2021 (21) Volkswagen Arteon 2.0 TDI R-Line 5dr DSG

By Jonathan Crouch

Introduction

With the Arteon, launched in 2017 then revised three years on to create the car we're going to look at here, Volkswagen made yet another bid for executive segment credibility. Elegance, comfort and technology were all delivered here, along with five-door coupe body styling and a surprising level of practicality, especially with the alternative 'Shooting Brake' body style. If you're looking for something individual and sensibly different in this sector, it's worth a look.

History

“Style is about more than just a badge on a boot lid”. Heard that before? Well, you're going to hear it again if you show interest in this car, the company's 'Gran Turismo' premium executive contender, the Arteon. 'Gran Turismo'? Let's start with that. It's an evocative term the industry likes to use for a four or five-door executive-segment model with sleeker 'coupe-like' 'Fastback' styling. This kind of body shape, much in vogue amongst auto makers in the '60's and '70's, was revived for luxury sector customers by the Mercedes CLS in 2005. Then it was taken up by Volkswagen, who in 2008 created a four-door coupe version of their Passat, the Passat CC, to sell against established prestige brand models like BMW's 3 Series and Audi's A4 in the mid-sized premium segment below. The up-market aspirations of that design became more credible when it was replaced by an updated model in 2011 merely christened the 'Volkswagen CC'. Which is the four-door car that in 2017, this five-door Arteon succeeded in the company's line-up. Cynics will dismiss it as a Passat in a pretty frock. But then so in this period was an Audi A4. All of these models shared the MQB platform and engine ware used back then in most mid-to-large-sized Volkswagen Group vehicles but in this case, a significant amount of work was put in to differentiate the end result. The Arteon was lower, longer, wider and more expansive of wheelbase than the previous CC. So much bigger in fact, that if you're going to talk market segments, this Arteon was actually closer in size to a full-sized executive car like an Audi A6 than it is to the kind of Audi A4-sector model it was priced to undercut. This in turn meant that a lot of the engineering here had to be completely bespoke - the braking and suspension systems for example were completely different to those of any other Volkswagen for sale in our market back in 2017. In short, the Wolfsburg maker's 'Gran Turismo' model was at last, very much its own car. And was quite a lot different in this updated form. The most important news with the 2020 mid-term update was that the five-door Fastback hatch version was joined by a stylised estate variant, the Shooting Brake, which was expected to account for over 50% of Arteon sales. There was also some important news on the engine front; a much more efficient 'twin dosing' 2.0-litre TDI diesel powerplant arrived and an interesting alternative, a 1.4-litre eHybrid petrol/electric PHEV option, was offered too. There was a fresh flagship variant too, the 320PS Arteon R. And across the range, there were smarter looks, extra autonomous driving features and improved Volkswagen digital cabin tech. But it wasn't enough for the executives being targeted here to ignore close properly premium-badged direct rivals like the Audi A5 Sportback and the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe. The Arteon stayed on the market until 2025, when it was replaced by the new ID.7 EV model.

