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Seat Ateca: Caliente Is The Snow
SEAT ATECA
CALIENTE IS THE SNOW
Words by Marco Rallo
Photography by Ian Waltteri
What about clichés. If they had not invented them, let’s be clear, sooner or later they would have popped up in our lives. The common man does not conceive that there are women way more able than them at the wheel, just as they would never trade a dinner in an Italian restaurant with that in a French one. And then white socks, the tone on tone and imagine a Spanish company that has never produced SUVs, at ease in the snow. It would be great, honestly!
Everything born a bit ‘by accident, we had just received the new Seat Ateca at the office, the first attempt of the Spanish brand – owned by the VW group – to produce a compact SUV able to combine everything that you search in a car in such a crowded price range, a proper jungle with a lot of competitors of all kinds. Just enough time to take it to the office, that we started to see the snow coming out insistently of the window. With a look halfway between amazement and the typical childish joy that catches me every time it snows a little more than usual, I decided to ask to one of the photographers present in that very moment (Ian Waltteri) to accompany me for a quick check of the surroundings. My belief was that if it was snowing a few meters from the sea, the situation a few hundred meters up would have been favorable for a winter shooting that can do justice to the coldest season of the year. Without wasting time, we jumped on the Ateca and headed for the mountains. Fortunately, Ian brought all the equipment with him, because the show that would appear before our eyes was nothing short of priceless.
The snow makes everything different, it seems that the every movement slows down and that every noise starts fading. Treads of tires mark a road made unrecognizable without its familiar contours to the side and while I turn my eyes to the sky I end enchanted by that dense and now completely white vegetation. The day after it could have been a completely different scenario, not to mention that we would not have had such a perfect combination of light and color, a fundamental aspect that is able to bring out the fantastic Orange Samoa of this Ateca.
That’s true, the Ateca, the real protagonist of this test drive, which in this very first day has given its best, making me taste the main ingredients of this Iberian SUV, as its perfect driving quality, even on insidious terrain like these. I handled the top of the range powered by a 2-liter turbodiesel 4-cylinder and 190 horses. The 4drive all-wheel drive is mated to a 6-speed DSG automatic transmission, ideal in any situation, especially when talking about a car that needs to be used 365 days a year. The lines of the Ateca are squared but refined, they convey a fresh look that reminds one of the best hatchback out there, the Leon. To accentuate the ribs of the body, the Xcellence package offers bars on the roof and chrome frames, 18-inch wheels, tinted rear windows and double chrome exhaust pipes at the back. Having determined that it wants to transmit sportiness, we soon realize that even the engine is able to satisfy the driver when overtaking, as well as on mountain roads like the ones I have faced chasing this snowfall, with a more suitable asphalt to crush on the throttle. The 190 horses are all there and push a mass of 1 and a half ton with the help of a torque power peak of 400Nm, available at 1750 rpm. Pressing on the gas and it’s a moment, the Ateca always responds promptly and since the size is not too much, we have an optimal behavior even while cornering. The tranquility of driving is equal to the comfort offered by the seats in brown alcantara, while the multimedia system is the classic you can find on a VW, with an excellent satellite navigator, a powerful audio system, smartphone connectivity and the many driving modes to choose from: Eco, Normal, Sport, Offroad, Snow and Individual.
The only uncertainty I encountered was in the dual-clutch transmission, which passing from the first gear to the second is a bit ‘more violent than I expected, but otherwise finding a fault in this Ateca is really a difficult task. The snow outside does not want to stop and despite the lack of traffic on the road at lunchtime, we decide to turn for a secondary road, not to be a sudden obstacle, especially during a similar weather. We slip along a narrow path, first only surrounded and then almost entirely covered by trees, I stop the car and – allow me the metaphor – we listened to the silence around us. Not a noise except that of some mottos of snow falling from some weak branch. There is no trace of the road ahead of us, but we can only see an indefinite white blanket. In the most complete peace of mind, I let Ian do his work, trying to peek on the screen of his camera, anxious to see some preview of this great and improvised day. A deer, I think, emerges from one side of the path, look at us for a second and without even being able to realize it disappears on the opposite side, leaving its small imprints on the white background. After a few minutes they are covered again and we are ready to continue our job testing the all-wheel drive and the climbing qualities of the Ateca.
Struck in the chest by the typical clichés, I was amazed that the first step in the world of SUVs by a Spanish company, has proved to be an unstoppable mountaineer. The snow did not stop it, the chaos of the city did not discourage it, nor the search for a parking space in the crowded Saturday afternoon at the shopping center. With a mixed consumption of 5.3 l/100km it was able to really accompany us anywhere, comfortably accommodating three people at the back and also offering a more than good load capacity in the trunk. And when the road allowed, of course I enjoyed surprising those who could never have imagined that under the hood there were 400Nm of torque, good for a 0-100 kph in 7 seconds and a half and a maximum speed of about 210 per hour. The Ateca can be yours from just over € 23,000, while for a model that sits atop the range like this, you need at least € 13,000 more. But keep in mind that you will be able to tick affirmatively your every needs. Goodbye clichés.
SEAT ATECA 2.0 TDI 4DRIVE DSG XCELLENCE
Layout – front-engined, all-wheel-drive
Motore – 4 cylinder 1.968cc – turbodiesel
Transmission – 6-speed automatic gearbox
Power – 190 hp @ 3.500 rpm
400 Nm @ 1.750 rpm
Weight – 1.589 kg
Acceleration – 7,5 sec.
Top Speed – 212 kph
Price – from € 36.360
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