Seat Ateca Snow & Ice Off-Road Driving – Video
High temperatures are sweeping across half of Europe, where in some countries, they are exceeding 40 °C. In order to beat the heat in the height of summer, we are going back to winter for a short spell with world rally champion Juha Kankkunen, KKK, is testing the Ateca on a frozen lake in the north of Finland, only 200 kilometres away from the Arctic Circle.
-Driving in a refrigerator: Winter in Finland lasts six months, making it the longest season of the year. With temperatures that reach 20 °C below zero, Kankkunen has driven the Ateca without perspiring a single drop.
-Gliding across a giant ice lolly: Lake Pikku-Nissi is one of the country’s 188,000 bodies of water. Although the summer landscape is completely different, the winter cold freezes the surface of the lake, creating a 90 cm thick layer of ice that cars can safely drive on.
-KKK: 23 victories and 75 podiums: Rally driver Juha Kankkunen, also known as KKK, has a list of championship wins and titles that includes four world championships, 23 victories and a total of 75 podiums. “Vehicles equipped with 4Drive are perfect for these conditions. The Ateca is a solid, compact car and it has been easy and fun to drive”, he assures after spending an hour at the wheel.
-Extreme testing ground: Northern Finland is also the location of the Winter Test series that the SEAT Technical Centre engineers perform with prototypes to ensure their correct operation before the series models go on sale. The goal is to guarantee that the traction, stability or the brake system, among other components, work smoothly even in extreme temperature conditions.
-A skating rink under control: Snow tyres, featuring special spikes, and the 4Drive total traction system greatly helped Kankkunen to stay on the correct course. Aside from this spectacular show of skill at the wheel, when driving on snow or ice “it is advisable to gently work the pedals and turn the steering wheel, accelerate slowly and whenever possible, drive in high gear”, says SEAT driver Jordi Gené, who also participated in these tests carried out in Finland.