and comfort
This is one of the great things that the Arona has going for it – it’s a fine-looking crossover that has gone with the recent trend of featuring a different shade roof to the rest of the body. The headlights and taillights are snazzy looking, while the wing mirrors are also easy on the eye. Overall, the simple exterior styling is certainly well thought out.
On the inside it looks well, but there is a large amount of plastic trim that feels a bit clunky at times. The large 8” touchscreen is dominant in the centre of the dash, and Seat have avoided filling the car with unnecessary buttons, levers or cubby holes that can be an annoyance in other vehicles.
There is ample space in the back seats, but that detracts from the boot size which is not the biggest.
Driving
The Arona is certainly smooth on the road and offers a relatively effortless ride. Completely effortless shifting through the gears, the braking is gentle also. Cornering is OK, but at times the car can feel slightly top-heavy due to the fact that a larger body has essentially been placed on the wheelbase of an Ibiza. It’s quite light at 1,000kg, and sometimes that can be felt.
The 6-speed 115HP 1.0 litre version is quite quick off the mark and very responsive, and there is a good blast of torque when peering above 2,000 rpm. All that is satisfactory, but there is also a throaty sound to the engine when taking off quickly.
This is certainly more of an urban car that would suit city streets, though when it was taken up some steep hills and around some unforgiving bends it responded well.
Interior and technology
Seat are sparing very little expense on the technology they are pumping into their new cars, and that really is a thing to cherish.
The magnificent 8” touchscreen is beautiful and easy to use, and it features Sat Nav, voice control and Full Link for android and iPhones. With an extra few euro put in on top of the base price for the SE version you can upgrade to smart cruise control, which automatically slows the car down if you are coming up behind another vehicle. Two amber signals on the wing mirrors warn the driver when a car is overtaking from either side – something that is actually quite a good feature while on long drives down a motorway.
The usual extras such as a rearview parking camera, heated seats and stop/start technology are all available on this car.
Economy
The 1.0 litre petrol 115HP Arona does 100km for every 4.9 litres, according to Seat, which is OK. Like most petrol cars, this is suited to city driving and the rather small tank means that filling up on long journeys is a necessity.
Verdict
The Arona is a nice-looking car with all the modern technology you need, and certainly enjoyable to drive, but it just feels as if Seat manufactured a crossover for the sake of it without investing a huge amount of time into it.
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Fact box
- Launched in Ireland in late 2017
- Starting price - €17,995
- Engine options- 0 EcoTSI 95 HP, 1.0 EcoTSI 115 HP, 1.0 EcoTSI 115 HP, 1.5 TSI Evo 150 HP, Diesel 1.6 CR 95 HP (70 KW) Start/Stop
- 9l per 100km (1.0 TSI 115HP version)
- Available in Standard, SE, Xcellence and FR models