Used SEAT Ateca review and buying guide (2016 to present): which one to buy and what to check

Which used SEAT Ateca should you buy?

Choose an Ateca by engine, not by year. Whichever you pick, there's lots of room in the back, the boot opens wide over a low lip, and it rides well even though the suspension's on the firm side. The 1.0 TSI is fine around town but struggles on the motorway with every seat taken, so don't buy one if a packed car at motorway speed is your regular run.

The 1.5 TSI Evo petrol from 2017 to 2020, manual or DSG, is the one to be careful with, because its engine software can make it judder, kangaroo and stall pulling away from cold. Owner complaints so far are all on cars built between 2016 and 2019, so a newer Ateca doesn't have a clean record, just a shorter one. Brakes and electrics have each come up more than once.

Which Ateca engines and gearboxes are the safe choices?

The 1.5 TSI Evo petrol is the Ateca engine with a known fault against it. On 2017 to 2020 cars, manual or DSG, its software mapping can make it judder badly and kangaroo as you pull away in first from cold, hesitate in first and second, and even stall, and it shows up in the first 50,000 miles. Three owners have reported it, so don't treat one from those years as the easy pick.

Separately, one owner of a November 2018 1.5 TSI Evo DSG had it sit idling at junctions and then do nothing when the accelerator was pressed, five times in three months, and the dealer found no fault codes. That's one car, but it's reason enough to pull away from a standstill several times when you test an automatic 1.5 TSI.

Nothing else in the range has a known fault against it, but that's a thin record rather than a clean bill. The 1.0 TSI's weak point is its lack of muscle: one owner burnt out the clutch towing a caravan up a hill, inside the car's towing limit, and the dealer refused to cover it under warranty, so think twice before towing with one.

On the 1.6 TDI and 2.0 TDI diesels the cambelt's due every 60,000 miles or 60 months. The 2.0 TSI petrol has a timing chain with no official replacement interval, so listen for a rattle on a cold start. If it's got the six-speed wet-clutch DSG, its oil and filter are due every 40,000 miles or 48 months.

What should you check when viewing a used Ateca?

Look at the brake discs through the wheels, because two owners had discs that were deeply pitted and corroded: one on an April 2017 car and one on a 4x4 that needed a full set of discs and pads at 24,000 miles. On the drive, brake gently from speed and feel for a judder through the steering wheel, which one owner of a four-month-old 1.4 TSI got.

Give the electrics a few minutes too. Two owners of new Atecas had odd glitches: the clock jumping an hour or showing the wrong year, windows dropping on their own, and on one car the indicators, lights and electronic handbrake all playing up along with the stop-start. Try every window, light and indicator, and check the clock's right.

On a 2017 to 2020 1.5 TSI Evo, insist on starting it from cold and pulling away yourself. A heavy judder or kangarooing in first, a hesitation in first or second, or a stall all point to the software fault. If the seller's already warmed it up when you arrive, it can't show you that, so come back another time.

On a Cupra Ateca or any car with the 360-degree camera, make sure the overhead view lines up with the car; one owner's slipped about 30 degrees out of line and the warranty wouldn't pay. Ask for receipts for the cambelt on a TDI, oil changes on a six-speed DSG, and Haldex oil changes on a 4x4, which are due every 30,000 miles or 36 months.

Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.

What does a used SEAT Ateca cost to run?