What You Get

Back in 2020, Volkswagen Design Chief Klaus Zyciora believed the Arteon merged 'the design elements of a traditional sports car with the elegance and space of a fastback'. The key frontal updates that characterised this improved model related to its broad, deep grille, which got the latest Volkswagen badge at its centre. The lower of the two silver crossbars that bisect that roundel gained LED fibre optic cables so that the lighting elements, radiator grille and bonnet merged to form a single unit. You don't notice much difference during the day, but it all looks rather smart at night. This lower apron was different too, previously composed of four chrome bars, but as part of this update made up of three significantly more striking ones. Move to the side and the size and character of the Arteon become even more evident. Ignore any ignorant colleagues who dismiss it as a 'prettified Passat': this is a quite different kind of car with quite different dimensions that see it measure in 95mm longer, 39mm wider and 26mm lower than its showroom stablemate. Those dimensions are almost - but not quite - enough to qualify the Arteon for full-sized executive segment status or, to put it another way, make it an Audi A6 rather than an Audi A4 rival. The shaping from the B-pillar backwards will of course depend on whether you've chosen the Shooting Brake estate body style or the 'Gran Turismo' five-door hatch. Both feature a swept-back roof line and we like the 'uplighter' effect of the sculpted lower panels. With the Gran Turismo Fastback hatch model, subtle changes featured at the rear as part of this update, where that revised Volkswagen badge was flanked by restyled LED light clusters that will feature darkened tinting, providing you avoid entry-level trim. A complete redesign of fundamental fascia architecture rarely features with merely facelifted models, but that's what we were treated to here. The entire dash panel was different - the air outlets, the centre console, the surfacing, the trim panels - all of it. And there was a smarter-looking three-spoke steering wheel that was of the touch-sensitive capacitive kind. As before with the Arteon, you view Volkswagen's customisable 'Active Info Display' through the steering wheel, a 12.3-inch TFT screen with an almost infinitely customisable layout of crystal clear virtual graphics. Anything the instrument binnacle can't tell you will almost certainly be covered on - or duplicated by - the 8.0-inch centre-dash 'Discover' infotainment display. A 'Discover Pro' 9.2-inch screen size upgrade was available from new on request. At the wheel, if you're used to an Audi or a BMW, you might not especially like the way that the superbly supportive 'ergoComfort' seats position you a little higher in front of the three-spoke leather-stitched wheel. Still that's useful for maximising rear three-quarter vision, which is better than it usually is on 'Gran Turismo'-style models of this type, despite the narrow rear window and the thick, steeply-angled rear pillars. The higher roofline of the alternative Shooting Brake version of this model makes it slightly easier to get into at the rear, but even with the Gran Turismo Fastback hatch, it's possible for reasonably tall folk to gain access without a lowering of the head. Once inside, despite 1.48-metres of interior width, this car isn't suited to the carriage of three adults: 'Gran Turismos' never are - the prominently high centre transmission tunnel mitigates against that. You do though, courtesy of the lengthy 2.84-metre wheelbase, get standards of legroom that are on another level from competing Audi A5 Sportback and BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe models. The actual legroom figure in this Arteon is 1,016mm with both body shapes, which matches what you'd get from full-sized Executive saloons from the next class up measuring over five metres in exterior length. Class-leading headroom of course can't be offered here but the swept-back roof doesn't compromise headroom too much - there's 940mm of it. Lankier six-footers may find themselves brushing the smart headliner but only in the hatch model; that's less of an issue in the Shooting Brake variant, which offers 48mm more ceiling height. Let's finish this segment by considering the boot. You only get a powered tailgate if you avoid entry-level trim and once it's risen, you're faced with a large 563-litre space in the Gran Turismo hatch model, which if you're interested, is 83-litres more than you'd get in a rival Audi A5 Sportback from this era. If you need more room than that, pushing forwards the 60:40-split seatback frees up as much as 1,557-litres of total fresh air in the hatch model and more than two metres of loading length between the front seats and boot lip. For the Shooting Brake estate variant, total carriage capacity is rated at 1,632-litres.

What to Look For

Most Arteon customers in our survey seemed very satisfied. We did come across though, a fault with the 1.5 TSI engine that results in hesitation and jerkiness between about 1,500 and 2,000rpm, making a smooth getaway quite difficult without using excessive revs. This fault effects both manual and DSG equipped cars and is apparently known by the manufacturer. Check for bodywork panel scuffs because all-round visibility from the coupe-style body shape isn't the best. Those big alloy wheels can scuff easily too. Otherwise, there are complaints regarding infotainment glitches - laggy screen performance, screen freezing and random 'phone disconnections. Check that the wireless 'phone pad works; it was known to fail. And faults in the steering wheel module can trigger intermittent 'Travel Assist' warnings, requiring the wheel to be replaced. We've also heard of panoramic roof leaks, and suspension noise. Plus the paint on the front bonnet and bumper is thin and prone to chips.

