Seat's 20V20 SUV driven

“There are three key words we use to define our future design DNA: tensional, characterful and sculptural,” says Sádek.

The 20V20 is aimed squarely at the young at heart and will help to reinforce Seat’s positioning as the hip and happening VW Group brand. Seat’s designers set out specifically with a crossover-SUV in mind. “The proportions have evolved, but this kind of concept car was clear from the beginning,” says Sádek. “It’s a new segment for Seat and it’s refreshing to have the opportunity to develop our future DNA in such ways.”

The design team spent a lot of time perfecting the 20V20’s side profile, particularly, says Sádek, the “proportion of the glasshouse compared with the body”. The ‘cab back’ profile and negative angles at the concept’s rear add to its dynamic stance, giving the impression of  “an arrow that is ready to be launched from a bow” and evokinga sense of power.

As bold as the exterior is, the interior steals the show. The aggressively angled A-pillar means you have to duck low to get in. The concept’s seats have a striking design with, in another nod to Seat’s favourite superhero, the backrests mimicking the design of the ribs on Iron Man’s body armour. However, you tend to perch rather than sit on them, prompting a rather awkward driving position.

To start the 20V20, you place your Iron Man-style PDD onto the circular magnetic cradle in the centre tunnel, just behind the gear selector. A ‘start-stop’ message is illuminated. Pressing the PDD switches on the ignition. 

You hear a start-up tone, familiar to anyone who has switched on a computer in the past decade, and a personalised message. I get “Welcome Alejandro!”, a salutation configured for Seat’s design boss, Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos. If you want, the friendly voice can also tell you about your upcoming agenda.

Personalisation is key. “You can have your own settings stored in the cloud,” says Sádek. “So you have your music and your agenda, but also settings for the car: the colour of the ambient lighting, the different displays on the screens and so on.”

While the PDD is currently too big to wear on your wrist, it’s not hard to envisage a version that could be incorporated into a smartwatch, bringing together our cars and our personal devices.

“Connectivity is key,” says Sádek. “Twenty years ago, radio or air-con was optional in a car; today you wouldn’t believe it isn’t there. In the future, you won’t need to ask to have your car connected. It’s a part of technology we cannot deny.”

Rotating the PDD left and right calls up all manner of menus that can be displayed on the three TFT screens that dominate the dashboard. There’s a small screen to the left of the steering wheel in this left-hand-drive vehicle, the main dashboard display behind the wheel and the infotainment screen at the top of the centre stack.

With most of the functionality incorporated into the PDD and displayed on the screens, there’s a minimalist feel to the interior. A floating centre console has space behind it for two sunglasses cases. The console itself carries the buttons for start-stop, hill descent control and parking assist; above them are the climate controls. Behind the steering wheel are paddle shifters and slender stalks for the indicators and lights.

Press the brake pedal and the PDD simultaneously and the engine fires into life. Shift the gearstick into Drive and you’re away. The 20V20 is four-wheel drive, with a petrol engine hooked up to a dual-clutch automatic gearbox. Seat says a real-life 20V20 could accommodate petrol, diesel or plug-in hybrid powertrains.

I’m told it has a Leon Cupra powerplant under the bonnet, but it’s academic because the 20V20 also has concept-spec cooling (not very effective, in other words), so our drive around Castellolí is restricted to 40km/h.

Still, it’s sufficient to get a feel for the car’s powerful stance, if not its dynamic qualities. Inside and out, it has a broad-shouldered feel. The doors, unrestricted by the need to add crash protection and insulation, have a scalloped design that means there’s huge amounts of elbow room.