The third Seat SUV comes with two diesel and two petrol engines with up to 190 hp. Four-wheel drive or front-wheel drive, manual transmission or DSG, five or seven seats – Seat customers have the choice from December 2018. The price list starts at just under 30,000 euros.
The big Seat SUV could have been called Avila, or maybe Aranda. These names fit into the SUV nomenclature of the brand: A front, A rear. This is how the Ateca did it, little Arona moved with it. But the fans wanted variety. They voted and chose the name Tarraco. Avila and Aranda finished in second and third place.
What they did not consider when voting: Tarraco fits into another nomenclature. For with the sister brand VW catch the SUVs with a T. T like T-Roc, T like Touareg. In this case very special: T like Tiguan Allspace. That represents the blueprint for the Tarraco. And he delivers many parts. So the name fits.
SEAT TARRACO: VW TIGUAN ALLSPACE AS A ROLE MODEL
Tarraco and Tiguan Allspace are identical in wheelbase and width, in length and height close together. Some sheet metal parts and many elements behind the plate are used in both cars. This lowers development costs and helps Spaniards compete in a new segment. Similarly, the Seat Ateca was already created. At that time cooperated with Skoda.
Visually designed Seat the big SUV as independent as possible. Front and rear are new, the hood gets its own beads. The fenders adapt to the seat lamps. Biggest structural change: At the C-pillar Seat rebuilds the windows. This requires intervention in the body shell of the Tiguan Allspace. The typical broken seat lines in the flank but do not arrive in the Tarraco.
There is more new in the interior. Above the center console, Seat designed itself and moved the monitor for infotainment far up. This is better in the driver’s view. Behind the steering wheel, Seat installs a digital cockpit with its own designs. Shift gate, climate control, glove box and door panels are again from the kit.
FOUR ENGINES IN THE SEAT TARRACO
Under the hood of the Tarraco are supercharged four-cylinder direct injection. For the start, Seat wants to offer four engines in two performance classes: each a gasoline engine and a diesel make 150 or 190 hp. The base drives with front-wheel drive and manual transmission. Four-wheel drive and double clutch transmission are optional. In the strong variants they are standard on board. Here are the drives with the preliminary data at a glance:
| Seat Tarraco | 1.5 TSI | 2.0 TSI | 2.0 TDI | 2.0 TDI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| power | 150 hp (110 kW) | 190 hp (140 kW) | 150 hp (110 kW) | 190 hp (140 kW) |
| torque | 250 Nm | 320 Nm | 340 Nm | 400 Nm |
| top speed | 201 km / h | 211 km / h | 200 km / h | 213 km / h |
| 0 – 100 km / h | 9.7 s | 8.0 s | 9.8 s | 8.0 s |
| mass | 1,587 kg | 1,773 kg | 1,687 kg | 1,816 kg |
The all-wheel drive works on the Haldex principle. Normally, the motors only drive the front axle. If the electronics detect slippage on the wheels, a multi-disc clutch on the rear axle closes, forcing power backwards. Purely mechanically, a maximum of 50 percent of the torque arrives at the rear axle. Seat additionally modifies the power distribution via brake intervention on the front wheels.
ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS AND MARKET LAUNCH
Seat installs important wizards as standard in the Tarraco. It helps in all variants while holding the track and brakes automatically when a collision threatens. A camera recognizes cyclists and pedestrians. Blind Spot Assist, traffic sign recognition, cruise control, automatic high beam switching, an emergency assistant and rollover detection are optional.
In addition, an adaptive suspension is available in the Tarraco, which varies the damper tuning. In the high equipment variants “Xcellence” and “Style” only LED lamps are used. As standard, Seat builds five seats, at an additional cost two more in a third row of seats.
The Tarraco can be ordered at the end of the year. The pre-sale starts in December 2018 and will be available in early 2019. For the base price Seat says nothing. To order: A equal Tiguan Allspace starts currently at 29,975 euros. The Tarraco should be cheaper. We were already on the road with a prototype