Seat’s Tarraco is the firm’s flagship SUV. You may not be aware but its name was chosen by public vote. Yes, that’s right – 150,000 people from around the globe voted to name the car after the Spanish city of Tarragona (Tarraco is its former title).

It sits above the Ateca and, like all the cars that roll off Seat’s production lines, shares several strands of its DNA with other vehicles in VW Group’s portfolio. In this case it’s the Skoda Kodiaq and VW Tiguan Allspace. So, what can Seat do to convince us first, to opt for the Tarraco rather than its close cousins and second, to choose it ahead of its rivals from other manufacturers.

The Tarraco’s designers have attempted to create an impression of lightness and agility combined with robustness and practicality. That’s no easy task on a car that measures an imposing 4,735 x 1,839 x 1,674mm.

It wears a more prominent grille at the front to add increased presence and greater character that’s flanked by the firm’s signature triangular headlamps. XCELLENCE and SE-based trims are equipped with full-LED exterior lighting.

As is typical in an SUV, you sit high up in the Tarraco with a commanding view of the road. There’s plenty of adjustment in the seat and steering column so you should be able to find the ideal driving position. Adjustable lumbar support is standard across the range.

Designers have used a strong horizontal line running across the dashboard to emphasise the width of the car. There’s an eight-inch infotainment screen that ‘floats’ above the centre of the console, placing it closer to the driver’s eye-line, making reading the display less of a distraction.

The instrument binnacle houses a 10.2-inch digital display that can be configured to show various combinations of dials and other supplementary information. It isn’t, however, the easiest of displays to read at a glance regardless of which setting you select.

The controls are nicely laid out and within easy reach. They are nice and chunky, as befits a car of this ilk, and are pleasantly damped and feel nice to operate.

There are plenty of soft-touch, tactile surfaces and materials that help give the cabin a pleasant ambience but if you dig around hard enough it’s possible to find some cheaper-feeling plastics but they are, for the most part, reserved for places that under normal driving conditions you wouldn’t come into contact with.

Passenger space in the front and back is generous. You can slide the middle row of seats fore and aft, as well as recline them, and in their rear-most position there is ample room to accommodate both the heads and legs of passengers that fall into the above-average category.

As with many so-called seven-seaters, the additional seats are really only appropriate for older children. There are no Isofix child-seat mountings which scuppers any notions of popping a toddler or two in there and only the most flexible – and adventurous – of adults should even attempt entry.

There’s a choice of petrol or diesel engines. The 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine serves up 148bhp while the 2.0-litre diesel is available with either 148bhp or, like the car reviewed here, 187bhp.

The diesel unit is more than a match for the Tarraco’s heft, providing plenty of low-down grunt and decent flexibility right across the rev range which makes overtaking a reasonably effortless process. It offers decent levels of refinement too. Even when pushed the noise from the engine is distant, never becoming more than a faint rumble. Once up to cruising speed it becomes inaudible.

Seat have opted to adopt a firm suspension set-up for the Tarraco and, as a result, it has a much sportier feel than its rivals. It displays a decent level of body control through corners and the light, precise steering makes it easy to place the car accurately when you’re tackling a series of fast, sweeping corners.

Does that firmer set-up impact significantly on the ride quality? Certainly in some conditions – on roads with sharper-edged potholes for example – you’ll notice a degree of shuddering, but it’s not too discomforting.

Likewise, roads with pronounced and frequent undulations can unsettle the Tarraco a little, but in general the suspension copes well with most surface imperfections, delivering a smooth and accomplished ride that is both isolating and refined.

The Tarraco is great to drive and, with the 190PS diesel under the bonnet, the grunt and flexibility to back it up. The stiff suspension does compromise the ride, just a little, but for some the trade-off will be worth it. Refinement is very good too.

Although it does offer a third row of seats they are, just like its rivals, cramped and really only suitable for occasional use. That firm set-up – you know, that helps give the Tarraco such assured handling – certainly isn’t going to be to everyone’s tastes so that would make it onto a list of pros and cons.

If your preference is for a practical, refined and good-looking SUV that just happens to possess decent agility and handling, then you will certainly want to add the Tarraco to your list of possibles.

Seat Tarraco XCELLENCE 2.0 TDI 4Drive 190PS 7-speed DSG

Price: £36,545

As tested: £37,355

Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder diesel

Transmission: 7-speed automatic DSG

Max power: 190PS

Max torque: 400Nm @ 1,750 – 4,000rpm

Max speed: 123mph

0-62mph: 9.8sec

WLTP combined: 38.2 – 39.2mpg

Emissions (CO2): 188g/km

For more information visit www.seat.co.uk