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SEAT Ateca boot space, practicality and safety

2016 onwards (change model)
Practicality rating: 4.5 out of 54.5

Written by Luke Wilkinson Updated: 21 August 2024

  • Plenty of space inside for passengers
  • Generous boot capacity at 510 litres
  • Lots of storage bins and cubbies

How much space is there?

Ample. There’s more than enough room for four passengers inside the SEAT Ateca – and the cabin has been designed in such a way that you don’t need to compromise on rear-seat leg room if you’ve got two tall people up front. The middle seat on the rear bench is a bit cramped due to the shape of the central tunnel, but the same is said of most family SUVs.

Every door gets a deep storage pocket, while the bin in the centre console is almost big enough to hold everything you might have with you in your car. Wallet, phone, house keys, small pets – it’ll all fit. You even get a sunglasses holder above the rear-view mirror and storage trays under the front seats, which helps keep the cabin clutter-free.

SEAT Ateca rear seat
Plenty of room for those in the real, although some of our testers found the backrest too upright.

Boot space and storage

The Ateca has a seats-up capacity of 510 litres – but if you fold the rear bench flat, that figure swells to 1,604 litres. Lowering the seats is easy, too, as the handles are located in the boot. If you’re like us, it’s probably difficult to visualise what all those litre figures mean in real life. Basically, it’s almost the best in class, falling behind the Skoda Karoq for not having as many features (such as its Varioflex rear seats), and ahead of the next best, which is the Peugeot 3008).

You do get 60:40 split folding which adds to its flexibility, but we’d have like to have seen 40:20:40 as you’re seeing in an increasing number of rivals. The boot floor can be set at two heights to either liberate a little extra space or make it easier to haul items into the boot.

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SEAT Ateca boot/load space
The SEAT Ateca has an excellent boot, which only trails the Skoda Karoq for practicality in its class.

Is it easy to park?

Considering how vast the Ateca’s interior feels, it’s a surprisingly easy car to manoeuvre. There’s plenty of glass, so visibility is good – and you get some extra assistance in the shape of standard-fit front and rear parking sensors. Spend a bit more money on the Xperience variant, and you’ll get a rear-view camera too.

Rather strangely, the Ateca also features park assist as standard, which can automatically steer the car into both parallel and end-on parking spaces. Normally, this sort of technology only arrives on models near the top of a car’s pecking order.

Safety

  • Getting on, but lots of safety equipment as standard
  • Older Five-star Euro NCAP safety rating
  • Extra driver assistance tech optional

Euro NCAP awarded the SEAT Ateca a full five-star safety rating when tested way back in 2016 – and it’s easy to see why. You get seven airbags, seat belt reminders, electronic stability control, an electronic differential lock (called XDS), hill-hold control and a tyre-pressure monitor all as standard.

All cars come with Front Assist with City Emergency Braking and Pedestrian Protection, Tiredness Recognition and a Multi-Collision Brake system as standard. Every model has cameras and sensors to detect an impending collision and take evasive action if required.

SEAT also offers a range of optional driver assistance technology packages, which add features like traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist and traffic jam assist, which can take control of the steering brakes and throttle at low speeds. You have to pay extra for these, though. Expect the next VW Tiguan-based Ateca to take a leap forward in safety tech.

Watch: SEAT Ateca Euro NCAP crash test

Euro NCAP rating

Overall NCAP safety rating 5 out of 5
Year tested: 2016
What is Euro NCAP?
Adult Occupant: 93%
Child Occupant: 84%
Vulnerable Road User: 71%
Safety Assist: 60%

