Photo: SEAT
SEAT has all but confirmed that it will launch a smaller crossover already. However, at a recent press conference in Spain, company president Luca de Meo didn't miss the opportunity to mention it again.
According to him, the Ateca will get a little brother during the following year. While SEAT is late to the subcompact crossover party, which Nissan started with the Juke way back in 2010, we are excited to see what the people who made the Leon will come up with.
You see, with the exception of the Mazda CX-3, very few subcompacts offer true driving thrills or a car-like ride. No test prototypes have yet been seen, so this could go in either of two directions. One would be to make the subcompact a cheaper version of the Audi Q2, and the other a jacked-up Ibiza.
The answer seems obvious until you realize the Ateca is a lot shorter than a Tiguan, roughly 10 centimeters longer than the Audi Q2. Can the MQB platform really be shortened to around 4-and-a-bit meters? Remember, the distance between the wheel and the firewall is fixed!
We think the "baby Ateca" is more likely to be a bigger version of the Ibiza. You see, the Leon compact hatch only offers the independent rear suspension if you have an engine pushing 150 PS or more.
"With the Ateca, the company is launching a product offensive that will expand and strengthen the model lineup. Thanks to the Ateca and its little brother, the crossover we’re going to launch next year, SEAT will be present in the segments showing the highest growth in the market", the brand's President Luca de Meo said at a gathering in Barcelona.
While we won't see the baby crossover this year, we will find out how big an MQB crossover can be. That's because Skoda will present the Kodiaq model.
You see, with the exception of the Mazda CX-3, very few subcompacts offer true driving thrills or a car-like ride. No test prototypes have yet been seen, so this could go in either of two directions. One would be to make the subcompact a cheaper version of the Audi Q2, and the other a jacked-up Ibiza.
The answer seems obvious until you realize the Ateca is a lot shorter than a Tiguan, roughly 10 centimeters longer than the Audi Q2. Can the MQB platform really be shortened to around 4-and-a-bit meters? Remember, the distance between the wheel and the firewall is fixed!
We think the "baby Ateca" is more likely to be a bigger version of the Ibiza. You see, the Leon compact hatch only offers the independent rear suspension if you have an engine pushing 150 PS or more.
"With the Ateca, the company is launching a product offensive that will expand and strengthen the model lineup. Thanks to the Ateca and its little brother, the crossover we’re going to launch next year, SEAT will be present in the segments showing the highest growth in the market", the brand's President Luca de Meo said at a gathering in Barcelona.
While we won't see the baby crossover this year, we will find out how big an MQB crossover can be. That's because Skoda will present the Kodiaq model.
Google News