Introduction
What Car? says...
The original Seat Arona was the Spanish car maker's second foray into the world of SUVs, following up on the success of the Ateca – a former What Car? award winner, no less.
The Arona is based on the Seat Ibiza small hatchback and (in case you were wondering) gets its name from a small municipality in Tenerife. This small SUV is roughly the same size as the Ford Puma and Volkswagen T-Roc, but a little shorter than the Skoda Kamiq.
We'll be comparing it with the Puma, Countryman, T-Roc and other small SUVs you might be considering. We'll also tell you all about its performance, interior quality, running costs and will recommend our preferred engine and trim.
Once you've decided which make and model is right for you, check out our free What Car? New Car Buying service to find the best prices on hundreds of new cars without any hassle. It features lots of excellent new small SUV deals.
FAQs
Not particularly. The Seat Arona came 12th out of 20 models in the small SUVs section of our 2021 What Car? Reliability Survey. That’s above the Ford Puma and Nissan Juke, but below the Audi Q2, Citroën C3 Aircross and Mini Countryman. In the brands part of the survey, Seat ranked 17th place out of 30 car makers and scored 93.3%. That’s pretty average – rivals Hyundai, Suzuki and Toyota all scored more than 97%. Read more here
No – the Seat Arona is not available with hybrid tech or as an electric car. While rivals such as the Nissan Juke and Toyota Yaris Cross are available as hybrids and the Ford Puma as a mild hybrid, there’s no such version for the Arona. There are three petrol engine options: a turbocharged 1.0-litre with either 94bhp or 108bhp, or a more powerful 148bhp 1.5-litre turbocharged unit. Read more here
We think the 94bhp 1.0-litre engine (labelled 1.0 TSI 95) is the best choice for the Seat Arona. It is a tad sluggish at low revs, but there’s plenty of shove at motorway speeds. It’s also efficient – we achieved 45.9mpg during our true MPG tests. We’d recommend pairing that with the SE Technology trim, which gets you a better infotainment system and the addition of parking sensors over the entry-level SE model (which comes with 17in alloys, cruise control and air conditioning as standard). Read more here
SE Technology is the mid-range trim in the Seat Arona model range, whereas the FR trim is a more expensive sporty option. FR adds enhanced styling plus a few extras including climate control and power-folding mirrors, and you also get a slightly firmer suspension set-up (although this does make the ride slightly less settled over craggy roads). Read more here
Every Seat Arona has a touchscreen infotainment system, a DAB radio and wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone mirroring. The entry-level SE model comes with a 8.25in screen, but our preferred SE Technology trim upgrades this to 9.2in. The display is crisp, bright and responds quickly to your inputs, and overall it’s a good system. Read more here
The Seat Arona has a 400-litre boot, which is a match for the Renault Captur and beats the Hyundai Kona and Kia Stonic for storage. We were able to fit five carry-on suitcases into the Arona boot – the same as the Volkswagen Golf will take. If you want more space, the Ford Puma and Skoda Kamiq are capable of swallowing up to eight and seven cases respectively. Read more here
| RRP price range | £20,730 - £27,445 |
|---|---|
| Number of trims (see all) | 6 |
| Number of engines (see all) | 3 |
| Available fuel types (which is best for you?) | petrol |
| MPG range across all versions | 44.8 - 53.3 |
| Available doors options | 5 |
| Company car tax at 20% (min/max) | £1,147 / £1,686 |
| Company car tax at 40% (min/max) | £2,294 / £3,372 |
| Available colours |
