SEAT ARONA: SPANISH FLAIR IN SMALL PACKAGE

After a long time the Spanish car maker Seat, a branch of mighty VW,  recorded positive sales results. One of the keys to recent sales success is Seat's entry into the increasingly popular SUV segment. Exiting from the recession and following the trend from America, the sale of SUV models of all sizes and shapes in Europe has exploded.  In 2016, the total sales of SUVs amounted to almost astronomical 3 800 000 units . Today in Europe every fourth car sold belongs to the SUV segment. This rise has also threatened the sales of the cars from "traditional" car segments such as the Volkswagen Golf.

With the launch of the Ateca Seat  presented its first SUV and stepped into fierce battle for buyers across Europe. Recently, Seat has introduced the Arona, a small SUV based on the (new) sixth generation of Seat Ibiza.  Constructed on the same platform, and 7.9 cm longer and 9.9 cm taller, the Arona is entirely inspired by the design of the latest Ibiza.  Arona's sporty design is dominated by a sharp and dynamic but harmonius lines that first appeared on the retired fifth-generation Ibiza 2008-2017.

The Seat Arona is a stylish car with all the required technology and info gadgets. From the first reviews and tests we can find that everything on the Arona is well-screwed toghether at Seat's factory in Barcelona. The Arona is 413.8 cm long with a 400 l trunk. The motorization consists of five gasoline and diesel engines. Emphasis will be on the new Volkswagen's three-cylinder petrol engine ,due to environmental scandals with VW diesel engines..

Undoubtedly, with Arona Seat has a serious runner-up in the small SUV category. As the European cities are overcrowded with heavy traffic buying a small SUV vehicle like the Arona seems like a sensible choice. With the Arona Seat counts on younger buyers who will mostly drive from point A to B.  During the weekend, the Arona will provide its buyers transportation to the beach, the countryside or for hiking in the mountains. Very unlikely is that farmers and firefighters will be buying this stylish small SUV.

 The main rivals on the European market will be the recently introduced Hyundai Kona, the Kia Stonic and the Citroen Aircross. We should not forget or understimate already established players such as: the Renault Captur, the Nissan Juke and the Mazda CX3.