First Impressions

rafletcher

Active Member
Feb 18, 2021
531
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Well I picked up my Cupra Ateca Limited Edition today. As other have noted, the interior is, well, a bit bland and black, even coming from an Audi. And a bit old fashioned. But It works well enough. Don’t know the whole spec yet - I had a space saver saver added, and this necessitated a high level boot kit too “as it’s got sound fitted”. Presumably Seat Sound, though haven't looked to see if there’s a sub in the boot! Sounds ok tho. Having had an S3 I’m familiar with the drive train. I was concerned (one of my reasons for changing was increased comfort) that riding on 20” rims and 35 profile tyres might still be too harsh. I needn’t have worried, in “comfort” mode it was just that. And later, when negotiating Milton Keynes (I drove from Tring to York to collect it) I switched to “Sport”. Oh my! A very definite difference, unlike in the S3 that never seemed to vary between settings despite the mag ride. Oh, and what would one do without variable ambient lighting 🙄. Still got to work out how to dim the digital cockpit (hoping that I can!). And delete the dealers staff phones off the Bluetooth. All in all, though, pretty good.
 

jcbmally

Started with nowt and still have most of it left.
Staff member
Moderator
Dec 26, 2013
1,271
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Cybertron
Congratulations on the car, although not an “Audi” you get a lot more for your money. Even though under two skin are supposed to be the same somehow Cupra have done it better. Yes the interior is a bit dark but you can make small changes.

This will make a difference.

 

BigJase88

Jase
Apr 20, 2008
3,767
1,069
They are good looking cars the new facelift.

only issue as you have mentioned is the dated interior.

it is the interior transplanted from the mk3 seat leon which came out in 2013 so it is an 8 year old design.
 

rafletcher

Active Member
Feb 18, 2021
531
214
Ah, mines pre-facelift, but with the facelift no button infotainment. I’m sure the vinyl guys will have a suitable pack for it. One thing I could have done with today (25 miles of 60mph roadworks on the M1) is ACC. Luckily my wife’s a Yorkshire lass, so a post-lockdown short stay in Bridlington may be used to drop the car off at East Yorks Retrofits for that to be remedied.
 

Mike the_cupra

Active Member
May 29, 2020
158
81
Ah, mines pre-facelift, but with the facelift no button infotainment. I’m sure the vinyl guys will have a suitable pack for it. One thing I could have done with today (25 miles of 60mph roadworks on the M1) is ACC. Luckily my wife’s a Yorkshire lass, so a post-lockdown short stay in Bridlington may be used to drop the car off at East Yorks Retrofits for that to be remedied.
I'm amazed you don't have ACC. It's one of the main reasons I went to a Cupra (From a Golf R). Makes those long motorway 50/60's so much easier
 

rafletcher

Active Member
Feb 18, 2021
531
214
Well, it wasn't through choice :) I didn't buy new, so I got what I got. It certainly would have meant that close to 100% of my motorway journey back home would have been on ACC, such was the lack of traffic and the law abiding nature of what there was.
 
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rafletcher

Active Member
Feb 18, 2021
531
214
Having had the car for a few weeks now, I can say I'm generally very happy with it. A comfortable and capable cruiser with that additional punch when you need / feel like it, and with a suprisingly compliant ride in "comfort" despite riding on 20" 35 profile tyres. Not too bad in Sport either on a decent road surface.

Three things have presented themselves as irritations though: the CC controls, the A/C controls, amd the drive mode settings.

With the CC, I find the VW/SEAT implementation using switches crammed on to the end of the lights stalk a real pain, and far, far more difficult (not least because I rarely use them and they're hidden by the wheel rim) to use that the Audi implementation which uses a third stalk, up/down for +/-, push/pull for cancel/resume. That I never had to think about. This is one reason why I'll be getting ACC retrofitted at some point si I can leave it switched on on the occasions I want to use it. Cue a few days away in my wifes home county of Yorkshire to combine business with pleasure.

With the A/C / seat heating controls, I find myself hunting for the right button to press, partly due to their position low down on the console compared to the driver, partly because of the lack of daytime illumination on the switches, and partly the fact that they're not particlularly well differentiated, presenting an almost flush surface. Again, for whatever reason, I found the Audi controls (I had A6, A4 and S3 before this car) fell much more readily to hand. Nothing I can do about that though.

