Seat Arona review

The Seat Arona is the Spanish car maker's second foray into the world of SUVs, launched in the hope of repeating the success of the Ateca (a former What Car? Awards category winner no less). 

So what exactly is an Arona? Well, it's a small SUV based on the Seat Ibiza hatchback and gets its name from a small municipality in Tenerife.

It shares lots of parts with two more expensive VW Group models – the Audi Q2 and Volkswagen T-Roc – so it looks rather good value.

Seat Arona video review

But how does it compare with the best small SUVs out there? Well, that’s a tough (and popular) crowd to beat, because rivals include the Ford Puma, the Nissan Juke, the Peugeot 2008, the Renault Captur, the Toyota Yaris Cross and VW T-Cross.

The Seat Arona engine range kicks off with the 94bhp 1.0-litre TSI 95. It can feel a bit sluggish at low revs, but there’s enough power to sit comfortably at motorway speeds. Officially it’ll get from 0-62mph in 11.3sec, which is quicker than a Renault Captur TCe 90 but around 1.5 seconds slower than an entry-level Ford Puma. It’s only available with a five-speed manual gearbox.

The mid-range 113bhp 1.0-litre TSI 115 has enough extra power to make it our recommended engine. It doesn’t cost much more but pulls better from low revs and feels more energetic, trimming the 0-62mph time to around 10 seconds. It’s available with either a six-speed manual gearbox or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic that flicks through the gears quickly. That said, a Ford Puma 125 feels stronger across the rev range, while the Toyota Yaris Cross feels more lively off the line with the help of its electric motor.

At the top of the Arona engine range is the 148bhp 1.5-litre TSI 150. Its extra power helps deliver much quicker acceleration than either of the 1.0-litre units, but it’s only available with the automatic gearbox and limited to the sportier FR trims.

The Arona rides well on 17in alloy wheels, confidently soaking up the bumps and potholes you typically find in most towns and cities. It’s more comfortable than a Ford Puma or Kia Stonic. The same can be said when you reach motorway speeds, where the Arona proves to be a settled and comfortable cruiser.

If you opt for FR trim, you get firmer sports suspension while FR Sport and FR Limited Edition pair the sports suspension with larger 18in alloy wheels. With the larger wheels and stiffer suspension fitted, the Arona is noticeably less settled over craggy roads, although it stops short of being uncomfortable – a Nissan Juke is generally more agitated over all surfaces.

If comfort is high on your list of priorities, you could consider the softer Skoda Kamiq or the VW T-Cross.

One of the strengths of the larger Seat Ateca is how fun it is to drive – a rare quality among SUVs, especially at this end of the market. The good news is that, on the whole, Seat hasn’t dropped the ball with the Arona.

In fact, because it’s lighter and a bit lower to the ground than its bigger sibling, the Arona changes direction with a bit more gusto and leans less while doing so. It’s more agile and entertaining than most direct rivals, especially the Peugeot 2008 and Renault Captur. The Arona isn’t the cornering king of this class, though – the Ford Puma undoubtedly takes that title.

The sports suspension you get with FR and FR Sport trims results in even better body composure. Those trims also add a Drive Profile switch that lets you adjust the weight of the steering, although we tend to leave it in Normal mode, which gives a progressive build-up of weight as you turn the wheel. On other versions the steering is lighter than ideal but still precise.

​​The Arona's 1.0-litre engines don’t make too much noise as you cruise but if you work them hard they become quite thrummy and a few vibrations filter up through the steering wheel and pedals. The 1.5-litre TSI 150 is the smoothest engine in the range.

Road noise is fairly well contained in all versions but you’ll hear more wind noise above 50mph than you would in an Audi Q2 or VW T-Roc.

The Arona's manual gearbox and clutch pedal are not quite as well-weighted as a Puma’s but they’re more precise than those in the Juke. The Yaris Cross has a smoother power delivery, but the Arona’s automatic gearbox is still slicker than the equivalent Juke and 2008. The stop-start system isn’t as quick or as smooth as the mild hybrid Puma, though.

