The
Ateca is only marginally larger than the Leon hatch (and shorter than the Leon ST). Fuel economy isn't as good, but there's not a great deal in overall cost in it unless you're regularly covering large distances. The raised seating height makes it much easier for those of more limited mobility to get in and out (such as aging parents
). For me it made a lot of sense.
The points made in the article seem to suggest that people would randomly decide to buy a huge great SUV instead of a supermini which is a bit of a fallacy. Some of the points are also debatable.
1) You can get 'normal' cars that are 4 wheel drive and aren't economical. For that matter there can be a great deal of variance between manufacturers - one company's SUV may be nearly as economical as another one's hatchback. Did anyone see the economy figures for the 'new' MG cars when the relaunched! Not fast and not economical...
2) Valid point, but that doesn't automatically mean they are a danger to society. The handling on my
Ateca really isn't all that bad, although I haven't done a moose test yet!
3) Some SUVs... But also some cars. My brother used to have an S-Max which couldn't cope with width restrictions....
4) Rehash of point 1...
5) Just because JLR has crummy reliability doesn't mean that all SUVs are unreliable!