Skip advert
Advertisement
In-depth reviews

SEAT Arona - Practicality, comfort and boot space

The SEAT Arona offers a fair amount of interior space, but lacks the versatility of more talented rivals

Practicality, comfort and boot space rating

3.7

How we review cars
RRP
£19,995 £30,025
Avg. savings
£3,851 off RRP*

On the face of it, there’s not too much to complain about with the Arona’s packaging and practicality. There’s plenty of room up front for two adults, of course, and you’re unlikely to get too many complaints about headroom or shoulder room if you ask a couple more to jump into the back seats.

Advertisement - Article continues below

The SEAT has a reasonably sized boot compared with its closest rivals. There’s enough space for most of a small family’s needs. However, other baby SUVs provide greater luggage space these days.

Size

The Arona typifies how tightly knit car manufacturers’ ranges are these days. It’s 4,138mm long, 1,780mm wide (including mirrors), and 1,543mm tall – which makes it longer than a SEAT Ibiza and considerably taller than a SEAT Leon.

However, the car’s wheelbase – always a good guide to how much interior space there will be – is 2,566mm. That’s only a couple of millimetres more than a five-door Ibiza’s, showing that, despite the increase in length, there’s not that much extra knee- or legroom over the Arona’s supermini cousin.

Leg room, head room & passenger space

Rear headroom is reasonably generous in the back of an Arona, but passengers may complain about leg- and knee room. Rivals such as the Skoda Kamiq (which uses the same platform as the Arona, albeit with a longer wheelbase) offer greater space for a six-foot adult in the back, while other small SUVs like the Citroen C3 Aircross and Renault Captur have an innovative sliding rear seat, which trades some boot space for rear passenger accommodation. 

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

Two Isofix points are provided on the outer rear seating positions.

Boot Space

Every Arona comes with an adjustable height boot floor as standard across the range, allowing you to prioritise either outright space or a flat loading area with the rear seats folded down. The boot aperture is reasonably wide for such a compact vehicle. There are a couple of hooks at the sides of the boot for shopping bags, while Xperience models and above with the Storage Pack have four tie-down points to lash items to.

The Arona has an overall boot capacity of 400 litres, rising to 823 litres if you lower both parts of the 60/40 split rear seat. That’s more than the likes of the Honda HR-V and Captur (with its seats rear seats pushed all the way back), but it is smaller than Ford Puma, Hyundai Kona, and Nissan Juke.

Towing

Both the 109bhp 1.0-litre and 148bhp 1.5-litre petrol models have a maximum braked trailer weight of 1,200kg, which is 50kg shy of the 1.0-litre Juke.

For maximum towing capacity in a small SUV, look at the four-wheel drive ‘4Motion’ VW T-Roc, because that can tow up to 1700kg in both 2.0-litre petrol and diesel forms.

Skip advert
Advertisement

Which Is Best

Cheapest

  • Name
    1.0 TSI S 5dr
  • Gearbox type
    Manual
  • RRP
    £19,995

Most Economical

  • Name
    1.0 TSI 115 FR 5dr
  • Gearbox type
    Manual
  • RRP
    £26,395

Fastest

  • Name
    1.5 TSI 150 FR 5dr DSG
  • Gearbox type
    Semi-auto
  • RRP
    £27,785
Online Reviews Editor

Max looks after the reviews on the Auto Express website. He’s been a motoring journalist since 2017 and has written for Autocar, What Car?, Piston Heads, DrivingElectric, Carbuyer, Electrifying, and Good Motoring Magazine.

Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Not bothered by MoT advisories? That may be about to change
Protyre area manager Simon Hall inspecting a Vauxhall Corsa's tyre

Not bothered by MoT advisories? That may be about to change

The number of MoT failures caused by worn tyres is on the rise, and experts are calling for mandatory follow-ups on advisories
News
12 May 2025
Confirmed: New VW Golf GTI will be electric – and it’s a “monster”
VW Golf GTI badge

Confirmed: New VW Golf GTI will be electric – and it’s a “monster”

VW is taking the iconic hot hatchback brand into the electric era with the new Golf GTI EV already in development…
News
13 May 2025
Audi e-tron GT gets huge £20k price cut as new entry-level quattro joins range
Audi e-tron GT quattro - front 3/4 dynamic

Audi e-tron GT gets huge £20k price cut as new entry-level quattro joins range

Most basic e-tron GT also comes with the longest range and nigh-on 500bhp
News
13 May 2025