[bobbytoad]

Does anyone have the 1.5l petrol version? any thoughts?
Trying to decide between the 1.5 Tarraco Excellence or the 1.5 Ateca Excellence Luxe
Love the look and tech of the Taracco but budget won't stretch to the 2l version and wondered if the drive of the 1.5 was acceptable.

 

[stellamaris5]

What kind of driving do you do? There seems to be a lot of issues with the VW 1.5 TSI engine with kangarooing in first gear that needs a software update which has been long time coming. Lots of info online.

 

[A_Bainton]

Picked mine up today and early impressions are very good. Had the 1.4 version in a Leon for 2 years and it was an excellent engine, smooth and quiet. The 1.5 feels similar, bit more subdued but it's brand new in a much larger car so can't expect too much yet 😊

My driving is mainly city and town based with occasional motorway runs so the petrol works out better for me

Today's first drives were smooth and quiet including a quick motorway burst at 70+

No kangaroo issues so far after 30 city miles in Friday traffic but will keep a look out for it.

 

[bobbytoad]

I do about 25 miles a day, mostly 'A' roads uptown 50mph and around town.
Occasional 50 mile jaunt on motorway.
I was hoping the 1.5 would be ok as its 2.5 sec faster 0-60 than my existing car or is there more to it?
Thanks for the help

 

[A_Bainton]

In my view the 1.5 would be ideal for those type of journeys.

If you're able to I'd recommend a test drive of the engine and see why you think. If you can't find a Tarraco then the same engine is in the Ateca/Leon or Skoda/VW equivalents?

 

[iainpeter]

I have a 1.5TSI Excellence Lux bought in May, ride is superb, fuel consumption poor. However it suffers from the sluggish pick up/loss of revs on junctions which appears to be an issue across the VW group users of this engine. We have also suffered loss of location on the SAT Nav, for example looking at Pets at Home with screen 5/10 miles away. No fault code so no repair! If the SOS system relies on the same data this is very worrying.

At the moment the SEAT configurator does not offer this engine as an option, but is on the price list but stats based on 19my. There is either a significant upgrade due or the engine has been dropped from the Tarraco and the price list is to clear stocks.

 

[bobbytoad]

Have you raised the 2nd gear issue with SEAT?
Do you know if there is a software update for the Tarraco as there is for affected Ateca?

I have a 1.5TSI Excellence Lux bought in May, ride is superb, fuel consumption poor. However it suffers from the sluggish pick up/loss of revs on junctions which appears to be an issue across the VW group users of this engine. We have also suffered loss of location on the SAT Nav, for example looking at Pets at Home with screen 5/10 miles away. No fault code so no repair! If the SOS system relies on the same data this is very worrying.

At the moment the SEAT configurator does not offer this engine as an option, but is on the price list but stats based on 19my. There is either a significant upgrade due or the engine has been dropped from the Tarraco and the price list is to clear stocks.

 

[Driver]

1.5 Xcellence Lux owner here. I can't say I've experienced any of the kangaroooing/power loss problems described here and across the VW / Skoda forums.

I did find that I was stalling the car in 1st gear but I figured that was because I was coming from a Diesel engine. I adjusted my driving style slightly and it's been fine.

The fuel economy is a bit up and down for me but I've only done 300 miles in the car since I've had it that a small change in condition can affect the mpg drastically. I've had as low as 26 to as high as 40. &#x1f937-2642;

 

[Uggzy2014]

Noticed while window shopping on the Seat UK website today that the Tarraco only seems to be available with 2.0 ltr petrol and diesel engines, the 1.5tsi is not available on the options list.

Sadly that's pushed the tarraco further out of our league for now, though I do think it's probly better to have the 2.0 ltr if you can afford it as it is a big car after all.

Just hoping the price comes down now by next spring & 1.5tsi is an option again by
then.

 

[stellamaris5]

Noticed while window shopping on the Seat UK website today that the Tarraco only seems to be available with 2.0 ltr petrol and diesel engines, the 1.5tsi is not available on the options list.

Sadly that's pushed the tarraco further out of our league for now, though I do think it's probly better to have the 2.0 ltr if you can afford it as it is a big car after all.

Just hoping the price comes down now by next spring & 1.5tsi is an option again by
then.

Don't worry about the website, you need to contact a dealer, there should be stuff in stock. It's not like there are many options to choose from so most of the cars built are the same.

 

[bobbytoad]

Lots of dealer stock out there also sounds like Seat have been shipping like crazy prior to Brexit with stock at port.
Some good discounts also I saw a new SE for £24,800 with 0%

 

[A_Bainton]

Agreed, dealers should have some 1.5s in stock. I had a choice of three stock Lux models and was on the road within 5 days

 

[Uggzy2014]

Agreed, dealers should have some 1.5s in stock. I had a choice of three stock Lux models and was on the road within 5 days

Typical

Sounds great, unfortunately I won't be able to take advantage of the stock cars as our Ateca is still in negative equity to the point where I would have to drop two or three trim grades to get a pcp monthly on par with what I have now with the Ateca (Dealership says it should even out next spring when we hit 3 year mark).
And I really don't feel like driving an ugly SE version with none of the toys that make the cost worthwhile in the first place, considering even in Xcellence Lux trim the Tarraco is still a bit hit and miss in the looks department especially at the rear end which is better on the Kodiaq imho. If it weren't for the fact its more expensive I'd actually go for the Kodiaq sportline as I think its the better looking car, but their finance offers are not as good as SEATS so its really stick to Ateca and hope for an amazing deal to come along eventually with Tarraco.

