New 2020 SEAT Ateca priced from £23,670

• Entry-level SE trim model starts from £23,670
• All cars get updated styling and technology
• New 2.0-litre diesel engine makes its debut

Full specifications and prices for the 2020 SEAT Ateca SUV have been revealed. The facelifted car starts at £23,670 in entry-level SE trim, rising to £30,620 for the flagship Xperience Lux model.

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The updated Ateca is on sale now and features a refreshed exterior design, new connectivity tech and more driver assistance features. It goes head to head with recently updated SUV rivals, including the Ford Kuga and Peugeot 3008.

2020 SEAT Ateca trim levels and specifications

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The entry-level SE model starts from £23,670. Standard equipment includes 17-inch alloy wheels, front and rear parking sensors, and cruise control with a speed limiter. Inside, dual-zone climate control, wireless smartphone charging and a 8.25-inch infotainment screen are standard. Upgrading to the plusher SE Technology trim costs £26,355 and adds a 9.2-inch infotainment screen, sat nav, SEAT Connect remote access and 18-inch alloy wheels.

The sporty FR spec model starts from £29,385 and adds a digital instrument cluster, automatic headlights and wipers, and sportier exterior styling. FR Sport costs £500 more, and gets some sporty styling tweaks and heated front seats.

At the top of the range, the Xcellence trim has been replaced by the Xperience trim, which starts from £27,750. It gets additional safety features such as adaptive cruise control, blind spot assist and a reversing camera. It also features microsuede upholstery, 18-inch alloy wheels and rear privacy glass.

The Xperience Lux trim starts from £30,620 and includes a digital dial cluster, along with heated and electrically adjustable leather seats, a heated windscreen, a top-down view camera, a powered tailgate and 19-inch alloy wheels.

Styling

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The facelifted SEAT Ateca has a thoroughly redesigned front end, with a hexagonal grille design and slimmer headlights that take inspiration from the brand-new Leon and the Tarraco. Viewed from the side, it’s unchanged, but the rear gets subtly tweaked LED brake light clusters and new ‘Ateca’ lettering in a cursive font, again like the one on the new Leon.

The new Xperience trim, pictured here, gets black bumpers with skid plate-style inserts, body-coloured wheel arches and silver side inserts. The grille on this trim gets chrome dots, like the Xcellence trim it replaces. Exterior trim on sporty FR cars (such as the grille, bumper inserts, mirror caps and exhausts) are painted grey. Two new paint colours - Dark Camouflage and Crystal Black - are offered free-of-charge.

Interior

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SEAT has updated the interior, too, to keep the Ateca up to speed with the Peugeot 3008, Skoda Karoq and Kia Sportage - although the Peugeot is arguably more eye-catching inside. All cars get a bigger touchscreen than before (8.25 inches on entry-level cars, and 9.2 inches on SE Technology models upwards), and every Ateca gets wireless phone charging, Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay. The bigger screen offers online navigation and natural voice control functionality, which is awoken by saying ‘hola hola’. There’s a new steering wheel borrowed from the new Leon, too.

An embedded eSIM is offered, which allows the car to automatically contact the emergency services in the event of a collision and lets drivers contact SEAT Services in their native language. A SEAT Connect phone app allows buyers to see driving data, recall where the car is parked and whether it’s locked, remotely activate the horn and indicators, and monitor if the car has been stolen or is being driven too quickly.

Available safety technology includes predictive adaptive cruise control (using GPS data and traffic sign recognition to amend the speed for the road ahead), pre-crash assist, emergency assist and blind-spot monitoring. Xperience trims get Side and Exit Assist, too, which makes sure you’re not going to hit anything when manoeuvring out of a parking space.

Engines

Most of the Ateca’s engines have been carried over untouched, but the 1.6-litre TDI diesel engine has been replaced by a new 2.0-litre unit first seen in the latest Volkswagen Golf. It still has the same 113bhp power output, but is more efficient thanks to a twin-dosing AdBlue system that reduces NOx emissions. The other diesel engine produces 148bhp, while 1.0-litre, 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre petrol engines produce 113, 148 and 187bhp respectively. As before, the middle petrol engine features cylinder deactivation tech to temporarily shrink the size of the engine and save fuel when possible.

We had expected SEAT to fit the VW Group’s 48-volt mild-hybrid system to certain Ateca engines. The mild-hybrid system stores energy lost in braking to engage the start-stop system sooner and slightly help acceleration. It may be that this tech is added to the range later.

Meanwhile, SEAT is developing plug-in hybrid models - such as the forthcoming 242bhp Cupra Formentor and Skoda Octavia vRS - but it doesn’t appear that the facelifted Ateca will be available as a full hybrid.

Read more about the next-generation SEAT Leon, or read our guide to the best 4x4s and SUVs.