[Tell]

I had heard that my next but one in locality head sales guy was in Spain to learn about the Ateca, well it seems 2,400 people from 59 countries attended the presentation so that is somewhat of a jolly. Based on this source (if I'm allowed to link, probably).

http://seatsuvforums.com/topic/436-the-seat-ateca-on-display-in-the-barcelona-harbour/

Some interesting stats down the bottom on level of interest in the Ateca is given, all they got to do now is ship them. That will be from a PR hand out.

A smaller crossover next year. Do we know about this, probably. A Juke sized thing.

 

[ernieb]

Ibiza based SUV late 2017

 

[Magpie86]

"In addition to this event intended for importers and dealers, during the entire month of June, 900 international journalists will be flying to Barcelona to gain first-hand knowledge of the new SEAT Ateca and take it for test drives all over the city."

Hopefully we will have a load more reviews and previews of the car as these journalist write up their opinions. I'm certainly looking forward to more complete reviews covering more engines especially.

 

[Tell]

They were the previous productions models they had their hands on in the spring. I wouldn't think they will change their story except that it handles better on x wheels rather than y etc. It was well received by the press, they just got to make them and get sales sorted.

When it was alluded to me by the Seat guy that we were looking at July for taking order, I don't think that's far off. Will be June for the specials. He also said we haven't sorted out the prices and probably what was meant by this was discounts - the prices list was uut. Then he added, but on a new car discounts won't be for 18 months. I sorted of discounted that at the time.

Obviously the interest they are interested in. Too much and you won't see discounts. My thesis is they have assumed that Leon owners will go for the Ateca, I think it will have the same relationship as the Mk 2 Leons did to the Altea and that didn't translate into huge sales. So buyers have got to come from outside of the brand to push up sales. I note Skoda Yeti owners around here. On the German thread posted up on delivery dates I noted the view that the Ateca being better than the Tiguan. Germans often going for a VW group car but not a branded VW, whilst British VW owners get snotty about the other umbrella brands.

Seat will want the Nissan and Mazda owners you would think but then their marketing is built on the Leon. So their is a cundrum their which might be why they were late off the mark since a fully fledged SUV isn't really a Seat as we know it. But they can fix it for the Leon fly boys by rumouring a 300BHP Ateca. Saying their is a cupra in the pipeline isn't going to help flog them to the Leon market. Might lead them to ask for a test drive if there was indeed a car they could test drive before September.

I'm working on the basis I won't be placing my order till much later and I'd probably end up with it next July (2017) taking account of delays. If they are going to take off a measly 2 - 5 percent I can wait. If they tabled again those discounts we saw earlier then I would order it sooner. I get the impression they are in no rush to take orders apart from the 200 specials. Whether their marketing is backfiring on me, possible. On the other hand since the specials got a discount with the lower spec, rather not fully specified I'm expecting those discounts that were first tabled but then withdrawn. Hence why I'm feeling disillusioned at the minute until they give proper discounts. The 15 percent discounts were attractive, not a few percent. I suspect they got to go threw the hype phase first. Do we know what sort of discounts our fellow Europeans are getting from the list price ?.

 

[Tell]

Ibiza based SUV late 2017

Their Captur / Duke type of thing... that's probably more for a Leon owners wife

 

[Magpie86]

You may be right with the ordering, July only for special. I am certainly going to ask to compare the first edition deals with a standard order one if available. All will be revealed shortly.

Discounts will completely depend on sales. I think the 15% discounts we were seeing on the broker sites were wildly optimistic, and we were perhaps a bit naive to believe it. The car could be discounted to that point early next year if sales are disappointing, but we will have to see.

Short term pcp deals always seem to have the best deals, at least up front. Dealerships are very keen to get the car back after 3 years and make a load more money selling the car again. It's also the cheapest way (in the short term) for customers to get a new car, so they are happy to play with APR, or the dealer desposit contribution, or sometimes both, to get that crucial new car sale. I have no interest in keeping the car beyond my deal so am happy to stay with the pcp route. I know SEAT have been offering £2500 off Leon's recently on pcp, my dealer told me as such, so I will be pushing for as much dealership deposit as I can on the Ateca.

Cash buyers intending to keep the car long term may not get that luxury and have to work a lot harder to get some money off. This strikes me as strange sometimes, but I guess it's where the discount is coming from. I suspect dealership deposits are not the same as a few grand of the list price for a cash buyer, one effects the bottom line for the dealership and one doesn't!

 

[Tell]

I seem to recall the saving on the special was £2,000 and the price was £22,000 or something like that. On that basis 8 percent. I reckon cash buyers should be looking at a bit more, 15 percent ought to be a target as those sites had, well one, inline with other makers. Depends how much you want it. I reckon I got a few percent off last time 12 years ago so I'm aiming a bit higher. £60,000 you get a Pace. I may say why bother except a Pace round here would be nicked on a transporter.

