The Ateca looks a bit conventional with it Cupra partner.
It’s an upright, slightly boxy SUV sitting next to the luxury vehicle Leon bloom and sport Formentor SUV in Cupra Garage, with a lot of borrowing from reality but a bit dull Skoda Karoq. It even comes with a cord for towing.
However, don’t be fooled. You can buy versions of the Formentor and Leon with 140kW or 180kW, but the Ateca is only available in full-fat VZx guise with 221kW. This is the only Cupra available in Australia with an angry Akrapovic exhaust.
It’s an impressive alternative to CHEAP Volkswagen Tiguan or CHEAP T-Rocthough in some ways it doesn’t feel quite as different as its Cupra counterparts.
Cupra Ateca VZx how much?
There is only one model in the Ateca range. The 2023 Cupra Ateca VZx is a premium variant, with a sticker price of $65,990 driving.
It’s $1000 cheaper than the equivalent Formentor, and discounts the conceptually similar Volkswagen Tiguan R ($68,990 before it hits the road) on paper.
However, there are several options that can quickly turn your $66,000 SUV into a $70k or $75k proposition.
The Akrapovic exhaust is $5950, the Brembo brake package is $4050, and the panoramic sunroof is $1800. With all those boxes ticked, the Ateca sits alongside the Tiguan R instead of truncating it.
Anyone who orders the car now will get the 2023 model at the above price, some of the vehicles in stock could be the 2022 model. Prices and details for those vehicles are as follows. here.
What is Cupra Ateca VZx like inside?
Along with Leon and Formentor, Ateca looks and feels a bit dated.
It doesn’t have the clean, modern dashboard of its siblings, and the seating position is more like that of a regular family SUV than a wannabe sports car. You sit a little higher and the view outside through the vertical window will be better all around.
While it doesn’t look as sleek as the modern dash in Formentor, there are some benefits to the Ateca era.
For example, it has physical dials for your temperature and fan speed, so you don’t have to dig into menus to make small adjustments to the air conditioning. Everything falls into the hand easily, and there is no touch slider to be found.
It’s not as attractive as the Formentor, but the Ateca’s driving position still accommodates a wide range of body shapes. Long-legged drivers will have no trouble getting comfortable, and the seats do a good job of balancing when you’re in a rush with long-distance support.
The nine-speaker sound system also packs a punch. Although its materials are not up to Volkswagen Tiguan R standards, the equipment list is generous.
The Ateca doesn’t lack front storage space, and there’s a wireless phone charger at the base of the panel.
It’s a mixed bag in the back. Headroom is exceptional thanks to that boxy body, and there’s plenty of space for boots underneath the raised front seats – but legroom isn’t better in the more stylish Formentor, based on our time. with car.
All have air vents, USB-C ports and a center armrest that folds down, and oversized side windows mean lower passengers still get plenty of light.
The doors open nice and wide, so loading the child should be simple enough and you get three top tie points and two ISOFIX points there for the child seat.
The boot space is a 485 liters with the rear seats in place.
What’s under the bonnet?
Cupra Ateca 2023 is powered by a 2.0 liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine manufacturing 221kW power and 400Nm of torque.
It’s mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. Cupra claims a 0-100km/h time of 4.9 seconds.
Fuel economy is claimed as 7.8L / 100km on the mixed cycle. Ateca has a 55L fuel tank and requires 98 RON premium unleaded fuel.
How to Cupra Ateca VZx drive?
Ateca may look a bit boxy, but it will continue when you put your foot down.
Like everything else with the Volkswagen Group’s turbocharged 2.0-liter performance engine, the Ateca shapes up as a properly fast pointer.
Put your foot down and there’s only a slight delay, before it actually pins you back into the seat and dashes towards the red line, and its all-wheel drive means you can deploy that performance. basically in any weather.
