Seat is back. Okay, it technically never went away, but things have been awfully quiet from Spain’s homegrown car company for the last few years while the VW Group has focused on turning its former performance badge, Cupra, into its own separate thing.
The older brand hasn’t launched an all-new car since the Tarraco in 2019, and its range has been steadily ageing with very little sign of updates, but finally, it’s stirring again as it’s repositioned as the branch of VAG designed to appeal to a more youthful audience.
2026 Seat Arona – front detail
As part of that, the current Ibiza supermini has had a major facelift, which we’ve had a go in, and the Arona, its jacked-up crossover equivalent, is getting a very similar treatment.
That extends to a reworked front end with some angrier and rather Audi-ish headlights, a reworked bumper, a grille with a new repeating hexagon motif, and the usual smattering of new colours and wheel designs, the latter going up to 18 inches.
2026 Seat Arona – interior
Inside, meanwhile, the refreshed Arona brings a selection of new seat textiles (not to be confused with Seat textiles, although both apply in this case), while the top FR trim gets standard bucket seats. An uprated sound system and a phone charging pad, refrigerated to alleviate the usual wireless charging overheating worries, round out the major changes.
No changes to report in the powertrain department: the Arona retains the choice of a 1.0-litre, 94bhp turbo three-cylinder with a five-speed manual, the same engine in 113bhp guise hooked to either a six-speed manual or seven-speed DSG auto, or a 1.5-litre turbo four-pot making 148bhp and paired exclusively with the DSG. A hybrid will arrive at some point in 2026. All three are front-wheel drive only, and trim levels have been slimmed down to a base model car, a mid-range Style and the sporty-vibes FR.
2026 Seat Arona – rear
Going on sale early next year, UK pricing of the refreshed Arona is to be confirmed, but it shouldn’t differ wildly from the outgoing car’s £20,615 entry point. While both it and the fifth-gen Ibiza are now eight years old, these facelifts seem to suggest that both will be kept around for a while longer yet, with plans for any brand new models still unclear.
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