And finally the drive mode settings, these are just that bit less tuneable than in the S3, which had settings for steering, throttle, engine, gearbox and suspension. And you could select "dynamic" for each of those (quicker, heavier steering, faster throttle response, quicker but less smooth shifts etc.), but the gearbox always stayed in D, rather than changing to S, which always had to be done manually. As a result I had enough variation that I used "individual" all the time, whereas I just leave it in "comfort" for the Cupra, and do without the sharper steering I'd prefer as I don't want the engine/gearbox to be in "sport" all the time. Although from a little reading, it seems if I set it to "sport" but manually switch the gearbox to D that may be a compromise. Oh, and yes, the Audi retained the settings all the time, instead of defaulting to "comfort" (but leaving the light on the centre console knob where you left it) like the Cupra does.

ETA: It seems that it's only the engine/gearbox that defaults back to "comfort", other settings stay the same (ie, individual/sport/cupra), so maybe I'll experimat a bit more.
 
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Mike the_cupra

Active Member
May 29, 2020
158
81
Having had the car for a few weeks now, I can say I'm generally very happy with it. A comfortable and capable cruiser with that additional punch when you need / feel like it, and with a suprisingly compliant ride in "comfort" despite riding on 20" 35 profile tyres. Not too bad in Sport either on a decent road surface.

Three things have presented themselves as irritations though: the CC controls, the A/C controls, amd the drive mode settings.

With the CC, I find the VW/SEAT implementation using switches crammed on to the end of the lights stalk a real pain, and far, far more difficult (not least because I rarely use them and they're hidden by the wheel rim) to use that the Audi implementation which uses a third stalk, up/down for +/-, push/pull for cancel/resume. That I never had to think about. This is one reason why I'll be getting ACC retrofitted at some point si I can leave it switched on on the occasions I want to use it. Cue a few days away in my wifes home county of Yorkshire to combine business with pleasure.

With the A/C / seat heating controls, I find myself hunting for the right button to press, partly due to their position low down on the console compared to the driver, partly because of the lack of daytime illumination on the switches, and partly the fact that they're not particlularly well differentiated, presenting an almost flush surface. Again, for whatever reason, I found the Audi controls (I had A6, A4 and S3 before this car) fell much more readily to hand. Nothing I can do about that though.

And finally the drive mode settings, these are just that bit less tuneable than in the S3, which had settings for steering, throttle, engine, gearbox and suspension. And you could select "dynamic" for each of those (quicker, heavier steering, faster throttle response, quicker but less smooth shifts etc.), but the gearbox always stayed in D, rather than changing to S, which always had to be done manually. As a result I had enough variation that I used "individual" all the time, whereas I just leave it in "comfort" for the Cupra, and do without the sharper steering I'd prefer as I don't want the engine/gearbox to be in "sport" all the time. Although from a little reading, it seems if I set it to "sport" but manually switch the gearbox to D that may be a compromise. Oh, and yes, the Audi retained the settings all the time, instead of defaulting to "comfort" (but leaving the light on the centre console knob where you left it) like the Cupra does.

ETA: It seems that it's only the engine/gearbox that defaults back to "comfort", other settings stay the same (ie, individual/sport/cupra), so maybe I'll experimat a bit more.
My Golf R had the ACC controls on the steering wheel, which was ok but it wasn't quite right. The PFL Ateca has them on a separate stalk (much like the Audi) which is much better and I much prefer it. I was surprised that the Formentor and FL Ateca changed this again. Perhaps they don't know what's best?

A year in and I still haven't played with the individual settings. Maybe I should. Let me know how you get on and what settings you like.
 
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rafletcher

Active Member
Feb 18, 2021
531
214
I have to disagree there - at least in the case of my PFL Cupra Ateca "Limited Edition" (meaning bucket seats, electric drivers seat, Brembo discs and 20" copper alloys) - no separate stalk, just the buttons on the light stalk. That was registered Sept 2020.

I'll update with the individual settings when I get my head around them!
 
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Mike the_cupra

Active Member
May 29, 2020
158
81
I have to disagree there - at least in the case of my PFL Cupra Ateca "Limited Edition" (meaning bucket seats, electric drivers seat, Brembo discs and 20" copper alloys) - no separate stalk, just the buttons on the light stalk. That was registered Sept 2020.

