He’s still there
Seat is lowering the prices of most models. In the case of the Arona, the benefit is not too bad, but the discount is a great opportunity to study whether such a basic Arona will still be a good offer in 2024.
Seat Arona 1.0 EcoTSI 95 hp Style – €24,990
The Seat Arona already appeared in 2017. It is therefore not surprising that the model has previously starred in ‘Back to Basics’. Price reduction or not, in November 2018 an Arona was a lot cheaper than it is now. At that time it was already available for €19,650, but now the basic version, still called ‘Reference’, costs €24,990.
For that money you now get a car that looks a lot less ‘basic’ than it did back then. This is due to the facelift, which in 2021 brought a subtly different front and rear bumper and standard LED headlights. In 2024, the Arona will also have spray-painted door handles and mirror caps and light metal as standard. The latter in particular is a big step compared to the steel wheels with hub caps (!) that were still standard in 2018. The undersigned secretly finds those round examples of stinginess charming, but the average car buyer will undoubtedly be happier with the ones that now shine under the car. The paint color has also changed: in the past, an Arona was always blue without an extra charge, but now it is strikingly bright red. All other shades, even plain white, drive the price up (slightly).
Seat Arona Reference (2018).
Seat Arona Reference (2024).
A lot has also changed on the inside in a few years, because the most important part of the facelift in 2021 was a new dashboard. It has a touchscreen as standard, while the bareest Arona used to not even have a radio. You read that correctly: in 2018, as a price-conscious Arona buyer, you were still fobbed off with ‘radio preparation’, just as was common in 1989 with a Golf II. Nowadays even digital instruments are standard.
Just don’t expect such a simple Arona to compete with a Bentayga. The chairs, for example, look very simple due to their flat finish. The entire interior is boring black anyway, we see a lot of hard plastic and although the steering wheel is neatly finished with leather, this does not apply to the lever. The radio hidden in the touch screen controls only four speakers in the Reference, while other versions have six. A rain sensor is missing, as is a height-adjustable passenger seat, electrically folding exterior mirrors, parking sensors, automatic climate control, a front center armrest and even vanity mirrors in the sun visors. Even in the luggage compartment, savings are made, because the flexible loading floor of other versions is missing in the basic Arona. Simple air conditioning and cruise control certainly make a ride in this Spaniard no drama, but despite all the improvements, a Seat Arona Reference is still not well equipped.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl