SEAT Arona Review & Prices

Bigger than an Ibiza but smaller than an Ateca, the SEAT Arona is the Spanish brand’s baby SUV, yet its funky design gives it more road presence than anything else in SEAT’s range. It’s far from an off-roader though, and it’s less nimble than an Ibiza. Think of the Arona as a good boy golden retriever with a studded collar; a hint of aggression but without the bark or the bite.

The Arona has more butch styling than the Skoda Kamiq and Volkswagen T-Cross, with which it shares much of its mechanical makeup, but it’s not quite as out-there as the Nissan Juke and Peugeot 2008. It’s a handsome little car, though the two-tone colour combos are a dangerous choice; some look very smart whereas others are somewhat questionable.

Fog lights mounted high-up in the bumper, just below the sharp LED headlights, give the Arona a distinctive look compared to its alternatives. Plastic body cladding and roof rails really add to the Arona’s SUV aesthetic, as does the lower ‘diffuser’ section in the rear bumpers.

Inside is a similar story to the Arona’s exterior, with some funky details which stand out in an otherwise fuss-free and pleasant interior. A silver accent strip spans the width of the dashboard, below the central infotainment screen and digital driver’s display.

An 8.3-inch infotainment screen is standard on base models, but the optional 9.2-inch screen, which comes standard on higher specs, is more responsive. There’s an annoying synthesised sound when you touch the display though, and it’s a bit of a pain to turn off, especially as you have to endure the noise as you frantically try to find the touch settings.

The front seats are comfortable, with plenty of adjustability for the driver’s seat, but it’s the rear passengers that suffer in the Arona. Rear legroom is tight, and there’s not much room for three passengers across the bench. The boot capacity isn’t great either at 400 litres, far behind the Volkswagen T-Cross and Ford Puma, but at least it’s a usable shape.

On the plus side, the SEAT Arona is a pleasant car to drive. The steering is light enough for comfortable use around town, but it’s not overly light as it is in so many small SUVs. The Arona is a little firm over broken roads; shaking about over potholes and speedbumps. The optional seven-speed DSG automatic is the better choice of gearbox around town, as it’s very fast and smooth when changing gears.

Country lanes and motorways are fun too, with the steering providing a good feel for how much grip the Arona has left around a bend and the suspension absorbing motorway dips with ease.

The 1.5-litre engine is definitely the one to go for if you regularly drive out of the city, with a bit more oomph to get up to cruising speed, but both 1.0-litre engines have plenty of pep for pottering about town. All of the engines sound a little gruff when kicking in at the lights though, and they can be a touch noisy when accelerating hard.

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The SEAT Arona offers great value in base trim, thanks to a decent amount of standard kit and a price that undercuts alternatives like the Peugeot 2008, Volkswagen T-Cross and Renault Captur. The Citroen C3 Aircross is slightly cheaper, but the SEAT Arona counters with a broader range of trims and engine options.

The SEAT Arona is good to drive around town and on the motorway. The downsides are a rather firm ride and some wind noise at speed

In town

An elevated driving position, responsive controls and small dimensions mark the Arona out as a great city car. You get a lane keeping system as standard, but base models don’t get rear parking sensors and only the top Xperience Lux trim is offered with front parking sensors and a rearview camera.

The ride is quite firm, occasionally crashing over bumps and potholes. The brakes are also rather sharp for a small SUV, which is a good thing but it can take some time getting used to at low speed. A VW T-Cross or Citroen C3 Aircross have a far more supple suspension setup.

On the motorway

The Arona is far more comfortable on the motorway, the smoother road surface doesn’t unsettle the car and all models come standard with cruise control, with the Xperience and Xperience Lux trims upgraded to adaptive cruise control.

Aside from a bit of road noise, the Arona is one of the more refined small SUVs on sale. The seats are comfortable enough for long trips too, although the tight rear seats will have tall adults complaining before long.

On a twisty road

That firm suspension setup makes the SEAT Arona a bit of fun to drive on a winding stretch of road. The more powerful engines respond well out of corners, and the car doesn’t lean much even at higher speeds. It’s not quite as engaging as a sporty hatchback but will more readily put a smile on your face than a Renault Captur or the softly-sprung Citroen C3 Aircross.

The Arona is spacious enough in front, but the back row is less accommodating, and the boot is only average in size

Both of the front seats are height adjustable, with plenty of fore and aft movement. Headroom is good as well, so getting comfortable won’t be a problem. The FR Sport and Xperience Lux trims get heated comfort seats and microsuede upholstery, other trims have durable cloth seat coverings.