I assumed with the 1.4/1.5tsi demand problems that hit the VWAG there would not be any stock petrol cars as was the case with the Ateca and Kodiaq, which were largely only in stock in diesel models for quite some time due to high demand from VW, Audi, Seat & Skoda for the tsi engines, seems you must be right on the Brexit theory, its unusual to find so many stock cars on a new model from seat.

 

[A_Bainton]

Agreed, dealers should have some 1.5s in stock. I had a choice of three stock Lux models and was on the road within 5 days

Typical

Sounds great, unfortunately I won't be able to take advantage of the stock cars as our Ateca is still in negative equity to the point where I would have to drop two or three trim grades to get a pcp monthly on par with what I have now with the Ateca (Dealership says it should even out next spring when we hit 3 year mark).
And I really don't feel like driving an ugly SE version with none of the toys that make the cost worthwhile in the first place, considering even in Xcellence Lux trim the Tarraco is still a bit hit and miss in the looks department especially at the rear end which is better on the Kodiaq imho. If it weren't for the fact its more expensive I'd actually go for the Kodiaq sportline as I think its the better looking car, but their finance offers are not as good as SEATS so its really stick to Ateca and hope for an amazing deal to come along eventually with Tarraco.

I assumed with the 1.4/1.5tsi demand problems that hit the VWAG there would not be any stock petrol cars as was the case with the Ateca and Kodiaq, which were largely only in stock in diesel models for quite some time due to high demand from VW, Audi, Seat & Skoda for the tsi engines, seems you must be right on the Brexit theory, its unusual to find so many stock cars on a new model from seat.

I can relate to that, I had a similar negative equity problem on my one year old Arona when changing to the Tarraco. Family circumstances changed so I needed up to 7 seats whereas a year earlier we only needed the smaller car

A combination of dealer and Seat incentives helped but I still ended up putting more cash in and having slightly higher PCP payments

When we were looking at the Arona we also considered the Ateca. I remember the 1.4TSi engine was not available to order due to demand. Our choice became a toss up between a 1.0Tsi Ateca SE Technology or a fully loaded Arona with the same engine for the same PCP price. It was the best option at the time.

Hope you find a deal that suits you. I got there eventually.

 

[Driver]

I read that PCP financing was in a way to tie drivers down to car finance payments with a particular manufacturer. The low outlay and monthly paytments are attractive but the depreciation of the vehical leaves many people in negative equity at the end of the PCP term forcing them to refinance as not many people would have been saving up during the course of the finance to pay off the balloon payment at the end. You can't technically sell the car privately and use the money to pay the balloon payment as the car still belongs to the finance company and will show up in a HPI check. It's a win win for the car manufacturer as the terms and conditions of the PCP also states that you have to have the car serviced with an approved garage tying you in further. Its a great wayto buy a car if you can afford to take advantage of the discounts and finance incentives but also pay off the loan early though. Unfortunately it would seem the majority of buyers will be locked in the repeating cycle of 3 year renewals.

 

[stellamaris5]

I read that PCP financing was in a way to tie drivers down to car finance payments with a particular manufacturer. The low outlay and monthly paytments are attractive but the depreciation of the vehical leaves many people in negative equity at the end of the PCP term forcing them to refinance as not many people would have been saving up during the course of the finance to pay off the balloon payment at the end. You can't technically sell the car privately and use the money to pay the balloon payment as the car still belongs to the finance company and will show up in a HPI check. It's a win win for the car manufacturer as the terms and conditions of the PCP also states that you have to have the car serviced with an approved garage tying you in further. Its a great wayto buy a car if you can afford to take advantage of the discounts and finance incentives but also pay off the loan early though. Unfortunately it would seem the majority of buyers will be locked in the repeating cycle of 3 year renewals.

PCP is like any other loan, just the timing you pay is different but you get the option of returning the car but this is actually them buying the car back anyway, if the car is worth less that than the baloon payment you still need to come up with money to clear the finance. Most PCPs after the term will not give you any equity for the deposit for your next car so you will have come up with the deposit anyway.