I'll update with the individual settings when I get my head around them!
Now that's odd. Mine's registered March 2020 but I think build was late 2019, or maybe early 2020. But they're definitely on two different stalks. How strange
 

rafletcher

Active Member
Feb 18, 2021
531
214
I'm going to get the ACC added at some point - I'll have to check with the retrofitter if that can be on a separate stalk. ETA - is your just straight CC or is it ACC? I think the latter is on a separate stalk, the former not necessarily.
 
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Mike the_cupra

Active Member
May 29, 2020
158
81
Just checked with East Yorkshire retrofits - they remove the existing stalks and replace them with an indicator stalk with ADAS button, and a separate ACC stalk. (y)
Mine has a button on the end of the indicator stalk which is for the assist systems. Not that I ever use it, because lane assist is turned off and stays off. Separate stalk for ACC. I'm still amazed the "limited edition" doesn't have the (relatively basic) ACC and electric tailgate. Does it have beats audio?
 

rafletcher

Active Member
Feb 18, 2021
531
214
Nope, just standard audio too. I'm with you on lane assist - had a Toyota Corolla with it, and it kept trying to strighten the car out on long bends on the dual carriageway! Same reason I'd not spec PACC either. I don't get giving the car control. Only "aid" I think might be useful is the blind spot monitoring, but I can still look over my shoulder.
 

'Little' John

Active Member
Oct 12, 2018
274
114
Now that's odd. Mine's registered March 2020 but I think build was late 2019, or maybe early 2020. But they're definitely on two different stalks. How strange
Mine's registered March 2019 and has a separate stalk. I wonder if it's the difference between CC and ACC? Mines a Comfort and Sound which means it's got ACC and I think the entry model just had CC. Looks like the "Limited Edition" was based on the entry model so I'd be surprised if it had ACC.
 
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rafletcher

Active Member
Feb 18, 2021
531
214
Not strictly a “first impression“, more a “I found this out”. Whilst picking up some 19 rims for winter use, and having to wait whilst the sellers BiL brought them round, I noticed the word “inside” on the side of the P-Zero. Thinking perhaps the tyre was incorrectly mounted I squinted closer, only for it to resolve into “Seal Inside”. So, the car has run-flats of a sort it seems. Is this standard? Or just with the 20” copper rims?
 

Oldboy racer

Active Member
Apr 18, 2017
209
45
Glasgow
Well I picked up my Cupra Ateca Limited Edition today. As other have noted, the interior is, well, a bit bland and black, even coming from an Audi. And a bit old fashioned. But It works well enough. Don’t know the whole spec yet - I had a space saver saver added, and this necessitated a high level boot kit too “as it’s got sound fitted”. Presumably Seat Sound, though haven't looked to see if there’s a sub in the boot! Sounds ok tho. Having had an S3 I’m familiar with the drive train. I was concerned (one of my reasons for changing was increased comfort) that riding on 20” rims and 35 profile tyres might still be too harsh. I needn’t have worried, in “comfort” mode it was just that. And later, when negotiating Milton Keynes (I drove from Tring to York to collect it) I switched to “Sport”. Oh my! A very definite difference, unlike in the S3 that never seemed to vary between settings despite the mag ride. Oh, and what would one do without variable ambient lighting 🙄. Still got to work out how to dim the digital cockpit (hoping that I can!). And delete the dealers staff phones off the Bluetooth. All in all, though, pretty good

Only had a short few runs in car so far but finding the cruise control an issue as all the buttons on the steering wheel are not easy to find when driving. Used to the end of stalk like I had on Leon.
Would be useful if the button had a ridge or bump to Identify. Suppose it will take time to get used to finding the right button without risk of taling eyes of road !!
 

rafletcher

Active Member
Feb 18, 2021
531
214
As noted above, I don't find the combination of rocker switches for the conventional CC on the indicator stalk at all intuitive - I find myself turning it off instead of cancelling it (yes, I know touching the brakes does it, but I don't like braking unneccessarily), and much preferred the third stalk I had on my previous 3 Audis, all of which were also "cooking" CC, not adaptive. I'm definitely going to have mine upgraded to ACC as soon as I can, and that will get me the third stalk I'm used to.
 
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