Our test car was fitted with the optional Akrapovic exhaust, which has a gravel cover in Sport mode and emits snaps, clicks and a solid bang when you step back off the accelerator. It’s an option denied to Australian buyers elsewhere in the Volkswagen and Cupra lineup, so it’s nice to be offered the chance to get it here.
With that said, I wouldn’t pay close to $6000 for it – it didn’t change the car’s personality significantly in our short time behind the wheel, and the Ateca brand in terms of performance is inconsistent. necessarily improved by adding noise.
For all the performance on offer, the Ateca feels impressively refined at city speeds. In Comfort mode, it does an impressive job isolating occupants from scarred city streets and pothole-filled New South Wales highways, and even in Sport, it won’t make you dizzy. lay.
Combined with a nimble, torquey engine and an intelligent dual-clutch transmission, the suspension makes for an SUV you’ll be happy to drive every day.
Road noise is reasonably suppressed on the highway, and the standard range assists drivers in reducing the stress of long-distance driving by matching the speed of the vehicle ahead and by actively ensuring Make sure the car is in the middle of the white line.
We didn’t throw the Ateca around for long, but based on our brief launch drive, we feel everything is as capable as you’d expect of a Volkswagen Group performance SUV.
What do you get?
Ateca VZx highlights:
- Black/bronze 19-inch alloy wheels
- Dynamic Chassis Control
- Progressive direction
- Exhaust four
- 9.2-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
- 10.25-inch digital cockpit instrument cluster
- Wireless phone charger
- Beats 9-speaker sound system
- Semi-automatic parking assistance
- Hands-free electric tailgate
- Electric driver’s seat with memory
- Front heated seats
- Leather wrap
- Keyless entry and start
- Three-zone climate control
- Ambient light
- Leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear lever
- Hot handlebars
- Illuminated door sill
- Aluminum pedal
- Exterior mirrors with heating, electric folding with memory
- Four USB-C sockets (two front, two rear)
- Automatic headlights
- Rain wipers
- Gearshift paddles
- Privacy rear glass
- LED headlights
- Fog lights with cornering lights
- Auto beam
- 18-inch temporary backup
Available options include:
- Akrapovic Exhaust: $5950
- Brembo Brake Package: $4050 (temporary spare part replacement with tire repair kit)
- Panoramic sunroof: $1800
To be Cupra Ateca VZx safe?
The Cupra Ateca does not yet have a rating from ANCAP or Euro NCAP, although the associated Ateca Chair has a five-star Euro NCAP rating from 2016.
In European testing, it received an adult protection rating of 93%, a child protection rating of 84%, a pedestrian protection rating of 71% and a safety assist rating of 60. %.
Standard safety equipment includes:
- AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection
- Adaptive cruise control
- Blind spot monitoring
- Lane keeping assist
- Driver fatigue detection
- Safe exit warning
- Surround view camera
- Front and rear parking sensors
- 7 airbags
How much Cupra Ateca VZx cost to run?
Cupra Ateca is covered by a five-year, unlimited km warranty.
Cupra also includes three years of free maintenance.
CarExpert’s Undertaking Cupra Ateca VZx
The Ateca is a fascinating car on its own, but it feels a bit out of place alongside the Leon and Formentor.
It’s not meaningfully cheaper than the flagship Formentor, and its space advantage isn’t quite as great as one might expect in the backseat.
Even after the upgrade, its cabin feels a bit dated alongside the Volkswagen Group’s latest offerings, though it doesn’t like the starting price.
So who’s going to buy one? Cupra is presenting itself as a tribe for rebels, but some buyers will be less rebellious than others.
Instead of a statement like Formentor, Ateca is an attractive but relatively conventional alternative to CHEAP Volkswagen Tiguan and CHEAP T-Roc.
It gapes between the two in terms of size and offers the affordable all-wheel drive performance formula that the Volkswagen Group has perfected.
There’s a niche market for it, but those looking for the full Cupra experience will be better served elsewhere in the range.
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THAN: Everything Cupra Ateca
