SPANISH TRY(some text hidden)

By Jonathan Crouch

Ten Second Review word count: 81

The Arona is SEAT's idea of a small sporty SUV and it's likely to continue to find favour with the increasing number of buyers who would once have simply bought another supermini but now feel the need to get themselves something more interesting and lifestyle-orientated. It's good looking, safe, well connected and very personalisable, especially in this usefully improved form. If this is the kind of car that appeals to you, then an Arona may well tick a lot of boxes.

Background word count: 119

SEAT's conquest of the SUV segment continued with his Arona. It launched back in 2017 to slot into the Spanish maker's line-up just blow the successful Ateca model, which is based in the running gear of the company's Leon family hatch. The Arona, in contrast, is a supermini-based Crossover, so shares its oily bits with the Barcelona marque's Ibiza supermini. This car was developed as part of the 900 million Euro investment set aside to create the fifth generation Ibiza. It targets a compact crossover segment which has increased four-fold in size since 2015 and claims to bring to the sector the 'sports DNA dynamism' that SEAT hopes characterises its brand. Here's the lightly revised version launched in mid-2021.

Driving Experience word count: 252

As expected, the Arona shares the engine line-up used in SEAT's Ibiza supermini, which means that all of the powerplants on offer have direct injection and a turbo. There are various different petrol units to choose from, the headline emphasis being on the usual Volkswagen Group three-cylinder 1.0 TSI petrol unit, available in 95PS form with a five-speed manual gearbox or in 110PS guise with dual-clutch seven-speed DSG auto transmission or a six-speed 'box. The final petrol choice is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder 150PS EcoTSI unit with active cylinder deactivation technology, which is exclusive to the 'FR' trims and is connected to DSG auto transmission. Go for the sporty 'FR' trims and you get the 'SEAT Drive Profile' that allows you to alter the steering, throttle response and suspension feel via four modes: 'Normal', 'Sport', 'Eco' and 'Individual'. There are now no diesel options. All Arona models are front-driven: there's not much appetite in this segment for 4WD. If you happen to be familiar with rivals in the small SUV segment, you may well notice that the steering here is more direct, the corner turn-in's more precise and that body roll is rather better controlled. That's not to say that it feels in any way really sporty: no car in this segment is. SEAT's preference has been to set the Arona up for the low speed, traffic-jinking needs of the urban jungle and sure enough, it feels right at home in that environment, with its great all-round sight lines and tight turning circle.