Replacement Parts

[based on a 2021 model 2.0 TDI 150PS diesel] An air filter will be priced in the £8 to £31 bracket, an oil filter will sit in the £6 to £14 bracket and a pollen filter will cost in the £6 to £28 bracket.. The brake discs we came across sat in the £95 to £242 bracket, with pricier-branded discs costing up to £357. Rear discs are in the £80-£140 bracket. Front brake pads are in the £38 to £88 bracket for a set. Rear pads are in the £26-£50 bracket. A starter motor is in the £103-£222 bracket; a thermostat is £15-£33; a headlight is around £254; a tail lamp is around £200-£234. A radiator is in the £194-£246 bracket.

On the Road

There was lots to talk about with the engineering of this revised Arteon; new engines, including a plug-in PHEV model, a more responsive 4-wheel drive option, new assisted driving tech and a fire-breathing flagship Arteon R performance model with 320PS. All of which could be had with the new Shooting Brake body style for those not wanting the Fastback Gran Turismo hatch. But of course, much also remained the same. As we said when we first tested this car, in many ways, the whole 'Gran Turismo' concept rather suits this car. 'GT' motoring is supposed to be about high speed touring rather than out-and-out sportscar driving dynamics and if you judge this Volkswagen purely on that criteria, you're likely to be quite satisfied with it. Refinement is excellent, as is ride quality thanks to a specially developed four-link independent rear suspension set-up that from new could be embellished with a sophisticated 'DCC' 'Dynamic Chassis Control' adaptive damping system. 'DCC' came as standard with the top '4MOTION' 4WD variants that also got an XDS electronic differential lock system to help get the power down at speed through tight turns. You won't really want to go throwing this Volkswagen about though: it isn't really that kind of car. But what it lacks when it comes to driving on its door handles it more than makes up for with exemplary trans-continental-style cruising ability. The car's 'Travel Assist' system allows 'level 2' partially-autonomous driving at speeds of up to 130mph and the Adaptive Cruise Control system's predictive, meaning it can anticipate and adapt to road conditions before you reach them. All of which clues you up for what you're in for here. A driving experience that in every way is prioritised towards laid back comfort. Exactly as a typical Arteon user would want. Engine-wise, two key changes were made to this revised model, with perhaps the most significant being the introduction of the Wolfsburg brand's improved EVO-series 2.0 TDI 150PS diesel engine, a unit that - when paired to the DSG 7-speed auto gearbox that most Arteon customers want - is capable of up to 58.9mpg on the WLTP cycle and up to 128g/km of WLTP-rated CO2 in the Fastback model. The other key mid-term update change related to the introduction of the petrol/electric plug-in powerplant used in the eHybrid plug-in variant, which offered a 13kWh battery, enabling a WLTP-rated driving range of up to 33 miles. As for the other more conventional engines, well the range kicks off with the VW Group's usual 1.5-litre TSI 150PS petrol unit, but that can't be had with the DSG auto gearbox most Arteon folk want, which means you're just as likely to be looking at the two mid-range powertrain options - which only come in auto form. Either the 2.0 TSI 190PS petrol unit; or the uprated 200PS version of the 2.0-litre TDI diesel - which was the only mainstream engine in the range that could be ordered with the option of Volkswagen's 4MOTION 4WD system, improved as part of this update with 'selective wheel torque control'. That 4MOTION set-up also features on the fire-breathing Arteon R performance flagship model we mentioned earlier, which uses the 2.0-litre TSI petrol engine in an uprated 320PS state of tune.

Overall

There's lots to like here, providing you're admiring of the looks and don't care that people might think you couldn't afford an Audi or a BMW. Unlike some of its volume brand rivals, Volkswagen did more here than just throw wood and leather at an existing medium range model in its efforts to create a genuinely premium mid-sized executive contender. There's proper cutting-edge technology here -and it was beautifully packaged, especially in this updated model. In summary, should you be undecided between the mid-sized and full-sized Executive segments and want something practical and spacious from the 2020-2024 era, yet with more style and individuality than is available from the usual business-class suspects in these categories, then this improved Arteon could well be a perfect choice. Style knows no brand boundaries. And if you doubt that, you need to try this car.