New Seat Ateca vs Audi Q2 vs Ford Kuga

Buying and owning

Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security

The Ateca looks something of a bargain when you compare brochure prices, undercutting the other two by around £2000. However, you’ll get a lot more money off the Kuga than its rivals by haggling; if you’re paying cash, it will cost you only £1000 more than its Spanish rival. Discounts on the Q2 are much smaller, making it the most expensive to buy outright by a big margin.

Usually, you’d expect the draw of an Audi badge to keep depreciation to a minimum, but while our experts predict the Q2 will be worth the most if you sell after three years, its loss of value in pure money terms will actually be bigger than on the others. The Ateca will lose you the least in depreciation and will be by far the cheapest to own when you factor in all the other bills you’re likely to face. The Kuga is the costliest option, largely because its fuel economy is significantly worse than that of the other two.

Rather than purchasing outright, most buyers will opt to sign up to a finance agreement. Again, the Ateca is the cheapest option here: on a three-year PCP deal, it’ll cost you nearly £50 a month less than its rivals. The Ateca is also the cheapest for company car drivers paying benefit-in-kind tax; if you’re in the 40% band, you’ll need to sacrifice an extra £26 a month of your salary for the Q2 and an extra £59 a month for the Kuga.

Despite being the most expensive of our three contenders, the Q2 is the most stingily equipped when it comes to creature comforts; you even have to pay extra for climate control and power-folding door mirrors. Mind you, the Kuga has old-school halogen headlights rather than the brighter LED units fitted to the Ateca and Q2, and it’s also extremely disappointing that Ford charges (£200) extra for automatic emergency braking.