CUPRA Ateca is it the best performance SUV in 2019?

CUPRA is a name you might be familiar with, but not as a brand in its own right. It used to be merely a badge adorning fast SEATs. Now it's been launched as a stand-alone marque and its first product is this mid-sized SUV, the CUPRA Ateca. With 300PS from a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine, it packs a decent punch.

Background
Launching an all-new brand is hard. Ex-Fiat boss Luca de Meo knows that. Back in 2011, he tried to do it with the Abarth nameplate. In 2018, the same man, now working for the Spanish arm of the Volkswagen Group, tried again with a fresh SEAT-related marque: CUPRA. We're promised a bespoke CUPRA model in the near future, but for the time being, there's only this one, a hot 300PS 4WD version of the compact Ateca mid-sized SUV. It's sold only through selected SEAT dealerships, albeit by dedicated staff. And of course it's the priciest and most powerful Ateca you can buy.

Driving Experience
In terms of the engineering behind this car, there's nothing we haven't seen before in a Volkswagen Group model, but the CUPRA engineers credit themselves with bringing all the various ingredients together in a form never previously seen in one of the Wolfsburg conglomerate's SUVs. The elements in question include a 300PS 2.0-litre TSI turbo petrol engine borrowed from the VW Golf R, a seven-speed DSG gearbox, a Haldex four-wheel drive system and stiff, strong modular MQB architecture. Dynamic Chassis Control adaptive dampers are also standard-fit and there are six driving settings, including a choice of 'Comfort', 'Sport' or max-attack 'CUPRA' driving modes.

This car sits 10mm closer to the road than an ordinary Ateca and uses retuned springs and dampers along with big 19-inch wheels, so the ride quality will inevitably be firmer than that of a standard Ateca model but of course body control and corner turn-in will be of a different order too. It's satisfyingly rapid, rest to 62mph occupying 5.2s en route to 153mph flat out.

Design and Build
We like the performance styling; dialled up a bit over an ordinary Ateca, with big 19-inch rims filling the extended arches. But not too 'Max Power'. The same is true inside, where CUPRA Ateca buyers enjoy part-leather sports seats, Alcantara on the doors, textured mouldings and leather on the steering wheel. It's not quite enough to disguise the many cheaper plastic mouldings that betray this car's humbler origins, though the designers have done their best, liberally using high-gloss black trim and chrome embellishment. There's plenty of technical sophistication too, with a smart centre-dash display and a fully-digital instrument cluster.

The Ateca is one of the smallest mid-sized SUVs you can buy, so you shouldn't expect too much in terms of rear seat space. Actually, a couple of adults can be accommodated quite comfortably, though there are no seat sliding or seat back-reclining features to make occupants a little more comfortable. Out back, because this is a four-wheel-drive Ateca, it has a slightly shallower boot than some of its range stablemates, but one that's still a reasonable size at 485-litres. The boot is accessed by a standard powered tailgate (one of those you can activate by waving your foot beneath the bumper) and will easily swallow a couple of big cases and a pushchair.

Market and Model
CUPRA Ateca pricing starts from £35,900 - or around double the cost of the humblest, most feebly-powered standard-model Ateca. Yes. And you can spend more. Go for the optional 'Performance Pack', which adds bigger Brembo brakes and bucket seats, and you'll be paying a fraction under £40,000. Both variants get the expected high levels of infotainment and connectivity, the 8-inch centre-dash touchscreen offering the latest generation of the SEAT 'Full Link' package which includes 'Apple CarPlay' and 'AndroidAuto' smartphone-mirroring. The system will also read out new text, Twitter and Facebook messages and let you dictate a reply. It's even got the capability to let you set up your own screen gestures to shortcut to your most popular commands.

Plus there's a range of clever remote features accessible through a downloadable SEAT DriveApp. Other standard kit includes keyless entry and start, a wireless charger, a GSM signal booster for your 'phone, a 360-degree top view camera system, navigation and automated 'park assist' to steer you into space: all this comes as standard. Plus there's a fully digital instrument cluster - the brand calls it a 'Digital Cockpit' - which allows the driver to view all information that might be relevant, from classic analogue dials such as a speedometer and rev counter to full-colour maps and navigation.

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