“I found the Arona's automatic gearbox a bit jerky in heavy traffic, not helped by the start-stop system, but it shifts smoothly once you're on the move.” – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

You shouldn’t find it difficult to get comfortable in the Seat Arona thanks to the driver’s seat providing plenty of adjustment and the steering wheel adjusting for both height and reach. However, unlike in the Ford Puma and VW T-Roc, you don't get adjustable lumbar support on any version.

If you long for a lofty driving position in your small SUV there are rivals that do this better than the Arona. As with the Skoda Kamiq you’ll barely feel any higher up in it than you would in a hatchback when the seat is set to its lowest height. If that's a deal-breaker, have a look at the Puma, the Renault Captur or the VW T-Cross – they all have you sitting quite a bit higher up.

The Arona’s interior is well laid out, with the infotainment touchscreen sitting high up on the dashboard, above clearly-labelled buttons and knobs that control the air-con. A digital driver’s display is standard across the range, replacing traditional analogue dials with either an 8in or 10in display that can show full-screen navigation maps and other information.

The Arona’s eye-catching looks haven’t come at the expense of forward visibility. The windscreen pillars don’t obstruct your view too much – even when you're pulling out of junctions – and it’s easy to judge where the car’s extremities are, certainly compared with the challenge of doing so from the more enclosed interior of the Peugeot 2008.

The Arona’s chunky rear pillars make it trickier to see over your shoulder but rear visibility is still better than the Nissan Juke’s, thanks to a taller rear screen. To help out when parking, every trim includes rear parking sensors, although you need to leap up to range-topping FR trim to add front sensors and a rear-view camera.

All versions of the Arona come with automatic full LED headlights to help give great visibility at night (some lower-spec versions used to come with dimmer Eco LED units).

Every Arona has an infotainment touchscreen, DAB radio, and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring. We’ve yet to try the 8.25in touchscreen you get as standard but we have used the optional 9.2in screen.

The larger display is crisp and bright, and responds quickly to your prods. In fact, it’s one of the better systems out there, keeping everything simple with a small number of menus. You get some touch-sensitive shortcut buttons to the left of the screen but as in most small SUVs it’s mostly touchscreen-controlled, which does make it distracting to use when you're driving.

A built-in sat-nav is optional but the standard smartphone mirroring lets you use a navigation app on your phone through the car's touchscreen. A four-speaker sound system is standard, while Style trim and above get an upgraded six-speaker setup.

The interior of the Arona has improved tenfold since its original launch. Many of the hard, scratchy plastics across the dashboard have been replaced with soft-touch materials and convincing fake-metal trim to make it a far more pleasant place. That’s not to say there are no cheap-feeling plastics but you have to search lower down in the interior to find them.

All versions bar come with a leather steering wheel, a leather gear knob and handbrake, and they all look and feel good. 

As a whole, the interior feels well screwed together and is a step up in quality compared with the Ford Puma and Renault Captur. Even so, it still doesn’t quite live up to the best small SUVs in this respect, namely the Audi Q2, Lexus LBX and Mazda CX-30. 

“The Arona's air-conditioning controls are positioned quite low down, but this isn't a major problem. They're so simple that I found I didn't actually need to look at them to use them.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

Even if you’re well over 6ft tall, you won't feel your hair brushing the Seat Arona’s high roof lining and the seats slide back far enough to accommodate anyone with long legs. Shoulder room is good too, making the Arona feel more spacious than in a Lexus LBX. The VW Taigo is similarly impressive space wise but the bigger VW T-Roc will suit you better if you're very tall.

The front door bins are not the biggest but do have room for a water bottle. In front of the gearlever you get a cubbyhole, and on Style trim or higher it has a wireless phone-charger built in. There's also a decent-sized glovebox, a pair of cupholders beside the handbrake, a small recess for loose change and a large cubby behind the handbrake.

The top-of-the-range FR trims get a Storage pack that adds a central armrest, a drawer under the driver’s seat, a mounting feature in the boot and a document holder under the front passenger seat.

Yes, the Arona is a small SUV but there’s still enough head room in the rear seats for a couple of six-footers to fit in. There’s more head room than inside a Nissan Juke, and while the VW T-Cross and Skoda Kamiq allow you to stretch out your legs a bit more, it’s still less cramped than in the LBX, with just enough clearance for their knees behind the back of the front seat.

