Seat is on an SUV offensive lately. After the Ateca and Arona, the Spanish carmaker announced that they are building a full-size SUV based on the MQB platform. And to make it more interesting, Seat held a public voting for the name of the new flagship SUV. Out of all the names shortlisted, the Terraco name won the people’s choice with over 35 per cent votes.
Seat will stick to the Terraco name when the SUV rolls out later this year. Pictured here is our digital rendition of the first-ever Terraco SUV from Seat’s stable. The Terraco name refers to the ancient city, which today is called Tarragona, named after the oldest Roman settlement on the Iberian Peninsula. It was one of the major metropolises of Hispania during the Roman Empire. It has become a Seat tradition to name their vehicles after famous Spanish cities. In its 36 years of existence, Seat has named 12 models with the name of a place from all over the Spanish geography.
The Terraco will be Seat’s take on the Tiguan Allspace when it rolls out later this year. It will be a proper seven-seater and will sit above the Arona and Ateca crossovers. Being based on the versatile platform, the Terraco will benefit from flexible manufacturing and low cost of production. As can be seen in the rendering, the SUV will carry the family face of the other Seat crossovers. It’s likely to be powered by similar powertrain options as the Skoda Kodiaq which means there will be a choice of 1.4-litre and 2.0-litre TSI and the 2.0-litre TDI. Seat might also offer it with a hybrid powertrain but that will come later. When launched, the Terraco will go up against the likes of the Nissan X-Trail, Skoda Kodiaq, Mazda CX-5, Kia Sportage and the Ford Escape in its popular segment.
Despite falling under the Volkswagen Group umbrella, Seat boasts of being the only company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets cars in Spain. The Martorell-based carmaker exports 80 per cent of its vehicles to over 80 countries.
