Dealers are now taking orders for the Volkswagen Arteon – the new range flagship will arrive in showrooms in September priced from £34,305.
A five-door five-seater, the Arteon will sit above the Passat, with Volkswagen stating that it ‘combines sports car detailing with luxury motoring in a muscular yet elegant design.’ Prime rivals will be the Audi A5 and Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport.
It measures up at 4,862mm long, 1,871mm wide and 1,450mm high, while the wheelbase of 2,837mm creates a claimed class-topping legroom of 1,016 mm. Luggage space of 563 litres extends to 1,557 litres when the rear seats are folded.
Three engines
The Arteon will initially have a three-way engine choice – a petrol unit of two litres and 280hp and a pair of 2.0-litre diesels, offering either 150 or 240hp. Later Volkswagen will also offer a 1.5-litre 150hp petrol unit, badged Evo due to its cylinder deactivation technology, and a second 2.0-litre petrol with 190hp.
All the engines are four cylinder units, and combined or the seven-speed auto gearbox. The 1.5-litre petrol and 150hp version of the diesel can also be specified with a six-speed manual ‘box. The top 280hp petrol and 240hp diesels also have 4Motion all-wheel-drive as standard.
Arteon buyers will be able to choose either luxury-pitched Elegance or the more performance angled R-Line. Base level standard equipment includes navigation through an eight-inch touchscreen, an eight-speaker sound system, Bluetooth and smartphone compatibility. Every car also comes with a number of safety aids including adaptive cruise control, emergency braking, front, speed and traffic jam assistance, a lane keeping control and a driver fatigue alert.