Carrying three people in the back of the Arona is a bit of a squeeze for all concerned, but that’s similar with many rivals in this class. If you’ll regularly need to do that, the wider VW T-Roc is a slightly better bet.

Don’t expect the Arona to have any clever practicality tricks up its sleeve, such as sliding rear seats or a folding front passenger’s seat. Both are available on some rivals: the Renault Captur and VW T-Cross get a sliding rear bench allowing you to exchange rear leg room for a bit more boot space.

The Arona's rear bench folds down in a 60/40 split but there are no release handles in the boot to make the process easier. Instead, you have to open the rear doors and press a button next to the rear head restraints – a bit of a faff.

On paper, the Arona's 400 litres of boot volume is a match for the Skoda Kamiq and Toyota Yaris Cross (397 litres). However, we were able to fit five carry-on suitcases in its boot, which is two less than the Yaris Cross and Skoda Kamiq. 

If carrying lots of cargo is something you do regularly, you might want to take a look at the champion of the class – the Ford Puma. This is capable of swallowing up to eight carry-on cases below the parcel shelf.

A height-adjustable boot floor comes as standard on all Arona trim levels to boost versatility. In its highest setting it creates a separate storage area underneath and also removes the lip at the boot entrance.

“The Arona's height-adjustable boot floor also means there's no step up to the rear seats when they're folded, which I found useful when I used the car for an Ikea run.” – Darren Moss, Deputy Digital Editor

The entry-level Seat Arona is at the more affordable end of the small SUV spectrum, costing about the same as a Renault Captur and slightly less than the majority of its rivals, including the Ford Puma, Nissan Juke and Skoda Kamiq. The downside is that it’s expected to depreciate quickly, losing its value faster than all those rivals.

That fast depreciation can increase the amount you have to pay each month on a PCP agreement, although you can usually find competitive offers by searching our new Seat deals page.

Fuel economy is good. The 1.0 TSI 95 averaged 45.9mpg in our Real MPG testing and the more powerful petrols don’t drink like fishes either. The mild-hybrid petrol engine in the Puma is generally even more fuel efficient though.

Official CO2 emissions for the Arona are comparable with those of the VW T-Cross (which is useful to know if you're a company car user because it affects the BIK tax rate) if not quite as low as the hybrid-powered Lexus LBX, Renault Captur or Toyota Yaris Cross. There won’t be a full hybrid version of the Arona, but a mild hybrid version is due to arrive in 2027.

Entry-level SE trim includes 17in alloys, cruise control, air-conditioning, electric front and rear windows, a contrasting roof colour and metallic paint. Our favourite trim level is SE Technology, because of the better infotainment system. It’s very disappointing that neither of these trims come with an alarm, though.

The FR First Edition and FR Sport trims are the more performance-focused options, with enhanced styling, firmer sports suspension and a few extras, including dual-zone climate control and power-folding door mirrors. 

The Arona ranked a fairly disappointing 26th out of 38 small SUVs in our 2025 What Car? Reliability Survey. That’s behind the Audi Q2 (fourth), and the Skoda Kamiq (22th) but ahead of the Ford Puma (32nd) and the Nissan Juke in last place. Seat as a brand placed 18th out of the 30 car makers ranked, below Vauxhall and Toyota.

All versions of the Arona come with a three-year warranty that covers you up to 60,000 miles. That’s similar to most rivals but no match for the seven-year cover you get with a Kia Stonic.

Seat gives you Europe-wide breakdown cover for two years and you can pay extra to have your warranty extended if you plan to keep your car for longer.

Every Arona comes with automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assist and traffic sign recognition. 

The Arona was tested for safety by Euro NCAP in 2022 and scored the full five stars – better than the Ford Puma, which only got four stars. However, it’s hard to compare with newer rivals because the testing regime has become more stringent over the years.

"I find it disappointing that you have to upgrade to FR trim or above to get an alarm, which is standard fit on many of the Arona's rivals." – Dan Jones, Reviewer

 Buy it if...

- You want a a small SUV that’s more fun to drive than most rivals

- A smart and easy to use interior

- Has a good amount of space for four adults

Don’t buy it if…

- You want fuel-efficiency that matches a hybrid rival

- The biggest boot in the class

- You want the most versatile rear seats

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