The Ateca we’re testing makes use of the Volkswagen Group’s ‘EA888’ 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine and produces 296bhp and 295lb ft of torque, making it one of the most powerful crossover hatchbacks on sale. You can also have a lower-powered version of the same engine with 187bhp or a smaller 1.5-litre unit with 148bhp.
It’s little surprise that the halo 296bhp engine is one of the Ateca’s biggest selling points. Although it isn’t immune from lag, the throttle response is notably crisp, and there’s a cleanliness to the smooth manner in which it pulls to the 6500rpm redline.
We might have wanted more character from the sports exhaust when Sport or Cupra mode is selected (there are, after all, four exhaust tips), but equally this engine’s aural refinement in normal use is beyond question.
If you’re driving the car every day, it’s the engine’s sense of classiness, coupled with its breadth and flexibility of performance, that make it seem like a very nice motor indeed.
It’s a shame, then, that it’s paired to such a dimwitted automatic gearbox. The seven-speed DSG unit changes smoothly enough at everyday speeds, but if you’re accelerating to join a motorway in Normal mode, for example, it doesn’t change down when you want it to. Instead of exploiting the power band’s sweet spot, it feels you should wait for the turbochargers to spool and ride the torque curve, by which time you’ve run out of road to complete any meaningful acceleration.
That being said, the effects of this can be mitigated in Cupra mode, and when you push it, it delivers some compelling numbers, even by today’s standards. Hooked up to our telemetry equipment, this 1615kg SUV recorded a 0-60mph time of 4.9sec.
However, in-gear acceleration feels slightly less muscular. The important overtaking metric of 40-60mph in fourth gear took 3.9sec while, in a full-fat hot hatchback of a similar price, it would be little over 3.0sec. Given that the Ateca is more than 100kg heavier than the Volkswagen Golf R, for instance, this is simply the price you pay for practicality, although similar can be said regarding aerodynamics and a raised driving position (which in turns stifles the sensation of speed).
Elsewhere, the Ateca is mostly the respectable, usable, civilised car it’s cracked up to be. Its 55-litre fuel tank allows 350 miles between fill-ups on motorway runs, and around town it is as refined and polished as a Volkswagen Group product should be.
If fuel economy is your main priority, we would recommend the 1.5 TSI, which will comfortably return upwards of 40mpg. But the trade-off with this unit is that it feels quite asthmatic, especially higher in the rev range, which isn’t in keeping with the Cupra badge.