I will only take PCPs at 0% any other interest rate it is better to take a personal loan out at 2 or 3% , yes the payment will be higher as you pay the whole amount but on the PCP interest rate is higher you and you pay interest for the whole amount as well including the baloon payment and it's front loaded

 

[Uggzy2014]

I read that PCP financing was in a way to tie drivers down to car finance payments with a particular manufacturer. The low outlay and monthly paytments are attractive but the depreciation of the vehical leaves many people in negative equity at the end of the PCP term forcing them to refinance as not many people would have been saving up during the course of the finance to pay off the balloon payment at the end. You can't technically sell the car privately and use the money to pay the balloon payment as the car still belongs to the finance company and will show up in a HPI check. It's a win win for the car manufacturer as the terms and conditions of the PCP also states that you have to have the car serviced with an approved garage tying you in further. Its a great wayto buy a car if you can afford to take advantage of the discounts and finance incentives but also pay off the loan early though. Unfortunately it would seem the majority of buyers will be locked in the repeating cycle of 3 year renewals.

Long post incoming, but here we go...

To be quite frank that's a load of bs, The Ateca we have now is our fourth pcp from Seat and every time we have had at least £1000 in positive equity at the end of the agreement, all were 3 year pcp terms, and if you compare buying second hand to buying pcp it works out safer in that you have owned the car from new so you know where it has been and how well it has been maintained, for example;

Before we got the Ateca we were going to keep our 1.4tsi leon fr as in all honesty the mk3 Leon Fr was the dogs bollocks, quick off the mark, suburb handing, great to look at, loaded with toys and great on fuel. The price tag when we took out the pcp was £21,800 but by the the end of our 3 year pcp our baloon was only £8000, yet the same car was put on sale by the garage for £13,000 to second hand buyers by the dealership. So all we had to do to keep it was take out a HP loan from a bank for £8000over a term of our choice and that was that.

So why didn't we keep it? Because the Mrs liked the electric tailgate & drone view cam on the Ateca Xcellence and the higher seat position made sense as her father could not get in the leon as the seat was too low when we needed to ferry him around between hospital appointments etc. So we swapped for the Ateca with nearly £2000 down without having to reach for the wallet as that was the equity in the leon.

You typically only end up in negative equity if you try and swap before the end of the term or after, as we are trying to do now, or if the car is undesirable to the degree it's loosing value too fast which is unusual for vwag cars.

Furthermore pcp does not tie you in to the brand as you can take the car to any brand and swap it for one of theirs examlle my niece used her seat ibiza to get an astra both on pcp, and they will pay off the pcp agreement for you as long as you sign up to one of theirs, but if you are in negative equity you have to fill the difference from your own back pocket. You can sell the car as long as you pay off the finance with the cash. Just ring seat and ask for your settlement figure which is usually lower than what you owe as they take off the interest anyway.

Obviously you need to be careful that you get the money to pay the settlement figure before you hand over the keys to the buyer.

Hope that helps

 

[Uggzy2014]

Thanks

The Arona was not out when we got the Ateca and we were previously in a leon FR, so even had it been an option an Arona would have been a big drop in size & comfort to us. Though I do think the arona in mystic magenta looked quite appealing.

On a side note, you should watch the arona moose test video on YouTube, turns out the arona is very unstable when swerving, something the Ateca handles quite well as I recently discovered when I had to get out of the way of an out of control car that drove onto my side of the road head on. Fortunately I was able to avoid the collision and watched him mount the hedge in my side mirror, the experience was scary to say the least and shook me up for a few days, but the Ateca performed superbly and never skidded, lifted or even leaned over as I swerved.

Anyway... at first we thought we couldn't afford the Ateca, but the dealership came through and although it worked out more expensive than the leon, we got it at a good price considering the trim level and toys, we have pretty much all the options included, 19" alloys, top view 360 camera, park assist, electric tailgate, heated leather seats, ambient lighting, etc.

However we're now expecting our third child at the end of the year and are already finding that with the two child seats already taking up the space in the car it's difficult to squeeze our parents in when we need to let alone a third car seat.

Fortunately we have an older ibiza that we use to pickup the slack but my thinking is it might save on fuel and insurance to ditch the ibiza and put the cash into a seven seater.
Obviously having two cars has it's advantages, obviosuly one being both me and the mrs have our own wheels, so I could stay with the Ateca for now as its a nice car anyway and re-finance it in a year over to a five year HP to bring the monthlies down. But it would be nice to travel together in one car.

The main thing putting me off switching to tarraco is not so much the higher payment, as it still works out less than running two cars we have now, but it's the otr price tag on a tarraco, since this is technically your debt on the loan even though you are only required to pay the term and not the full value.

In my experience it makes banks nervous when you accumulate that much debt on cars.m and makes getting loans for other things more difficult.

 

[iainpeter]

Further to my post on 14 July, car was at dealers today for a couple of issues. The car apparently kangarooed into the workshop and has had a software update on the ECU.
I have not had the car back yet as they are still investigating another issue, so cannot comment on the effectiveness of the update.

 

[bobbytoad]

Further to my post on 14 July, car was at dealers today for a couple of issues. The car apparently kangarooed into the workshop and has had a software update on the ECU.
I have not had the car back yet as they are still investigating another issue, so cannot comment on the effectiveness of the update.

I was told by Seat UK that there is NO software update for the Tarraco!
Let us know how you get on and if they've managed to fix it.
Fingers crossed for you