The Tarraco Seat is ready. The new SUV of the Spanish brand of the Volkswagen group was presented on Tuesday in Tarragona, the city that gives it the name, with the vitola of being called to be “the emblem” of the brand. The Tarraco, designed in Martorell (Barcelona) but manufactured in the German factory of Wolfsburg (Germany), completes the trident of Seat to compete in the hard-fought market of the SUV, the popular off-road asphalt. Versatility is its strong point, it offers five or seven seats, and shares a line very similar to that of its small brothers, Ateca and Arona.

The Tarraco will go on sale at the beginning of next year with a base price close to 30,000 euros. Seat squeezes the throttle to keep track of the greedy segment SUV, a market with a formidable potential: it is estimated a growth of 40% until 2025. The company admits that the Tarraco must play a “fundamental” role to strengthen the position of privilege that the brand has achieved: between January and August, it delivered 383,900 vehicles worldwide, which represents an increase of 21.9% over the same period of 2017.

The chairman of Seat, Luca de Meo, took the presentation of the new vehicle to emphasize that the strategy of the firm is to leave the relaxation in the ditch: “Seat has launched its biggest product offensive of recent times,” he said, for add that the Tarraco is part of the investment of 3,300 million euros expected, between 2015 and 2019, to galvanize the future of the company and give attractive to its range of vehicles. “The Tarraco joins our SUV family to respond to the needs of each client,” said Meo on Tuesday.

The new bet is born with the challenge of paying off a pending issue, breaking the stigma that identifies Seat as a dubious brand to give it a preferred position in the garage at home. Meo himself referred to the burden that Seat suffers because it is historically seen as a second vehicle brand. “We are looking for an impact on the credibility and image of Seat,” said the company’s president.

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Seat does not provide data on sales forecasts, but Meo has revealed that the plan involves turning Tarraco into the fifth best-selling product of the brand, after León, Ibiza, Arona and Ateca, which draws a horizon below the 75,000 units per year

The seat dome does not worry about the turbulence that shakes the diesel market. “We continue to invest in diesel,” said the president, but also admitted that, in the medium term, the Tarraco will have a hybrid version. In fact, one of the confessed objectives of the brand with the Tarraco has to do with the challenge of maximizing margins and making cash to face the technological investments that the market will demand.

“It’s a masterpiece in terms of functionality and versatility,” said R & D Executive Vice President Matthias Rabe.

All engines incorporate direct injection, turbocharger and Start & Stop technology, with powers of 150 and 190 hp (CV). There will be two variants of TSI gasoline: a four-cylinder and 1.5-liter with 150 hp, six-speed manual gearbox and front-wheel drive, and a 2.0-liter four-cylinder block with 190 hp, associated with a seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox 4Drive 4-wheel drive system and relations. As for diesel, there will be two options available, both TDI four-cylinder and 2.0-liter, with powers of 150 and 190 hp. The 150 HP version can be equipped with front-wheel drive and a six-speed manual transmission, or associated with a seven-speed DSG gearbox with the 4Drive all-wheel drive system. The most powerful version will only be available with seven-speed DSG and 4Drive system. The Tarraco will be later commercialized with other alternative propulsion technologies.

The name Tarraco was the winner of a popular contest, where 140,000 people voted, to choose which was the most suitable denomination to baptize the new jewel of the brand.