I have had my Arona for six months and overall a good car. I went for an SE Lux with the 1.6 115 diesel engine. The engine has loosened up nicely as the miles have gone on and average fuel consumption is around 55-60mpg taking in urban and motorway driving. It certainly has enough pull and in gear acceleration is excellent as is low down torque with max torque from 1500-3200 which interestingly is not far off the 1.5 Evo at 1500-3500. Front end is heavier due to the diesel engine but also makes the car feel slightly more planted on the road than the petrol cars at the same time the derv does not want to change direction as quickly as the petrol equipped cars either.
Compared to my previous FL Leon 1.2TSi SE Dynamic the engine is louder and usual derv rattle. The 1.2 TSI was almost silent in operation compared to the diesel. However, the Arona is fun to drive and the torque makes it quite fun on a b road blast and gives excellent overtaking characteristics. Suspension soaks up the bumps well and even on standard suspension there is very little roll in corners making it such a fun drive. Spec wise SE Lux is great KESSY I am not fussed about other than could we have the stop start button position changed for RHD? Our previous Tiguan had it change from left to right for RHD cars. Beats audio is worthwhile, ACC makes motorway journeys a breeze and heated seats are now being used and work well. Would have liked the option of climate control but then SE Lux would be stepping into Xcellence territory..
My main issue overall with the Arona is build quality. It feels very much like a car built to a price and the interior is a step down from my Leon which was a cheaper car. I will start with the hard-scratchy door cards which only get a cloth insert on higher trim levels. Internal door handles also feel cheap and should have been upgraded for the Arona given its price point. It took me nearly an hour to wrap front and rear door handles. SEAT should have either changed them to gloss black or added a rubberised coating. FR and above have the faux leather added to dash inserts which again give a more premium feel. SE should be gloss black or faux leather not the silver from the Ibiza S and SE trim.
Rear door cards actually have a cheaper/thinner plastic than the front door cards after removing them to add sound dampening material. Door cards front and rear are higher quality on the Leon and the Arona should have taken some of those elements to give a more premium feel compared with a bottom of the range Ibiza. I would have liked to have seen a foam insert which would have greatly aided in reducing interior noise and improved the sound quality of the audio system.
I have Beat's audio which is really good - after adding in some sound dampening it has shown how good it truly is. Hard plastics which vibrate just muddy the sound IMO.
I still love the Arona looks and the two-tone paint; alloy wheels are just the right size for our pot holed roads and easy to clean. The star is the 8" infotainment screen with a vibrant and clear display which is of a higher quality than in the Leon and works well and reacts quickly. I would have liked a colour MFD instead of the monochrome MFD in between the dials. The digital cockpit option (across the range in Europe) does solve that issue however.
Would I buy another Arona? The answer has to be a no, Ateca and Leon yes as they feel better made and my wife having just taken delivery of a Grandland X, even Vauxhall has stepped up its interior quality in fact a previous Corsa E, I owned had a higher quality dash than the Arona. With VW on the T-Roc and SEAT on the Ibiza and Arona they have made an assumption about interior look and feel. Both look great inside and out but feel poor in places interior wise due to too much hard plastic. Harsh, but having gone around loads of cars until my wife plummeted for the Grandland X, due to availability, looks, interior and engine.
I found both VW and SEAT had slipped back with some cars in their range and the likes of Vauxhall moved forward. Too much cost cutting to hit profit and price points possibly??? The Arona should match Leon interior quality and T-Roc the Golf, not paying for a small SUV but having interior quality from a supermini paying small hatchback prices. Both only require small touches that would not cost £££ but make a real difference to quality and refinement.
My top tips are to wrap interior handles and add sound dampening to front doors as a minimum. As both simple mods really do transform the car to feel of a higher quality, better sound and refinement. If you feel the need to. Door cards don't sound so hollow to the touch, no echo from central locking unlock/lock even doors close with a more solid sounding 'thunk.'
Long post, but hopefully it may help weigh up options.
Compared to my previous FL Leon 1.2TSi SE Dynamic the engine is louder and usual derv rattle. The 1.2 TSI was almost silent in operation compared to the diesel. However, the Arona is fun to drive and the torque makes it quite fun on a b road blast and gives excellent overtaking characteristics. Suspension soaks up the bumps well and even on standard suspension there is very little roll in corners making it such a fun drive. Spec wise SE Lux is great KESSY I am not fussed about other than could we have the stop start button position changed for RHD? Our previous Tiguan had it change from left to right for RHD cars. Beats audio is worthwhile, ACC makes motorway journeys a breeze and heated seats are now being used and work well. Would have liked the option of climate control but then SE Lux would be stepping into Xcellence territory..
My main issue overall with the Arona is build quality. It feels very much like a car built to a price and the interior is a step down from my Leon which was a cheaper car. I will start with the hard-scratchy door cards which only get a cloth insert on higher trim levels. Internal door handles also feel cheap and should have been upgraded for the Arona given its price point. It took me nearly an hour to wrap front and rear door handles. SEAT should have either changed them to gloss black or added a rubberised coating. FR and above have the faux leather added to dash inserts which again give a more premium feel. SE should be gloss black or faux leather not the silver from the Ibiza S and SE trim.
Rear door cards actually have a cheaper/thinner plastic than the front door cards after removing them to add sound dampening material. Door cards front and rear are higher quality on the Leon and the Arona should have taken some of those elements to give a more premium feel compared with a bottom of the range Ibiza. I would have liked to have seen a foam insert which would have greatly aided in reducing interior noise and improved the sound quality of the audio system.
I have Beat's audio which is really good - after adding in some sound dampening it has shown how good it truly is. Hard plastics which vibrate just muddy the sound IMO.
I still love the Arona looks and the two-tone paint; alloy wheels are just the right size for our pot holed roads and easy to clean. The star is the 8" infotainment screen with a vibrant and clear display which is of a higher quality than in the Leon and works well and reacts quickly. I would have liked a colour MFD instead of the monochrome MFD in between the dials. The digital cockpit option (across the range in Europe) does solve that issue however.
Would I buy another Arona? The answer has to be a no, Ateca and Leon yes as they feel better made and my wife having just taken delivery of a Grandland X, even Vauxhall has stepped up its interior quality in fact a previous Corsa E, I owned had a higher quality dash than the Arona. With VW on the T-Roc and SEAT on the Ibiza and Arona they have made an assumption about interior look and feel. Both look great inside and out but feel poor in places interior wise due to too much hard plastic. Harsh, but having gone around loads of cars until my wife plummeted for the Grandland X, due to availability, looks, interior and engine.
I found both VW and SEAT had slipped back with some cars in their range and the likes of Vauxhall moved forward. Too much cost cutting to hit profit and price points possibly??? The Arona should match Leon interior quality and T-Roc the Golf, not paying for a small SUV but having interior quality from a supermini paying small hatchback prices. Both only require small touches that would not cost £££ but make a real difference to quality and refinement.
My top tips are to wrap interior handles and add sound dampening to front doors as a minimum. As both simple mods really do transform the car to feel of a higher quality, better sound and refinement. If you feel the need to. Door cards don't sound so hollow to the touch, no echo from central locking unlock/lock even doors close with a more solid sounding 'thunk.'
Long post, but hopefully it may help weigh up options.