All models come with large door bins and a big glovebox. The centre console houses a pair of cupholders and a storage tray for your phone – with wireless charging on all but the SE trim. The top Xperience trims also get a storage net in the centre console, a drawer under the driver’s seat and a document holder under the front passenger seat.

Space in the back seats

The back seats are fine for kids and teens but don’t have enough legroom for taller adults. The middle seat is narrow and a hump in the floor forces you to splay your legs in an uncomfortable manner.

Storage pockets in the front seatbacks are only offered on the top three trims, although the door bins are of a decent size. Alternatives like the Renault Captur and Volkswagen T-Cross are far more spacious in the rear, but the Arona is fine if you don’t need to squeeze adults in there very often. A pair of ISOFIX anchor points are provided in the outer two seats.

Boot space

The SEAT Arona has 400 litres of boot space, which is the same as the mechanically similar Skoda Kamiq but less than most other small SUVs. The Renault Captur, Citroen C3 Aircross and VW T-Cross all offer adjustable rear benches as well. The Renault for example offers a class-leading 422 to 536 litres of space.

Loading large and heavy items is a cinch though, thanks to an adjustable boot floor and a very small boot lip. Fold the rear seats flat and you get a very decent 1,280 litres of space. That actually betters the Renault Captur.

Tether points, hooks and an elastic strap help keep your shopping from falling all over the place, and there’s a small storage spot on the left side of the boot.

The Arona’s interior is far more characterful than most alternatives, although some trim and materials feel below par

The SEAT Arona’s cabin looks stylish and modern, with a touchscreen dominating the centre of the dashboard, and a splash of silver aluminium trim running across its length. All trims come with a crisp 8.0-inch digital driver display and the base SE trim gets an 8.25-inch touchscreen infotainment display. Bluetooth, DAB radio and both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are all standard. A set of USB ports are handily situated next to the phone storage tray.

SE Technology models and above get sat nav and a larger 9.2-inch infotainment display, as well as wireless phone charging and wireless phone mirroring. This display also gets updated software which makes it better to use than the base unit. A row of buttons on either side of the screen also allow you to quickly access commonly used functions.

Interior quality is a mixed bag, with most common touchpoints feeling decent, although hard and scratchy plastics are never far from reach. The air vent surrounds are a funky translucent plastic, but only the outer two light up at night which leaves the centre trim looking a little cheap. The standard cloth seats feel comfortable although FR Sport and Xperience Lux trims get smarter microsuede upholstery.

There are three petrol engines available for the SEAT Arona. The entry-level 95hp 1.0 TSI model is nippy around town and comes with a five-speed manual gearbox. It has an 11.5-second 0-62mph time and 51.4mpg fuel economy. Those are good figures that are almost identical to the base offerings in the Peugeot 2008 and VW T-Cross, and better the Renault Captur.

The mid-spec 110hp 1.0 TSI engine is arguably the pick of the bunch though. It can be had with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and delivers an impressive 53.3mpg in manual guise.

If you need to get to the shops in a real hurry then the 150hp 1.5 TSI DSG model is the one to pick. It feels decently quick thanks to an 8.4-second 0-62mph time and has plenty of overtaking power. It’s about as quick as you want to go in a small SUV. The 45.6mpg figure is pretty impressive, too.

The VW T-Cross and Skoda Kamiq offer the same range of engines and unsurprisingly performance and economy figures are all but the same.

The SEAT Arona received a five-star safety rating in 2022 in Euro NCAP testing. While the 65% score for vulnerable road users is not great, it scores just fine in other categories which is impressive for what's quite an old design now.

As standard you get cruise control, lane keep assist, hill hold assist and rear parking sensors. Optional equipment includes adaptive cruise control, high beam assist, road sign recognition and traffic jam assist. It’s worth noting that SE and SE Technology trims do not get access to these additional features, even as optional extras.

The SEAT Arona shares most of its major components with other Volkswagen Group products, this bodes well for its long-term reliability. That said, it tends to score in the middle of the small SUV pack in owner surveys, although its handling and low running costs are regularly praised.

The Arona has been recalled four times so far. Two were for seat belt buckles and the others for airbag inflation issues and potential problems with the handbrake.

The basic SEAT Arona warranty is a rather basic three years/60,000 miles. Extended warranties are available, with a four-year/75,000-mile option and a five-year/90,000-mile warranty version.