SEAT Ateca interior
The Cupra Ateca interior is well made and easy to get along with, but feels a bit old-school next to newer Cupra models.
Style
The Cupra Ateca interior looks classy, feels well made and has a few nice touches that mark it out from the SEAT range. It has all the good bits from a Volkswagen Group interior, it’s just a shame that they are bits from about five years ago.
Still, it’s better than in the standard SEAT Ateca. The black interior looks stylish and the piano black trim, copper effect details and body-hugging seats mark it out as something a bit more special. It’s a pity that the sporty wheel with integrated drive mode selector and starter button isn’t standard on every model, too.
There are Cupra logos on the illuminated door sills, and before you even get into the car, ‘welcome puddle lights’ shine the Cupra logo on the ground next to the front doors as if Gotham City was calling for a Cupra superhero to come to the rescue.
It’s a bit of the shame the quality in the front seats isn’t quite the same for those in the back. The door bins are made of scratchy hard plastics that let the side down.
It’s just as well the Cupra Ateca has a 300hp engine because the interior doesn’t grab you in the same way as the performance. It’s fine but nothing to get excited about.
Infotainment
The latest Cupra Ateca brings an updated 9.2in infotainment system. It features a piano black surround flanked by touch sensitive shortcut buttons for different menus.
It’s less basic looking and brighter than the outgoing system. It also has a proximity sensor, so menus flash up when your hand approaches the screen and it responds to pinch and swipe gestures. One downside is that because the dashboard itself is an older design than the Cupra Formentor and Leon, it doesn’t get the screen mounted in the line of sight on its own plinth. But you might prefer the cleaner look of the integrated screen.
Latest versions also receive wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto if you don’t want to rely on the in-built sat-nav, for example, while a wireless smartphone charging pad is also on the kit roster.
To complement the infotainment system, there is another digital screen behind the steering wheel that transforms into a huge map, making following sat-nav directions a doddle (though not if you are using your phone’s apps).