Express & Star

A Seat with only four seats as belt issue remains unresolved

A surprise in the post – and a warning sticker about a ‘hazardous situation’ for Dave Brown

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The Arona continues to impress despite the seatbelt issue

There was a bit of a surprise in the post from the good people at Seat this month.

The reason? A problem I thought had been resolved has reared its head again.

You might recall from previous reports about life with our long-term compact Spanish SUV that in common with certain other models in the VW family, it had a bit of a problem with one of its rear seatbelts.

At this point, forgive me as I embark on a bit of a recap (think Kirstie and Phil addressing their viewers as part two of Location Location Location gets under way).

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The snag, identified by a Finnish motoring magazine, involved the belt that protects the left-sided occupant potentially springing open while the car is changing lanes and travelling at speed – and would only occur if all three of the rear seats were being used.

When the story broke, Seat issued a statement saying: “We have identified the seatbelt issue that Tekniikan Maailma [the name of the Finnish magazine] has found. We are currently investigating the repair options.”

Those repair options involved our Arona – an excellent little SUV that has provided us with more than 8,000 miles of economical and enjoyable motoring, I should hasten to add – being prised from our grasp for a day so that remedial work could be carried out and the issue resolved.

The car came back, I thought everything had been sorted – but then early in September, a letter arrived informing me that the ‘69W1 belt buckle repair campaign’ – presumably the process our car underwent during its absence from our fleet – was ‘only an interim solution’ and that the rear middle seat should still not be used.

A natty little sticker arrived too, to adorn the dashboard and warn occupants about the situation.

The warning sticker has been applied to the dashboard
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OK, it’s not ideal and if you had genuinely bought an Arona to transport your spouse and three kids around, you’d be entitled to feel that Seat had let you down somewhat.

Fair enough.

But let’s accentuate the positive here and mention once again that KM67XUU is an absolutely cracking little car and one that we’ve thoroughly enjoyed driving since its arrival with us in the spring.

The interior is an extremely pleasant place to be
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In previous dispatches, I’ve highlighted the clever tech; the good looks and the genuine appeal of its peppy 1.0-litre petrol engine. All that still holds true.

As I write this, I’m about to abandon the car for a week as my better half and I are jetting away for a few days in the sun. It seems a waste to leave it languishing in an airport car park when another member of our review team could be enjoying time behind the wheel.

The Arona's turbocharged 1.0-litre unit is flexible and economical
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Just before I hang the keys up for a bit, I’ve been checking the levels to make sure I won’t leave anyone high and dry. The car seems to have used only a minuscule amount of oil in its time with us but I did top up the windscreen washer fluid and also checked the tyre pressures.

Incidentally, my daughter drives a 10-year-old Seat Ibiza and the correct pressures for her tyres are displayed on the inside of the petrol cap. A clever touch and one Seat should think about reintroducing!

So it’s off to sunny Spain for a bit, from where the car originates, obviously – and I’ll probably end up with an Arona or something similar as a hire car. At least I’ll be familiar with the controls! Adios.

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