Renault Austral, Kia Sportage or Seat Ateca, we are looking for the best SUV to buy in 2023

Thinking of buying a compact SUV in 2023? If so, you should know that it is one of the most competitive segments of the market and where there is a greater offer with almost all manufacturers struggling to achieve sales. Therefore, it is important to know what vehicles you will find in this segment and what is the best option to consider this year.

Although the king in 2022 has been the Hyundai Tucson (which has also been the best-selling car in Spain), today we want to introduce you to three interesting models in our search for the best SUV to buy in 2023: Renault Austral, Kia Sportage or Seat Ateca. In this article we are going to analyze them in depth and at the end you have the conclusions with the strengths of each applicant.

Dimensions

Let’s start with the dimensions of the Renault Austral. The successor to the Kadjar comes with a body that measures 4,510 mm in length, 1,825 mm in width and 1,620 mm in height, all on a platform that has a 2,665 mm wheelbase.

In the case of the Kia Sportage, the new generation of the Asian SUV does the same with exterior dimensions that include 4,515 mm in length, 1,865 mm in width and 1,645 mm in height. This is combined with a 2,680mm wheelbase.

And finally, the Seat Ateca, the longest-lived of this technical comparison that was updated almost three years ago. In this particular case, its exterior dimensions are 4,380 mm in length, 1,840 mm in width and 1,615 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2,640 mm.

Trunk

The trunk is a key factor when choosing an SUV. The greater the capacity, the more practical the vehicle will be, so a large trunk can be key to declining the balance in favor of one model or another. In the case of the Renault model, it offers a load compartment with between 500 and 575 liters of capacity, which can reach 1,525 liters by folding down the rear seatbacks.

Meanwhile, the Kia model does the same with a trunk with 590 liters of volumetric capacity, a figure that grows to reach 1,780 liters when folding down the rear seats.

Seat’s compact SUV has a 510-liter trunk that can be expanded to 1,605 liters once the rear seats are folded down. In all three cases, the interior has space for five passengers.

engines

The Austral engine offer includes the 1.3 TCe gasoline engine with 48 V Mild Hybrid technology (for which it has the DGT ECO label) and powers of 140 HP and 160 HP. Another option is a non-plug-in hybrid with 200 hp (also ECO label). The engines are associated with manual or automatic changes, all front-wheel drive.

The Sportage is available with a 1.6 T-GDi Mild Hybrid petrol engine with 150 and 180 HP, as well as a 1.6 CRDi MHEV diesel with 115 and 136 HP (ECO label). The range is completed by a 230 CV hybrid version (ECO) and a 265 CV plug-in hybrid variant with up to 70 kilometers of autonomy (0 Emissions). There are manual and automatic gearboxes, as well as front-wheel drive or 4×4 versions.

As for the Ateca, it is available with the 1.0 TSI 110 CV and 1.5 EcoTSI 150 CV gasoline engine, as well as 2.0 TDI diesel engines with 115 and 150 CV of power (all label C). Engines are mated to either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual-clutch DSG automatic, while power is sent to the front end or a 4Drive all-wheel drive system.

standard equipment

In the standard equipment of the Austral (Equilibre finish) we find a digital dashboard, speed control with limiter, rain sensor and lights, recognition of traffic signs, parking sensors, electric mirrors, tinted windows, multimedia system with screen 9-inch, automatic emergency braking, LED headlights and 17-inch wheels.

For its part, the Sportage (Concept finish) has electric windows, fatigue detector, electric parking brake, LED headlights, 17-inch wheels, 10.7-inch digital instrument panel, 8-inch central touch screen, signal recognition, cruise control, dual-zone climate control and driving modes, among others.

And in the Ateca (Reference XM finish) we find remarkable elements such as 16-inch wheels, climate control, emergency call, emergency braking assistant, parking assistant, fatigue detector, speed control with limiter, digital radio and multimedia system with touch screen, among others.

Price

In the price section, the Renault Austral is available from 29,973 euros in the Equilibre version with the 140 hp 1.3 TCe Mild Hybrid engine and a six-speed manual transmission.

The Kia Sportage, on the other hand, has a starting price of 28,450 euros in the Concept version with the 150 hp 1.6 T-GDi engine and a six-speed manual transmission.

In the case of the Seat Ateca, prices start at 24,450 euros for the Reference XM trim level and the 110 hp 1.0 TSI engine with a six-speed manual transmission.

Conclution

If we talk about dimensions, the Kia Sportage is the longest of the three compact SUVs (5 mm longer than the Austral and 125 mm more than the Ateca), the widest (40 mm more than the Austral and 50 mm more than the Ateca) and the highest (25 mm more than the Austral and 30 mm more than the Ateca). It also has 15mm more wheelbase than the Renault and 40mm more than the Seat.

The Kia wins again in volumetric capacity of the trunk. It offers 15 liters more than the Renault Austral and 80 liters more than the Seat Ateca without giving up the rear seats. By folding down the rear seatbacks, the Sportage offers 255 liters more volume than the Austral and 175 liters more than the Ateca.

In the offer of engines there are also key differences. The Kia Sportage has more variety of engines and you can choose between versions with Mild Hybrid technology, a pure hybrid and a plug-in hybrid with up to 70 kilometers of autonomy. It also has the most powerful engines of these two SUVs and is the only one with the DGT 0 Emissions label.

In the standard equipment is where there are major differences between the three models. Both the Renault Austral and the Kia Sportage stand out for offering some standard equipment items that are optional on the Seat Ateca.

However, the Spanish SUV is the cheapest of the three, costing 5,500 euros less than the range-access Austral and 4,000 euros less than the namesake in the Sportage range. However, it is the only one with a three-cylinder engine and the one with the least power. The Austral, although it is the most expensive, is also the only one with an ECO label of the three in their respective basic versions.