The Cupra name is the moniker that Seat used to identify the performance versions of their cars and, in some respects, that’s still the case but with a very large and inescapable caveat. Rather than being a suffix tacked onto the end of a car name, it is now a brand in its own right.

Seat aren’t alone in adopting this approach. Abarth (Fiat) and DS (Citroen) are sub-brands that, although they share DNA with their parent companies, provide a little distance between the traditional models and more premium or sporting models. Or a combination of the two.

The Ateca reviewed here is nothing more than a performance version of the standard car so, you’ll be wondering, what has actually changed. The answer is not a lot, so far, but in the longer term Cupra will start offering unique models, rather than performance-orientated versions of its parent company’s models.

Intriguingly, the Cupra Ateca’s closest rivals are the Audi SQ2 and Volkswagen T-Roc R. All three use the same 296bhp turbocharged petrol engine, four-wheel drive system and seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

The Cupra Ateca sports a number of unique design features to give it a more dynamic and aggressive appearance. There’s a honeycomb-effect grille with the Cupra badge in its centre. The lower grille bears the Cupra name, finished in matt aluminium, just above the bespoke bumper.

To further distance the Cupra from the standard machine the roof rails, door mirrors, window frames, side mouldings, grille, front and rear diffusers and the rear spoiler are all finished in black gloss. The unique 19in alloy wheels are finished in black and copper.

If there remains any doubt about the Cupra Ateca’s sporting ambitions the quad exhausts protruding from beneath the rear diffuser should dispel them.

Open the door and you’ll see the Cupra name on an illuminated aluminium plaque mounted on the sills. Inside there are few hints that you might be sitting in anything special. The Cupra logo is embossed on the floor mats, adorns the centre of the steering wheel and makes an appearance on the multimedia touchscreen when the engine is started.

The sports seats are worthy of particular mention. They are upholstered in Alcantara with a carbon fibre effect covering the sides and copper-coloured stitching. They are also wonderfully comfortable and supportive, which means you can tackle high-speed sprints along twisty country roads with as much pleasure as you can longer excursions on major roads.

The driving position is excellent. Although they adjust manually, there is ample flexibility in both the seat and the steering wheel so drivers of any shape or size should be comfortably accommodated.

There’s more Alcantara on the door panels and copper stitching on the leather-bound steering wheel and gear selector while the air vent surrounds are finished in silver or black gloss, as is the centre console.

It all looks very nice but you might find yourself wishing for something a little less sombre. There are few flashes of either brightwork or colour to really lift the ambience beyond the sedate. Build quality is excellent, but just a few of the surfaces feel a little underwhelming in a car that will set you back more than £40k

All your infotainment needs are catered for via an eight-inch touchscreen that’s embedded in the centre of the dashboard. It looks less like an afterthought than the ones mounted on top of the dash as a result but, of course, you have to divert your eyes further from the road to operate it. Swings and roundabouts!

You do, thankfully, get physical controls to operate the air con – which I guess is more swing than roundabout.

The system is relatively straightforward to get to grips with decent graphics and a responsive touchscreen. There’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto included if you would prefer to use either of those and a wireless charging pad with signal booster, built-in sat nav if smartphone mirroring really isn’t your bag and DAB radio.

It’s a spacious car. It’s really easy to get into and out of thanks to its raised height and, once inside, even taller passengers will find they have plenty of head and legroom in the front.

Naturally, in the back there’s a little less legroom but thanks to a reasonably upright seating position and that same tall, flat roofline the rear bench will comfortably accommodate a pair of six-footers.

There are good-sized door bins, a tray for your mobile with room for a wallet too, a cubby under the centre arm rest and a reasonably large glovebox to store all your odds and ends in. The boot capacity is 485 litres, slightly down on the standard, front wheel-driver car's 510.

The cabin is reasonably tranquil, even at motorway speeds, where there’s a modicum of tyre roar permeating the passenger space. The engine, meanwhile, is barely audible at a steady cruise.

So, we finally arrive at the Cupra’s raison d’etre. It’s a performance SUV so how it goes, how it slows and how it handles would surely be right at the top of your list of priorities if you’re looking to buy one.

Power – all 295bhp – comes from a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine. It’s essentially the same one you’ll find under the bonnet of the Golf R so it certainly shouldn’t be lacking the grunt necessary to get your spine tingling.

It is quick, too, with the 0-62mph sprint taking just 4.7sec while top speed is 152mph. It’s a shame, then, that there isn’t much of a soundtrack to accentuate the excitement. There’s no snap, crackle or pop from the exhausts while the engine remains distant and muted.

This is a high-riding SUV so it already has the laws of physics working against it. Compared with lower-slung hot hatches the Cupra Ateca leans significantly more in corners and the front end takes a while longer to consider its response when you turn into a corner and it will run out of grip quicker too.

Compared to other cars of the same ilk, however, the Cupra Ateca is very accomplished. The standard car is already one of the best-handling in its class and the lower, stiffer suspension fitted to the Cupra ensures that it stays much flatter through corners.

A rotary dial on the transmission tunnel gives you access to a number of driving modes – off-road, Comfort and Cupra among them – and sticking to the middle one of those three keeps the car’s suspension soft enough to just about live up to its billing. In fact, the Cupra does a decent job of isolating occupants from broken road surfaces considering its sporting DNA.

The Cupra Ateca is well equipped, just as practical as the standard car and very, very quick. Of course, you can have all that by buying a hot hatch and, in a straight fight around twisty roads, it would leave the Ateca in its wake despite the small SUVs impressive handling.

The quality of the interior, as well as the ambience, could be a tad better and the lack of an enticing engine to add an extra layer of excitement could be seen as a significant oversight

At first glance, then, and given the Cupra Ateca’s humble roots its asking price might appear a little steep but, if you’re heart is set on a performance SUV, then it is cheaper than both its main rivals, the T-Roc R and Audi SQ2.

Cupra Ateca 2.0 TSI 300PS 4Drive 7-speed DSG

Price (as tested): £40,475

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol

Transmission: 7-speed DSG automatic

Max power: 300PS

Max torque: 400Nm @ 2,000 – 5,200rpm

Max speed: 152mph

0-62: 4.9sec

Urban: 31.7mpg

Extra urban: 43.5mpg

Combined: 38.2mpg

Emissions (CO2): 168g/km

For more information visit www.cupraofficial.co.uk