Motoring: Tarraco feels like an old friend of the family

After a week in the new Tarraco from Seat TONY CONLON came to the conclusion, with the help of a tractor driver, that whether you’ve got five kids to fill the rear seating or not, there is still something very special about this car

A JCB driver dismounted from his digger and came over to me as I sat in the stationary new Seat Tarraco FR. He asked if he could have a look at the seven-seater.

After walking around the SUV and opening the doors to have a look inside, he turned to me and said: “Now that’s what you’d call a lovely family carrier.”

As the week wore on and I began building up kilometres on the new Seat, I came away at the end of the test-drive fully convinced that this young dad was correct. Whether you’ve got five kids to fill the rear seating or not, there is still something very special about this car.

The new Tarraco FR builds on all the benefits of the original but with a new, sportier, exclusive-looking and more dynamic dimension to its personality.

Sitting on 20” alloy wheels, a range of exterior changes, including the trim-specific grille with FR logo, highlights this seven-seater’s change of character. The largest SUV in the Seat family has been given wider black wheel arching mouldings, black roof rails and window frames with side mirrors painted in a Cosmo Grey colour.

The rear sees a sporty new spoiler, coast-to-coast lighting, an exclusive rear diffusor and a rear logo in a handwritten style, all making the FR stand out.

Painted what Seat calls an Orix metallic white colour (€935 extra) and sporting full LED lights, my well-built Tarraco test car had a commanding road presence.

My grá for the Seat grew even stronger when I examined the new additions which enhance this vehicle’s space, safety and high build quality. Surely there is no-one out there who would not be impressed with this FR’s bucket front seats.

With driver’s seat electric and memory functions, these supportive seats, multi-function, leather-clad steering wheel, gear selector and aluminium pedals demonstrate that a family carrier can also have a sporty side to it.

The Tarraco also benefits from a new touch module (standard on all trims) for all climate control functions (including such as the seat heater). In addition to touch buttons, illuminated touch sliders are used for the fan and temperature control.

The carmaker’s advanced digital cockpit shows the company placed a dedicated focus on the driver as it provides information and data that can be configured to suit the driver or the type of journey being undertaken.

The new Tarraco FR integrates the latest generation infotainment system, including a new navigation system with a larger 9.2’’ screen. The larger Connect System, with its clearer display, has also got natural voice control. The Full Link system enables access to users’ digital lives, no matter what device they have.

Available with a petrol 1.5 litre (TSI), 2.0 litre diesel (TDI) and 1.4 litre TSI/ plug-in hybrid power sources, my front-wheel drive model had a 147bhp 2.0 litre diesel engine, mated to a seven-speed automatic DSG transmission.

While Seat also offers a more powerful 268bhp 2.0 litre diesel 4x4 version, I could never complain about the nicely balanced performance. The 350Nm of torque and automatic transmission enabled this SUV to deliver an outstanding drive.

Couple this with fuel economy that’s easy on the wallet and it quickly becomes clear how the year 2030, when new petrol and diesel cars are set to be banned in Ireland, may hurt many drivers.

On average and driving mostly in eco mode (normal, sport and individual also available), the Tarraco returned 6.5 l/100km (43mpg). Seat claims between 5.6 and 6.0 l/100km (50-46 mpg).

The petrol equivalent with the auto transmission is claimed to return between 7.4-8.4 l/100km (38-33mpg).

Because of its sports suspension set-up and larger wheels, I expected to find that comfort was sacrificed in favour of greater handling ability. In fact, the balance of both and the way the chassis parts are tuned meant this was not an issue.

The Tarraco is spacious, offers a great driving position and good visibility. It’s packed with very useful equipment, including tow-bar pre-installation.

Safety-wise, Seat has introduced new advanced driver assistance systems and convenience features.

The extensive list sees the Spanish manufacturer ticking a lot of safety boxes for this family carrier.