Seat, Volkswagen Group’s Spanish arm, is a relative newcomer to the SUV genre: it launched the Ateca in 2016.
But SUVs have quickly come to form the core of its lineup. Ateca was joined by the compact Arona in 2018 and the seven-seat Tarraco last year.
The first model from Seat’s standalone performance brand Cupra last year was also an SUV: a pumped-up version of the Ateca. And there are more to come.
A lot has happened in a short time, but in fact Seat has been working on this SUV thing for nearly 30 years.
The company recently gathered its entire catalogue of SUV concepts together for a photo opportunity, and asked Xavier Villanueva, current exterior designer for Seat, for his take on each.
Marbella Playa (1991)
So very 1980s… even though the Playa was launched at the 1991 Frankfurt Motor Show.
Based on Seat’s then-compact hatch, the Marbella (that’s the 1980s bit), Playa was a tiny ute with a raised ride height and different grille.
Obviously a master of understatement, Villanueva says it stood out at the time with “bright, youthful colours as well as round foglights at the front”.
Salsa Emocion (2000)
The Salsa Emocion celebrated the 25th anniversary of Seat’s Technical Centre by taking the brand well off the beaten path and into some more authentic off-roading.
It had a mighty 310mm of ground clearance and a powertrain that featured three different drive modes: Street, Sport and Off Road.
“It features lateral tension lines for the first time that will later evolve on the IBX [more on that in a minute] to look more like those on the Seat Arona,” says Villanueva.
Tribu (2007)
The Tribu, unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, represented Seat’s first attempt at a standalone SUV – not one drawing on an existing production model.
“We can now see squarer wheel arches, and the nestled triangular graphics of the rear lights defined a style that inspired the Seat Tarraco,” says Villanueva.
At the ’07 Geneva Show, Seat also played around with crossover themes: the Altea Freetrack took the company’s midi-people mover to new heights – literally.
IBX (2011)
The IBX furthered the SUV styling themes, but also looked forward to petrol-electric hybrid power – something Seat is now exploring with its production models, including a plug-in Tarraco.
“The high front end, compact passenger compartment, taut surfaces and assertive-looking headlamps are a few of its traits that can now be seen on the Ateca and Arona,” says Villanueva.
20v20 (2015)
The 20v20 clearly points to the size and style of Seat’s first production SUV, the Ateca (which was launched the year after). And that orange looks pretty familiar.
The 20v210 still had some futuristic touches though, including Personal Drive – a touch device in the shape of a coin that worked as a mobile navigation system and remote control for the air conditioning.
The same year Seat also raised its Leon hatchback up with the Cross Sport concept.
