SEAT Ateca SUV will cost from £17,990 in the UK, undercutting the Nissan Qashqai

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The Seat Ateca SUV – SEAT’s first SUV outing – which had its public debut at the Geneva Motor Show, will cost from £17,990 in the UK.

The SEAT Ateca is a big deal for SEAT’s future as it’s seen as the car that could turn SEAT from the lame duck of the VW Group in to a proper profit making car manufacturer.

That explains why SEAT have been bullish with the pricing for the Ateca – which we expected to start at £18,500 to go head-to-head with the Nissan Qashqai – and have announced the Ateca will actually start from £17,990 in the UK.

That £17,990 will buy you an entry-level Ateca S 1.0 TSI, with the same 1.0 TSI in the Ateca SE costing £19,500, and the cheapest version of the range-topping xCellence Ateca will cost £23,905 with the 1.4 TSI.

At the other end of the Ateca scale, the most expensive S model gets the 1.6 TDI and costs £20,175, the most expensive SE model is the £SE 2.0 TDI 150 DSG at £24,275, and the pinnacle of the Ateca range is the xCellence 2.0 TDI 190 DSG at a hefty £29,990.

The entry-level 1.0 TSI delivers 113bhp, and the larger 1.4 TS 148bhp, with the diesel offerings starting with a 1.6 TDI with 113bhp and the 2.0 TDI coming with either 148bhp or 187bhp. A six-speed manual gearbox is standard, with a seven-speed DSG ‘box optional (standard on the 187bhp diesel), and 4WD is only offered on the 2.0 diesel engines.

Entry-level S models come with Air Con, 5″ media touchscreen, leather steering wheel, split-folding rear seats, 16″ alloys and LED running lights, with SE spec adding Climate, Cruise, electric folding mirrors, rear parking sensors, Link connectivity, 8″ touchscreen, Bluetooth, 17″ alloys, LED taillights and roof rails.

The range-topping xCellence spec gets SEAT’s full option list thrown at it, with a Connectivity Hub with wireless phone charging, ambient lighting, puddle lights, SEAT Drive Profile, auto lights and wipers, Keyless, Sat Nav, leather, rear view camera, 17″ alloys, chrome roof rails, full LED headlights, heated front seats and headlight washers.

SEAt are taking a leaf out of Mercedes’ book and will be a offering an Ateca ‘First Edition’, but it seems they haven’t quite worked out what they should add to the xCellence spec to create the First Edition models, so prices and specs for that won’t be revealed until May.

Officially, the new Ateca SUV goes on sale at SEAT’s UK dealers until 3 May 2016 – with a showroom arrival on 9 September – but we have no doubt SEAT dealers will take your order now if you’re desperate to get your hands on SEAT’s first SUV.