What's the news?
We might, rightly, think of the new SEAT Ateca crossover as a 'soft-roader' - a car that looks like a 4x4, but is really a big, front-wheel drive diesel hatchback, ideal for Yummy Mummies and Daddies Day Care, for school runs and shopping trips. SEAT admits that that's right for much of the time, and that in general Ateca buyers will spend 95 per cent of their time with the car firmly on tarmac.
But for a special, select few customers, those who spend 20 per cent of the time off-road, looking for mud, trees and rocks, there's this - the Ateca X-Perience, an Ateca loaded up with off-road tech and styling cues and sitting at the top of the Ateca range.
Due to be shown off for the first time in Paris next week, the X-Perience uses the 190hp, 400Nm 2.0-litre TDI diesel engine, and the DSG automatic transmission, allied to Haldex four-wheel drive. SEAT says that the Haldex setup, combined with XDS traction control "ensures that each wheel seamlessly receives the necessary power to keep going."
The SEAT Drive Profile, which electronically alters the Ateca's settings for Normal, Sport, Eco and Individual modes, gets two extra settings - Off Road and Snow - and there's an electronic hill descent control function too.
Exterior
On the styling front, the X-Perience gets much more macho styling than a mere 1.6 TDI version. "That's why we've chosen a typical 4x4 design style, starting with the wheel diameter and including high-profile tyres, going for a 4x4 look with the front bumpers, sump guard and fog light protectors," explained SEAT Design director, Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos. "The colour has ended up being very important too. We've chosen olive green matt, a natural colour that's a little camouflaged, underlined with orange tones in the details that give it a more technical look." So there are chrome roof rails, a boot spoiler, mud flaps and bash plates under the bumper at the front and rear.
Interior
Inside, there are earthy tones of coffee and green (we're starting to sound like a Farrow & Ball catalogue...), suede trim, aluminium plates and X-Perience logos scattered around. Helpfully, there are chunky rubber floor mats to keep the mud off the carpets.
Anything else?
There's also a lot of standard equipment, including Traffic Jam Assist that coordinates the work of the Lane Departure Warning Assist and the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system. Front Assist works as an emergency brake that recognises vehicles and pedestrians, as well as the Traffic Sign Recognition System, with Blind Spot Detection and Rear Cross Traffic Alert, a 360-degree camera with birds-eye view, Park Assist for parallel parking or angle parking and High Beam Assist for the LED headlights.
The new SEAT Ateca is already on sale in Ireland, and the X-Perience version should be available in time for the New Year.