SEAT Arona review

The SEAT Arona’s petrol-only engine range is unchanged for the 2021 model year.

The 110hp 1.0-litre petrol engine is the one to go for if you do a mix of city and motorway journeys. It’s the Goldilicks of the range, as it’s affordable, nippy enough to keep up with fast-moving traffic and doesn’t drone too loudly when you’re cruising along. SEAT claims it’ll return 47mpg, but you can expect to see a figure closer to 42mpg in real-world conditions.

There’s also a 95hp 1.0-litre model, but it’s only worth considering if you rarely venture out of town; it feels more sluggish than the 110hp version and only comes with a five-speed gearbox instead of the more powerful model’s six-speed unit. As a result, it’s a bit noisier at speed and feels a little out of its depth, particularly if you’re carrying passengers.

There’s also a more powerful 1.5-litre 150hp model if you fancy something with some extra punch. It’s pretty sprightly for a small SUV and returns similar fuel economy to the 110hp cars, but it’s quite a bit more expensive to buy and only comes in FR and FR Sport models.

A seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox is available on certain versions. It’s smooth enough around town, offers quick shifts out of it and is ideal if you regularly spend time in the cut-and-thrust of towns and cities.

Unlike a few small SUVs, you can’t get the SEAT Arona with four-wheel drive. Don’t let this put you off, however – it makes no difference to how the SEAT feels to drive and its raised ride height means you can confidently tackle rutted tracks without scraping the underside of the car. Just don’t expect it to follow a Land Rover down an off-road course.

You sit higher in the SEAT Arona than in similar-sized family hatchbacks so you get a better view out over traffic ahead. As a result, it’s pretty easy to thread through tight city streets and the SEAT’s light controls mean your arms won’t get tired of twirling the wheel when you have to squeeze into a tight parking space.

While we’re on the subject, you get rear parking sensors in all but entry-level SE models and cruise control comes fitted as standard across the range. This helps make long journeys a bit more relaxing, but you still have to contend with quite a bit of wind noise coming from the SEAT Arona’s door mirrors at 70mph.

Besides this, however, the Arona’s pretty relaxing to drive. The more powerful petrol and diesel engines aren’t particularly noisy when you’re cruising along and the suspension does a reasonable job of ironing out bumps at speed – so long as you avoid the stiffer setup fitted to sporty FR models.

Around town, however, even less sporty versions of the SEAT Arona aren’t quite as comfortable as the likes of the Skoda Kamiq, VW T-Cross and Citroen C3 Aircross. It’s clear that keeping the body level in the bends was more of a priority than a soft ride.

At least you can rest easy knowing that all models come with plenty of high-tech safety kit designed to prevent avoidable accidents. Automatic emergency braking – that’ll apply the brakes if it senses an obstacle ahead – comes as standard across the range alongside driver tiredness detection that’ll warn you if it thinks you’ve fallen asleep.

The SEAT Arona is also more fun to drive than your average small SUV. Sure, it’s no hot-hatch, but 150hp models will put a decent-sized smile on your face on a twisty backroad. It certainly feels more agile than the likes of the Nissan Juke and Toyota C-HR, but can’t quite match the entertaining Ford Puma for smiles-per-mile.