Seat New Ateca X-Perience


Seat was launch its first crossover this year. But the new Ateca didn't look rugged enough, so the Spanish automaker is rolling out the new Ateca X-Perience.


Set to be revealed at the Paris Motor Show next week, the ruggedized Ateca adopts a similar treatment to the Leon X-Perience. It's set apart from sleeker versions of the crossover with new bumpers, a sump guard, fog-light shields, black wheel-arch moldings, beefed-up side skirts, scratch-resistant paint, increased ground clearance, and 18-inch wheels with tires better suited towards leaving dry pavement.

It also features chrome roof rails, new spoilers, and mud flaps, and is pictured here in a suitably militaristic shade of matte olive green with orange highlights. The off-road theme continues inside with earthy tones of brown and green, with orange stitching and special sports seats trimmed in suede. And also the name X-Perience (or the letters XP) are emblazoned both inside and out.


Fortunately the Ateca X-Perience isn't all sizzle with no steak. It packs a 2.0-liter turbodiesel engine driving 190 horsepower to all four wheels though a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and Haldex all-wheel drive system. Seat hasn't indicated pricing or availability for the ruggedized crossover, but promises a product onslaught next year that will see three new models introduced by the end of 2017.