At first it was called “Jeep” for short… then it became a recreational vehicle, and today recreational vehicles already have several categories and it feels complicated for those who are not really knowledgeable. So no, I’m not going to sort out this long sub-category for you today, but you know what, let’s at least get started.
The category that opens the parade of recreational vehicles is B-SUV, which includes, among others, vehicles such as Seat Arona, Ford Puma, Kia Stonic and more. The direction is simple: developing a platform for a new recreational vehicle is an expensive story for the manufacturer, what do we do? Take the base of a super mini vehicle such as the Seat Ibiza or Ford’s Fiesta, raise it, increase the volume, place beams on the roof and make it look ‘off-road’ and voila, we have a fashionable recreational vehicle. The manufacturer’s profit is double: sales are also going well and the price accordingly… because it’s a recreational vehicle…
With us today is a Seat Arona, a recreational vehicle that was launched already in 2017. It arrives to us after a slight stretch, newer, better equipped and with a more powerful engine.
So here are 10 points about Seat Aruna
1 . The first thing that stands out in the closet and really suits it is this deep blue color. This is the luxurious version of the cabinet and you can definitely see it… besides the 18″ rims, there is a black floating roof, FULL LED lighting and the corresponding presence.
2. As a rule, Seat only has dark seats, which is practical but not fancy enough for my taste. Luckily there is some gray that breaks it up. The human engineering is excellent, the central screen (9.2) has been upgraded and is even better. And forget the stories about the relatively crowded platform of Seat Ibiza, The cabinet is very spacious for the driver.
3. Befitting the senior version, the accessories are plentiful. Keyless entry and drive, wireless charging pad, split climate control (which is controlled separately from the central screen), rear camera and of course a digital dashboard, which we used to see only in the Fast and similar. What was I missing? Electric handbrake and sunroof.
4. The rear seat is reasonable in terms of space for two passengers, there are no air conditioning vents and no personal lighting. And don’t be surprised, it’s quite common among the competitors.
5. The trunk is 400 liters, which is great for a short car. There is also a double floor, lighting, and hooks for shopping bags.
6. We reached the main course, a leisure vehicle that does not weigh too much, (1300 kg if you really insist) equipped with a hero engine. The volume is 1.5 liter turbo, 150 hp and acceleration to 100 in 8.4 seconds, which can certainly cause your license to visit the police station for a while.. It is very fast and stable on the road in the same way, on the other hand it can be economical if you manage to drive gently with the 16.6 pedal km per liter is an official figure and quite possible. Driving quite aggressively, I managed to get 13 km per liter. If we summarize this part: not sporty but strong and tough.
7. Active safety: there is almost everything that is accepted in the market, except for crawl control in traffic jams, which will be sorely missed by those who are used to and usually deal with the traffic jams of Rasheltz-Herzliya.
8. The price of the tested version is 134,000 NIS.
9. An off-road recreational vehicle? The clearance is great for high pavements, but with front-wheel drive, don’t try it off-road, and that’s not really its purpose either.
10. Summary: Those who like to drive will quickly fall in love with the tested version, which also looks great and drives the same, it’s not really a vehicle for everyone considering the price tag, but there is definitely added value in the top version of the model.