Used Seat Ateca long-term test: report 3

The car 2020 Seat Ateca 1.5 TSI Evo FR Run by Max Adams, used cars reporter

Why it’s here To find out if a used family SUV is a better choice than an equivalent family hatchback or estate car 

Needs to Demonstrate practicality benefits, without costing that much more to run

Mileage 3014 List price new (2020) £27,460 Price new with options N/A Value now £21,414 Options fitted N/A Test economy 37.4mpg Official economy 42.5mpg (WLTP)

22 January 2021 - Keeping it local

The restrictions imposed over Christmas preventing movement between the tiers, followed the implementation of a national lockdown, has meant that the Seat Ateca and I have been relegated to local journeys only. This has had a bit of an impact on fuel economy and has seen me post its worst figure so far: 35.7mpg, knocking the running total back to 37.4mpg.

Of course, any car subjected to mostly shorter, stop/start journeys will consume more fuel, but I thought it'd be interesting to check the difference between the Ateca and the Audi A3 I used to run, because both used the same perky 148bhp 1.5-litre engine. 

The overall figure I got out of the A3 was 48.2mpg, while the Ateca was averaging a 42.5mpg in mostly motorway driving before the increase in local trips. While that's still an impressive figure for a petrol SUV, it just goes to show the downsides of having to carry around 125kg in extra weight due to its bigger body. Mind you, the Ateca is a lot more spacious, which is probably of far greater importance to most family SUV buyers. 

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