AFTER a difficult year in 2015, when UK sales stalled, Seat is fighting back - and the Ateca SUV is leading the charge.

The Spanish marque’s first full-on SUV, when it goes on sale this September, the Ateca will be available in a wide range of variants.

The choice of powerful turbocharged TSI petrol and TDI diesel engines will run from 115 PS to 190 PS, with either front-wheel or all-wheel-drive, mated to manual or dual-clutch DSG transmissions.

Based on the same platform which underpins the VW Tiguan, the Ateca is unmistakably a Seat.

Many elements, like the trapezoidal grille, the side blisters with their sharp creases and the triangular light signatures, are typical of sister models such as the Leon. Seat claims the design “exudes solidity and reliability”.

The Ateca borrows some features from the Land Rover playbook, such as the“welcome light”. As soon as you unlock the doors, LEDs in the door mirrors illuminate the area below the doors, like so-called “puddle lighting”, projecting the Ateca’s name onto the ground. You get the same thing with a Range Rover Evoque.

Another Evoque-alike touch can be found inside the smart cabin where the high centre console combines the SUV sense of solidity with the sporty feeling of a shortened gearstick.

The cockpit has a horizontal line with a clear driver focus. The controls are grouped closely together, while the read outs, such as the infotainment display measuring up to eight inches, are a brief glance away.

Once the driver is in the car, a ring of light surrounding the illuminated start button pulsates like a heartbeat. The. Seat Drive Profile system can adapt the car to the current driving situation, road conditions and personal tastes.

There are other innovative features but theTraffic Jam Assist is likely to steal the headlines.

At low speeds, the Ateca steers, accelerates and brakes automatically within the system boundaries. At higher speeds of up to 37 mph, the system provides support with speed control and lane keeping.

A new safety function is Emergency Assist: if the driver remains inactive beyond a certain period, the vehicle issues first a visual then an acoustic warning, followed finally by a brief pulse of the brakes. If there is still no reaction, the Ateca slows down to a standstill, while staying in lane. Rounding off a dazzling array of additional support technologies are cruise control with front assist, traffic sign recognition, blind spot detection, rear cross traffic alert and top view camera.

Naturally, the new Ateca is a car that’s connected to the worldwide web.

It has the latest generation of Easy Connect infotainment systems, SEAT Full Link and the exclusive a smartphone app.

The Media System Plus, with its eight-inch screen, is a highlight and the connectivity box in the centre console enables wireless smartphone charging for the first time in a Seat.

The array of diesel engines starts with the 1.6 TDI 115 PS. The 2.0 TDI is available with 150 and 190 PS.

Fuel consumption figures range from 56 to 66 mpg, and the Ateca’s CO2 figures from 112 to 131 g/km.

The entry level petrol engine is the 1.0 TSI with 115 PS and the 1.4 TSI comes with cylinder deactivation under partial load, for better fuel consumption, and produces 150 PS. The consumption and emissions figures for these engines are between 46 and 53 mpg and CO2 figures of 112 to 131 grams.

The bodyshell is very stiff but the Ateca is also among the lightest vehicles in its segment, which should make for an agile driving experience.

Potential UK buyers for Ateca can register their interest online from 11 February 2016, ahead of showroom launch in September.