The Cupra Ateca Has Fresh Face And New Screens

The Cupra brand’s first-ever standalone model has a new face. Taking the lead from the Seat newly updated Ateca upon which it’s derived, the Cupra adds in a whole heap of honeycomb-based aggression.

It gets the same LED front and rear light clusters as the standard facelifted Ateca, along with the same-shaped grille. But here, there’s a lot more in the way of intake real estate going on at the front, and - as with the pre-update car - a complete absence of Seat branding.

Instead, you get triangular Cupra logos at the front and the rear. While we’re round the back, it’s also worth pointing out that the snazzy italicized ‘Cupra’ found on the standard car is missing, replaced with the same block capital text as the older version. The row of five vents just below the boot lid has been retained from the outgoing version too, although below that, the bumper design isn’t quite the same.

As before, there’s a quad-exit exhaust, fed by a 2.0-litre inline-four ‘EA888’ turbo engine. Power is unchanged - you’re looking at 296bhp, making for a 0-62mph time of 4.9 seconds. Although the Cupra Ateca will be no faster than before, it should feel a little better to drive, thanks to an updated power steering system said to improve feedback. Plus, the Abt power pack option has been retained, giving buyers a chance to boost the output to 345bhp.

The interior doesn’t deviate massively, although there is a new 9.2-inch central touchscreen, and a redesigned a fresh 10.25-inch digital instrument cluaster, and steering wheel with Porsche-esque mounted engine start and driving mode buttons. Also new is a voice control system - activated by saying ‘Hola Hola’ - and a quartet of illuminated USB-C ports. Once again, copper accents feature heavily.

Want one? It goes on sale during the third quarter of 2020.