Promises to be an interesting few months. Whilst the car is going to be good whether it attracts buyers outside of the VW group brand will be interesting, the Leon image they hang on it won't I don't think translate into sales. On price I could use an expletive and put my money down and get annoyed with the eight month wait I reckon for a factory built car, add another four months and the discounts could be coming threw. They should just discount it now rather than irritate us with the readies since we might take them elsewhere.

 

[Magpie86]

There is an £1100 saving on the first edition, from 3 grands worth of options. It's a peculiar spec in that it's impossible to spec the first edition from an SE model, as you can't get the highest end sat nav unit or the 18" wheels, or the welcome home spotlights. You have to jump to the XE to spec them, in which case you can't spec the non chrome trim or Matt black roof bars, or indeed the cloth seats if leather wasn't your thing.

It depends whether the dealership sell the first edition as "here it is, you have already got a lovely discount on the spec, it's also the easiest way to get one quickly, like it or lump it" or whether there is more flexibility to still make the pcp deals half decent. I shall see! I will happily place a standard SE order if the pcp deal is comparatively much better. Much of the First Edition spec is a "would like" rather than a "must have" for me.

Like I say, cash buyers are not immediately treated as the best kind of customer anymore. They would rather they got the car back to make the sale again. I think SEAT would definitely like to hold off on the larger discounts anyway, see how it sells. Especially as the reviews are so universally positive, they may not need to discount to ship the volumes they want, at least initially. Throw in that rumoured long wait though and buying unseen, yeah, they should be kinder on the discounts. Will be interesting who it attracts like you say.

Do you mean an F-Pace? I would love one of those! You are right, that would dissapear for a joy ride somewhere where I live! For that money I would also like a Tesla. Be a few years before I could afford one of those though, lol. Not sure SEAT will be to concerned with cars of that ilk, it's serving the 20k customer base not the 60k plus.

 

[ernieb]

Ibiza based SUV late 2017

Their Captur / Duke type of thing... that's probably more for a Leon owners wife

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/seat/ibiza/94892/seat-confirms-juke-rivalling-suv-to-launch-within-18-months

Seat Ibiza SUV is targeting the Juke according to Autoexpress.

 

[Magpie86]

I struggle to see the point of that size suv/cross compared to the larger models like the Ateca. Very much style over substance. The cx 3 was lovely, but not sure for its size whether I would prefer a normal hatchback or a super mini.

I sat in a captur though and that was surprisingly spacious and adaptable. Juke is far to tiny though, and I think is quite a strange car. Popular though.

 

[ernieb]

I think it's style over substance also. If a manufacturer has success with a style etc. then the others rush in with there me too products, e.g. minis, super minis, golfs, MPVs. Currently the word is SUV and everything seems to have this branding if not that it's a crossover or both! They must think the buying public buy into all the hype. The reality is we buy for many other reasons. Never mind it keeps a great number of people employed rebranding and styling, look at all the cars with lumps and bumps? Rant over sorry.....

 

[Magpie86]

Think you are bang on to be honest. When they say crossover they mean "slightly higher driving position". That's the only defining characteristic that matters. It's the only reason I am on the Ateca forum and not a Leon or a Golf one. The rest is just styling and what looks nice in a supermarket car park. The juke is testament to that (although I think it is ugly as sin).

 

[ernieb]

Yep, apologies to anyone who owns and loves the car but I agree with you about the Juke more of a Joke in my mind.

 

[Magpie86]

Clearly a marmite car. A co worker wanted one but declined when she saw it in the flesh. "Thought it would be much bigger". Kind of sums the car and crossovers up! She did like the styling though.

 

[Tell]

I'm not going to be negative on the upright seating position although I understand the Duke is just a car on stilts and doesn't give you the upright position rather than squatting. That's why I wanted to sit in the Ateca just to check it wasn't a saloon on stilts. I'm trying to cokes the partner into a new car that fits their garage. Perhaps the Seat mini SUV would. The Capture would. They are attracted to the Yeti but I've told them it's going be replaced so why bother.

The Ateca special edition was probably designed to generate interest and perhaps to test what people wanted. They could go the Citroën route and have one special after the other with differential pricing. This was a model 20 years ago on packaging prices. Days of discounting perhaps not, pass on that. It is a touch of that. The Cupra is the fantasy model in the Seat range that Leon owners get off on. I can't see myself much demand for a Seat Cupra Ateca except from fantasists who probably won't be turning the fantasy into reality. Which brings one back to the marketing men in Seat UK. 200 isn't a lot of Atecas to shift this year so they must be moving into discounting to get the volumes up. £1,000 off accessories isn't a lot. About 5 percent or so off the value of the car.

 

[Tell]

I see whilst I was doing my job on the Duke you have beat me. It's an Essex girls car driven how only they know how. Apologies to owners.

 

[Magpie86]

Would be interesting to know the reasoning behind the first edition. I think it will shuffle off the configurator pretty quickly and be replaced by nothing. Possibly just a method to build hype. I'm sure the 12000 responses it got to the survey were quite illuminating though. Interesting that the top of the range top down park itself option didn't score that highly.