By Ian Strachan.
SEAT has a comprehensive range of SUVs in its portfolio, responding to the demand for these popular vehicles. The biggest and most impressive is the versatile and practical Tarraco.
Launched in the UK a couple of years ago, the Tarraco has the advantage of seven seats, and has picked up quite a few awards. It is certainly an attractive car, with SEAT’s distinctive looks combined with practicality, space and high specification.
The Tarraco, built at VW’s Wolfsburg factory, is an attractive and capable alternative to more established large SUVs, with sleek, eye-catching design, a front end which shows off SEAT’s trademark grille and headlights, and a comfortable and roomy interior.
And it’s well-priced, with the entry model starting at not much more than £30,000.
I test drove the Tarraco FR Sport 1.5 TSI petrol version with a seven-speed automatic box, which comes in at £36,455 on the road, and is extremely well-equipped. It is also very well-behaved, with no body roll, despite being a tall vehicle, and an exceptionally smooth ride. And it’s very quiet.
The 1.5 litre engine develops 150 bhp and delivers power smoothly throughout the range. It can give you up to 37.7 miles to the gallon, with an 0-60 mph time of not much more than nine seconds.
The interior of the Tarraco is light, pleasant and spacious. My test car had a panoramic sunroof (a £980 option) which made it feel even more bright and airy. Load carrying capacity is excellent, and can be improved still further by dropping down the rear and middle rows of seats. Seat materials and trim materials are of a very high quality, with leather front sport seats.
Equipment on the FR Sport is impressive, with 20 inch alloy wheels, top and rear view camera, heated front and rear seats, remote central locking, three-zone climate control , all-round electric windows, automatic stop/start, adaptive cruise control, eight-speaker DAB radio and MP3/Bluetooth compatibility controlled via an eight-inch touchscreen, and front fog lights with cornering function.
You also get satellite navigation with 3D map display, heated washer nozzles, electric driver’s seat, lane assist, hill-hold control, rain-sensing wipers and roof rails.
I enjoyed the latest Tarraco, which moves this ubiquitous brand further up the SUV choice lists.
