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Seat Arona variants
Total price
Monthly payment

Finance representative example (PCP)

Total cash price £14,349. Borrowing £12,914 with a £1,435 deposit at a representative APR of 11.9%.

48 monthly payments
£217.65
Fixed interest rate
11.9%
Total amount payable
£19,067.12
Cost of credit
£4,718.12
Optional final payment
£7,185.00
Purchase fee
£10.00
Annual mileage limit
6000 miles

It boasts a higher ride height than the Ibiza, and offers a little more space inside. But like the best small SUVs, it still offers supermini running costs. Add in sharp looks, the option of a contrast-colour roof and a quality interior full of Volkswagen parts, and the Arona is a convincing alternative to the Nissan Juke and Ford Puma.

SEAT Arona buying guide

What SEAT Arona trim levels are there?

Arona life starts with the SE trim. This model is pretty well-equipped, with cruise control, alloy wheels, air conditioning, auto headlights and a touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – the car might not come with sat nav but you can use your phone’s apps instead. In terms of safety kit, every Arona comes with automatic emergency braking, hill-start assist and the requisite Isofix child-seat points, among other things.

SE Technology adds a bigger touchscreen with sat nav, plus rear parking sensors, a CD player and wireless phone charging. SE Technology Lux, meanwhile, also gets a Beats Audio subwoofer, a space-saver spare wheel, heated front seats, keyless entry and adaptive cruise control. Somewhat unusually, the SE Tech Lux trim was only offered with a diesel engine, and for a limited time.

FR trim is SEAT’s sporty offering, like Ford’s ST-Line or Kia’s GT-Line trims. The SEAT Arona FR includes bright LED headlights, tinted windows, two-zone climate control, sports seats and rain-sensing wipers. FR Sport piles on the kit with bigger alloy wheels, a digital instrument cluster, ‘Microsuede’ upholstery and heated front seats.

Xcellence trim trades sportiness for a slightly more premium feel. You get most of the equipment fitted to FR trim, plus an alarm, blind-spot monitoring and a storage pack to make the Arona more versatile. Top-spec Xcellence Lux gets everything mentioned above for the FR Sport, plus a rear-view camera and automated parking assistance.

SEAT Arona interior and technology

Inside the Arona, you get a smart interior that shares a lot with the Ibiza it’s based on. It perhaps doesn’t have the instant wow factor that you get in the Peugeot 2008, but it’ll feel instantly familiar if you’ve driven any recent VW, SEAT or Skoda. With intuitive controls and well-placed buttons, everything is easy to control – from turning on the headlights to operating the cruise control and changing the view on the digital screen between the dials.

The touchscreen is one of the main things you’ll use while driving, so it’s reassuring that it works well. There are shortcut ‘buttons’ each side of the screen for easy menu navigation, and the air con controls are kept completely separate. You get a couple of USB ports for phone charging or connectivity, too.

Some of the materials used are a bit hard and scratchy, but that’s to be expected in a car like this. These hard plastics should stand up well to daily life. On the whole, the bits you’ll touch feel well put together – none of the buttons or dials feel flimsy, for example. Some trims get a brightly coloured dashboard trim piece that helps the interior feel light and airy, while FR versions get sporty red stitching.

In 2021 a SEAT Arona facelift was launched. On these newer cars, the touchscreen has moved and now sits on top of the dashboard. Here, it’s easier to see and you won’t have to take your eyes off the wheel for very long. It’s a bigger screen and runs SEAT’s latest infotainment system, too.

SEAT Arona engine range explained

SEAT Arona 1.0 TSI petrol

SEAT’s three-cylinder 1.0-litre petrol engine is the perfect match for the Arona. It’s peppy, sounds great, keeps the car light and manages around 48mpg. You get a choice of two versions: 95hp and 110 or 115hp (depending on the age of the car), and both are turbocharged for easy A-road progress. The 95hp engine comes with a five-speed manual gearbox, while the more powerful option comes with a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic gearboxes.

SEAT Arona 1.6 TDI diesel

If you value fuel economy or do lots of long journeys, the Arona has been offered with a frugal 1.6-litre diesel engine. Over 60mpg is achievable, and insurance costs are nearly as cheap as the small petrol as well. You’ll find 95hp and 115hp versions, with the latter providing quicker acceleration without increasing fuel consumption.

SEAT Arona FAQs

The SEAT Arona was launched in 2017 and sits below the SEAT Ateca and Tarraco SUVs. it’s a five-door small SUV with chunky looks and sporty hints, and comes with a range of well-equipped trim levels. There’s a choice of petrol or diesel engines, too.

At just over 4.1m long, the SEAT Arona is about 10cm longer than an Ibiza. It’s still not a massive car, so you shouldn’t have any problem slotting it into a car parking space – especially as all but the entry-level model come with rear parking sensors. The Arona is also approximately 10cm higher than an Ibiza, so you get a higher driving position with a longer view of the road ahead. Its raised height makes it easier to get kids in and out, and will be easier for you if you have limited mobility.

Inside, there’s a noticeable increase in headroom compared to an Ibiza. Legroom is generally fine – this was never going to be a luxury limousine – but tall adults might find it a bit cramped on long journeys. Some rivals offer sliding rear seats to prioritise legroom or boot space. Speaking of boot space, the Arona gets a neat 400-litre boot, compared to 355 litres in the Ibiza. The Arona even has a marginally bigger boot than the SEAT Leon and VW Golf.

The Arona comes with a pretty conventional engine range – there’s no electrification to be found, but the available petrol and diesel engines are all economical. Unlike in the Ibiza, the Arona doesn’t have an underpowered entry-level engine, either, so all feel sprightly when you head out of town.

The SEAT Arona has a pretty average reliability score – it’s not going to be a reason to buy one over its rivals, but it shouldn’t put you off either. The majority of cars will prove to be trouble-free. Some owners have reported issues with the infotainment software, but we understand it can usually be fixed with a software update from a dealer.

The SEAT Arona manages to be both comfortable and fun to drive, which isn’t common in the small SUV class. It’s economical, with small turbocharged petrol engines that can crest 50mpg. Rear-seat space is better than what’s on offer in the Ford Puma, and the boot is bigger than the Ibiza it’s based on. If you can overlook some cheap-feeling interior trim, the Arona is a good car.

It might feature the rugged looks of an off-roader, but no Arona has four-wheel drive. The vast majority of UK buyers won’t ever need four-wheel drive in a car like this, so it’s never been offered through the Arona’s lifespan. That’s true of many small SUVs – in fact, alternatives that are 4x4s are quite rare.