Equipment and options

Each trim level will have different equipment offerings.
Basic equipment (14)
  • ABS
  • Alarm
  • Audio remote
  • Body coloured bumpers
  • Driver`s airbag
  • Electric mirrors
  • Front electric windows
  • Isofix child seat anchor points
  • Metallic Paint
  • PAS
  • Passenger`s airbag
  • Rear electric windows
  • Side airbags
  • Traction control
Standard Equipment
Optional Equipment
1st Edition Standard Equipment (10)
  • Cloth seat trim
  • Cruise control
  • Front fog lights
  • Heated mirrors
  • Height adjustable drivers seat
  • Lumbar support
  • Parking sensors
  • Remote locking
  • Roof rails
  • Sat Nav
1st Edition Optional Equipment
  • n/a
Black Edition Standard Equipment (13)
  • 3x3 point rear seat belts
  • Alloy wheels
  • CD
  • Cruise control
  • Electric driver`s seat
  • Headlight washers
  • Heated mirrors
  • Heated seats
  • Leather seat trim
  • Remote locking
  • Roof rails
  • Sat Nav
  • Sports seats
Black Edition Optional Equipment
  • n/a
FR Standard Equipment (9)
  • 3x3 point rear seat belts
  • Alloy wheels
  • Cruise control
  • Heated mirrors
  • Height adjustable drivers seat
  • Remote locking
  • Roof rails
  • Sat Nav
  • Sports seats
FR Optional Equipment (4)
  • Cloth seat trim
  • Lumbar support
  • Parking sensors
  • Partial leather seat trim
FR Black Edition Standard Equipment (11)
  • 3x3 point rear seat belts
  • Cruise control
  • Electric driver`s seat
  • Heated mirrors
  • Heated seats
  • Leather seat trim
  • Lumbar support
  • Remote locking
  • Roof rails
  • Sat Nav
  • Space saver spare wheel
FR Black Edition Optional Equipment (5)
  • Alloy wheels
  • Headlight washers
  • Height adjustable drivers seat
  • Parking sensors
  • Sports seats
FR Edition Standard Equipment (7)
  • 3x3 point rear seat belts
  • Cruise control
  • Heated mirrors
  • Height adjustable drivers seat
  • Remote locking
  • Roof rails
  • Space saver spare wheel
FR Edition Optional Equipment
  • n/a
FR Sport Standard Equipment (11)
  • 3x3 point rear seat belts
  • Cruise control
  • Electric driver`s seat
  • Heated mirrors
  • Heated seats
  • Leather seat trim
  • Lumbar support
  • Remote locking
  • Roof rails
  • Sat Nav
  • Sports seats
FR Sport Optional Equipment (4)
  • Alloy wheels
  • Headlight washers
  • Height adjustable drivers seat
  • Parking sensors
S Standard Equipment (6)
  • 3x3 point rear seat belts
  • Air conditioning
  • Alloy wheels
  • Cloth seat trim
  • Height adjustable drivers seat
  • Remote locking
S Optional Equipment
  • n/a
SE Standard Equipment (7)
  • 3x3 point rear seat belts
  • Alloy wheels
  • Cloth seat trim
  • Cruise control
  • Heated mirrors
  • Height adjustable drivers seat
  • Roof rails
SE Optional Equipment (6)
  • CD
  • Front fog lights
  • Lumbar support
  • Parking sensors
  • Remote locking
  • Sat Nav
SE L Standard Equipment (14)
  • 3x3 point rear seat belts
  • Alloy wheels
  • Cruise control
  • Headlight washers
  • Heated mirrors
  • Heated seats
  • Height adjustable drivers seat
  • Leather seat trim
  • Lumbar support
  • Parking sensors
  • Remote locking
  • Roof rails
  • Sat Nav
  • Sports seats
SE L Optional Equipment
  • n/a
SE Technology Standard Equipment (7)
  • 3x3 point rear seat belts
  • Cloth seat trim
  • Cruise control
  • Heated mirrors
  • Height adjustable drivers seat
  • Roof rails
  • Sat Nav
SE Technology Optional Equipment (5)
  • Alloy wheels
  • Front fog lights
  • Lumbar support
  • Parking sensors
  • Remote locking
Xcellence Standard Equipment (9)
  • 3x3 point rear seat belts
  • Alloy wheels
  • Heated mirrors
  • Height adjustable drivers seat
  • Lumbar support
  • Parking sensors
  • Remote locking
  • Roof rails
  • Sat Nav
Xcellence Optional Equipment (7)
  • Cruise control
  • Front fog lights
  • Headlight washers
  • Heated seats
  • Leather seat trim
  • Partial leather seat trim
  • Sports seats
Xcellence Lux Standard Equipment (13)
  • 3x3 point rear seat belts
  • Alloy wheels
  • Headlight washers
  • Heated mirrors
  • Heated seats
  • Height adjustable drivers seat
  • Leather seat trim
  • Lumbar support
  • Parking sensors
  • Remote locking
  • Roof rails
  • Sat Nav
  • Sports seats
Xcellence Lux Optional Equipment
  • n/a
Xperience Standard Equipment (7)
  • 3x3 point rear seat belts
  • Alloy wheels
  • Heated mirrors
  • Height adjustable drivers seat
  • Remote locking
  • Roof rails
  • Sat Nav
Xperience Optional Equipment (1)
  • Cloth seat trim
Xperience Edition Standard Equipment (5)
  • 3x3 point rear seat belts
  • Heated mirrors
  • Height adjustable drivers seat
  • Remote locking
  • Roof rails
Xperience Edition Optional Equipment
  • n/a
Xperience Lux Standard Equipment (9)
  • 3x3 point rear seat belts
  • Heated mirrors
  • Heated seats
  • Height adjustable drivers seat
  • Leather seat trim
  • Remote locking
  • Roof rails
  • Sat Nav
  • Sports seats
Xperience Lux Optional Equipment
  • n/a

Dimensions

Length 4363mm - 4381mm
Width 1841mm - 2078mm
Height 1601mm - 1625mm
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