Sporty and well-equipped family vehicle – the SEAT Arona

SEAT has done that with upgrades to the popular Arona, a sporty, well-equipped family orientated vehicle that is packed with standard kit.

It is already a popular car that sells well, so to coin an old phrase, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ seems to be the case here.

There are tweaks to both outside and the interior, although the engine line-up pretty much stays the same.

There are two versions of the 1.0 litre three cylinder petrol engine and two versions of the 1.5 litre TSI engine, ranging from 95PS up to 150PS.

A manual six-speed box or DSG auto are also available. The upgrade also sees important safety changes, which include blind spot assistance and Park Assist, which both do as their name suggests.

There is also a new price structure, starting at £19,600 for the SE 1.0 TSI 95PS, rising to £26,255 for the range-topping Xperience Lux 1.0 TSI DSG-Auto 110PS.

Changes have been made to the lighting which now becomes 100 per LED technology as standard to offer better visibility with lower energy consumption. There is also new badging, a new front bumper, newly repositioned fog lights with silver detailing, as well as a new spoiler and diffuser at the rear of the car.

The badging is now in handwritten style and a new two-tone SEAT logo rounds it off.

This revamped interior features ambient lighting, new 8.25 inch or 9.2 inch, depending on model, floating touchscreen. FR Sport and Experience models also feature the 10.25 inch digital cockpit.

Soft touch material is now more prevalent and the steering wheel is bound with Nappa leather while a nice touch is the smart air vents that are illuminated.

The touchscreen, or brains of the car, now features connectivity via the ‘Full Link’ which allows for voice recognition and allows the enabling of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. SEAT Connect allows users access to a range of remote services.

Despite its size, the commanding driving position gives the feeling of driving a larger vehicle.

On the road, the 1.0 TSI FR Sport 110PS DSG driven here delivered a pleasing drive, with excellent acceleration, plenty of torque and decent economy to boot, despite the small size of the engine.

Typically of a three-pot petrol power plant, it delivers a throaty roar when pushed, with drive coming through a slick auto box.

The car itself feels equally at home in town or on the open road, handling sharp bends with ease, while soaking up the worst lumps and bumps in the road.

New Driver Assistance Systems deliver semi-automatic driving through a combination of Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) on Xperience and Xperience Lux trims, and lane assist that is included as standard.

Side Assist uses front and rear-facing radars monitoring the vehicle’s blind spots to alert the driver if there are vehicles in the vicinity, should they want to change lanes.

Trim changes for the latest version include SE, SE Technology, FR, FR Sport, Xperience and Xperience Lux (replacing Xcellence) and the range includes 10 exterior colours.

The Arona was already an excellent compact SUV in my opinion, the subtle tweaks have more than enhanced that judgment.