The Seat Arona Is Another Reason The Nissan Juke Should Be Worried

It’s getting tough out there for the curiously-faced Nissan Juke. It already had a bunch of rivals to worry about, but now it faces the prospect of VW’s incoming T-Roc, and in the space of a week two further similarly-sized crossovers have appeared: first the Kia Stonic, and now the new Seat Arona.

Based on the same MQB A0 architecture as the latest Seat Ibiza and the new VW Polo, it’s 79mm longer and 99mm taller than its supermini sibling. The bigger outward dimensions result in a lot more space: you get 37mm more headroom in the back, 33mm more in the rear, and a 400 litre boot.

That’s over 100 litres more than you get in an Ibiza, and - crucially almost 50 more than a Juke. So it has a bigger boot, and less challenging looks than the Juke. It’s very much a cross between an Ibiza and an Ateca, which results in a handsome - if not exactly daring - aesthetic.

The inside looks much the same as the Ibiza’s cabin, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. From our experience the infotainment system is a good one, and it comes with Apple Car Play, Android Auto and Mirror Link.

Under the bonnet, you can choose from a 1.0-litre turbocharged inline-three with either 94bhp or 113bhp, and VW Group’s new 1.5-litre ‘TSI Evo’ inline-four with 148bhp. Or if you’d prefer a diesel, there’s a 1.6-litre TDI with - mirroring the 1.0-litre petrol - either 94bhp or 113bhp on tap.

All can be had with either a manual gearbox (with five or six ratios depending on power) or a seven-speed DSG automatic transmission. There’s no four-wheel drive option - as with the Juke, the Arona is front-wheel drive only.

It’ll be built in Seat’s Martorell factory, and should go on sale shortly after its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September.