The Tarraco is SEAT’s new seven seater SUV to rival cars such as Peugeot’s 5008 and Skoda’s Kodiak.
Special mention : The ‘Nilo Embossing’ seats are the absolute business, extremely comfortable and supportive. Light touch throttle makes pushing off in a diesel much more pleasant. Eco is the drive mode most suited to the 2.0 150 HP engine. Quick access lane assist button on the steering wheel.
Needs work : Rear seats in the 7 seater are for small people only & there’s no isofix for just those two seats. Multi menu system takes a bit of time to get used to. There are four drive modes but it’s really best suited to Eco which seems a bit of a waste creating four separate modes when you can just slip the auto into ‘Sport’. Cruise control sometimes locks onto cars on the inside lane and proceeds to slow down accordingly. You have to then blip the throttle to get it back up to speed again.
| BHP 150 | Diesel / Auto |
| 0-100 km/h in 6.8 seconds | Road Tax €210 |
Price: €39,830 As Specc’d €48,115 | Boot space 230 (7 seats) or 700 (5 seats) litres |
Inside the Tarraco it may have a similar design layout to SEAT’s other SUVs but it’s definitely a step up. They haven’t tried to go all futuristic, in the same way as Peugeot’s 5008 but there’s plenty of soft touch materials which is on a par with the Skoda Kodiaq or Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace. The dash is logically laid out and the buttons feel quality, the 8” touchscreen comes as standard on all models apart from the entry-level SE and you get Android Auto / Apple Carplay and DAB radio.
There’s quite a lot of menus and submenus so it does take some learning but generally it’s very slick and responsive, it’s not as easy to hit buttons on the move compared to a rotary dial. The view out of the car is excellent and there’s plenty of adjustment in the seats and steering wheel so you should be able to find a comfortable driving position, plus you get adjustable lumbar support as standard which is brilliant. The view out of the back is ok, you do have some bulky rear pillars which compromise your over-the-shoulder squint but at least all Tarraco’s get rear parking sensors to help with maneuvering.
The tallest of occupants will have plenty of room up front because there’s loads of headroom and the seats slide quite far back. Storage is pretty good as well, there are some very large door bins, some with more than enough room for a large bottle of water. With plenty of storage and lots of cupholders, it’s been designed for great big road trips. All versions of the Tarraco come with a sliding and reclining second row of seats. Which means if you’re 6 foot tall you will have plenty of legroom and headroom, even if you go for the panoramic sunroof. The same can’t be said for the Peugeot 5008 because as soon as you speck that roof it really eats into the second row headroom.
Don’t expect palatial accommodation in the third row, teenagers or adults pretty much have to fold themselves in and there’s no Isofix child seat mountings back there if you need to carry seven or more on the odd occasion. The two rear most seats are light and easy to fold and lie flat enough that they don’t obstruct when loading heavy items. In the real world this car with five seats up can swallow multiple carry-on suitcases and there’s plenty of hooks and d-rings so that you can secure loose items. There’s more storage underneath the boot floor (unless you spec the spare wheel) in that case that’s where you’ll find it .
SEAT’s Tarraco has a higher starting price than both the Peugeot 5008 and Skoda Kodiaq, however it’s competitive spec for spec. You get 17” alloy wheels, three zone climate control, automatic wipers and folding door mirrors. It’s worth upgrading to SC technology trim because you get up-market features such as 18” alloys and tinted rear windows. SEAT’s do have a reasonable reputation for reliability and you get a 3-year warranty which is pretty standard in its class.
The Tarraco is a brilliantly safe car, safety experts euro NCAP awarded it a very impressive full 5 star safety rating with particularly high scores for adult occupant protection. The Kodiaq, 5008 and Tiguan also achieved five star ratings but the Tarraco out scored them all on its individual category for adult, child and pedestrian safety. It comes with lots of kit to help avoid an accident in the first place with automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist and a driver drowsiness monitor all standard across the range.
The Tarraco engine lineup kicks off with a 1.5 litre turbocharged petrol engine badged 1.5 TSI. There’s a duo of diesels with 150 and 200 hp and the 2.0 TDI 150 and 200 hp respectively. The 2-litre TDI 150 offers the best balance of performance and economy. SEAT has chosen a firm suspension set-up to give the Tarraco a sportier feel than its Kodiaq cousin but despite this and its hefty size, it labours a bit.
The standard 18″ wheels let the SEAT absorb most surface imperfections while smoothing out drain covers and motorway expansion joints easily. The Tarraco is the first SEAT to be offered with 20” alloy wheels and those do not disguise the little bumps quite as convincingly as the 18” alloys. That firm suspension does mean a sportier ride so there’s less lean into the corners than in a Peugeot 5008 or Skoda Kodiaq but it’s not quite as agile as the smaller Ateca.
More positively, it’s a doddle to thread through traffic and place accurately on sweeping corners thanks to its precise steering which weights up reassuringly on faster roads. All of the engines are pleasantly muted even the 2-litre TDI 190 diesel only hums noticeably when worked hard. There’s very little wind and road noise audible from inside which makes for comfortable motorway travel. The 7-speed automatic is a little sluggish and can be a little bit reluctant to change down when you want it to.
There’s a lot to like about the Tarraco, it’s enjoyable to drive, generously equipped and it’s one of the safest cars in its class, SEAT just need to work on the space in the rear seats.