Volkswagen Arteon: Strike a pose.
Lodged deep in the press information for the new Volkswagen Arteon is a description of death: Gran Turismo. This is the murky chasm of which therein lurks Satanic levels of everyday disappointment. Few conjoined works pre-empt the inevitability of humdrum downheartedness for the masses.
Grand Turismo. You’ll probably imagine yourself sweeping along some sunny Grand Riviera, the sunshine, and alfresco dining. Fat chance. What you get is Robinhood Industrial Estate in February.
Describing your new saloon car as a Fastback Gran Turismo is a marinated recipe for disaster. It’s a slurring Taoiseach Brian Cowan interview on Bloomberg proving that, yes, back in the day Ireland really was as stuffed as everyone in Europe said we were.
Only this time the Volks from Wolfsburg seem to have done the unthinkable. They’ve launched a Gran Turismo saloon that looks, well, quite fantastic.
This week we were at the launch of the new Arteon, the new Volkswagen Flagship saloon, and successor to the Volkswagen CC. Starting at €43,295 for the Arteon 2.0 TDI 150hp right up to the R-Line 2.0- Litre TDI DSG 240hp 4-Motion it gets our vote for the best-looking new saloon so far in 2017. There are three Arteon trim levels to choose from. The Arteon, Arteon Elegance and Arteon R-Line. Volkswagen says the Elegance version is most likely to be the biggest seller in Ireland. There’s also a choice of engines from 150hp to 240hp. The target of 400 cars – with emphasis on fleet buyers – is pegged for 2017.
This is a long, low saloon with a Cd figure of 0.265 (Spoiler alert: nobody really has a rashers what a Cd figure means. It’s something about the way air travels over the car unbroken in a wind tunnel. Something trotted out to describe a sleek looking car). And my, does this new Arteon look sleek. There are traces of Audi A7 in there and even Mercedes S-Class Coupe from the rear. Sitting in the Volkswagen’s MQB chassis – a very good thing indeed – it pulls off a Dr. Who Tardis trick. Only this time, it’s the other way around. It’s big on the outside and enormous inside. The rear legroom is bordering on Skoda Superb in capacity.
The interior is convincingly constructed, with quality switches everywhere and a low roof line that’s perfectly fine for a 6-foot driver. The thing is, it looks too similar to an upscale Passat and it’s a real pity Volkswagen didn’t give it a bit more panache and pre-load it with more surprise-and-delight touches. That said, starting at €43,295 and €49,995 for the Arteon R-Line 2.0-litre TDI DSH 150bhp (our choice) it’s a nicely satisfying place to be with good visibility.
The Arteon is 4,862mm in length, a good 136mm longer than the Audi A4. The 1,427mm height is strangely identical to the A4. We adore the Arteon’s design of the front headlights and radiator grille that eclipse anything from Audi or Mercedes for the same money.
Volkswagen spent much time emphasising the Arteon’s remote connectivity through its Car-Net Security and Service package. Available as standard across the Arteon range this connectivity will be rolled out throughout the Volkswagen range in 2018 and standard by 2020. It’s a smart connectivity system that trails Opel’s On Star for true connectivity service.
Car-Net offers Emergency Call Service in case the driver falls ill at the wheel and fails to respond to alerts. Roadside Assistance, remote Servicing Scheduling alerts which cleverly sends your car’s service requirements to the dealer in advance of the car arriving. Naturally, this is designed to make life easier for the dealer by giving advanced notice of the work and parts needed and the engineering allocation. For the business owner, it will allow them to track and monitor the car’s location and exceeded speed over a speed limit with full reports. So, if Kevin is off golfing instead of meeting that customer on a Friday, the Arteon will hilariously tell all.
As this was a launch drive, we only got to drive the Arteon for about 15 miles and liked the car’s composure. It was very good, as was the diesel engine with a subdued sound that hinted at this car’s primary dynamics. This is a mile-munching cruiser with has no intention of inviting you to chuck it around like a 3-Series. The DSG transmission is a must for any prospective Arteon owner. It’s so slick that the extra €2,200 in the 2.0-litre 150bhp is highly recommended. Again, digital instruments are available as options and we can take or leave them, but bemoan the lack of a central rotating volume button in the central console. Message to all motor manufacturers: rotating knobs work. Sliding smartphone inspired volume controls simply infuriate. We want our knobs back (behave).
We do like the Arteon. We like how Volkswagen kept to their word after teasing the Sport Coupe Concept GTE in 2015 and built the Arteon without meddling too much with the car’s near-concept styling. Will it trouble the multitudes of Audi A4 or BMW 3-Series owners? Probably no. No matter, we like how the Arteon takes on Audi – it’s posher family rival – and springs a car that looks exclusive, drives very nicely and has as much technology as we’ll ever need.
The sweet spot for the Arteon is the entry price. Starting at under €44,000 it’s quite a beautiful looking new car with a road presence that suggests it costs significantly more. It’s available to test drive at Volkswagen dealers now.
www.volkewagen.ie