VW aims upmarket with new Arteon
Volkswagen’s new Arteon is more premium than the models it replaces – and that’s just how the German brand wants it, writes Rob Maetzig.
One of the most significant happenings during 2017 was just after mid-year when Volkswagen took a deep breath – and jumped back into the sedan market segment.
It was significant because all the market trends would have had alarm bells ringing. Naysayers would have been casting gloom on the very future of the sedan body style as motorists instead opted for SUVs and – horrors – even pickups.
But Volkswagen New Zealand ignored all of that. It ignored the fact that Passat sedans had been selling at such a low rate – about one a month – that it had dropped the body type and continued the Passat in wagon form only.
It also ignored the fact that in a year when new vehicle sales were rocketing to record levels, medium sedan sales were going in the opposite direction and were accounting for just 3 per cent of the total market.
But last year even 3 per cent represented several thousand cars, and Volkswagen New Zealand wanted its fair share of that. So it replaced the Passat sedan and the Passat-based fastback-style Volkswagen CC with a brand-new model called Arteon.
Truth be known, launching the Arteon in New Zealand last year didn’t represent a big risk, because it was never expected to sell in large numbers anyway.
The Arteon is part of an international strategy by Volkswagen to move upmarket – whereas the Passat sat at the top end of the mainstream medium sedan segment filled by the likes of Toyota Camry, Hyundai Sonata and Ford Mondeo, the intention of the Arteon is for it to be premium enough to compete against the likes of Mercedes-Benz C-Class, BMW 3-Series, and the VW’s relatives the Audi A4 and A5.
That raises the obvious first question: Is it good enough to compete in the rarefied air of the premium sedan?
The fact that we at Stuff voted the Arteon as our top executive car of 2017 probably best answers our opinion about that. We always enjoyed the Passat, but this new Volkswagen is so much better. It’s certainly better-looking, bigger, full of luxury and technology, represents good value for the money with its list price of $74,900 – and because annual sales are slated to remain below 150 units, it has the desirability that comes with relatively low volume.
Whereas overseas the Arteon is available with petrol and diesel powertrains and various levels of specification, in New Zealand there is just one model available – a top R-Line, powered by a 206kW/
350Nm turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine that is mated to a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission, and with
4Motion all-wheel drive.
It’s a lovely sedan – or should we say fastback, because it has a tailgate rather than a boot.
Built on the biggest-yet version of Volkswagen Group’s MQB modular chassis, it is larger in all regards than the Passat wagon. For example it is 95mm longer and its wheelbase is stretched by
46mm to 2837mm, which makes it roughly the same size as a Skoda Superb, the sedan highly regarded for the amount of interior room it offers.
But the Arteon is much betterlooking than a Passat or a Superb. It offers beautifully swept styling, big 20-inch wheels fill the wheel arches, and something I really enjoy is the cleanliness of design of the rear end, where there is a large VW logo (it’s the latch for the tailgate) with the letters ARTEON in chrome underneath.
The interior is spacious, with great legroom for those in the rear seats. And the boot is 563 litres with all seats in use, growing to
1557 litres when the rear seats are folded down.
The engine that powers the Arteon is standard Volkswagen Group fare, and plenty of New Zealanders will already have experienced it aboard other VW, Audi and Skoda product. In this case the 2.0-litre engine, which is direct-injected and turbocharged, offers 206kW of power from
5100rpm and 350Nm of torque from 1700rpm.
It’s a nice engine, capable of accelerating the Arteon to 100kmh in 5.6 seconds.
Once at speed, the big VW offers a fine handling experience via the all-wheel drive, progressive steering, an adaptive suspension system that can be adjusted by using a slide control on the touch-screen, and three different drive modes depending on whether the driver wishes to be economical or sporty.
Touches of interior luxury include one of VW Group’s neat ‘‘virtual’’ instrument panels, a
9.2-inch touch-screen, gesture control to adjust such things as radio stations, head-up display, three-zone climate control, and Nappa leather-upholstered seats – with the driver’s seat electrically adjustable 14-ways.
There’s also a 360-degree camera system, and other items designed to help the driver include adaptive cruise control with traffic-jam assistant, lane-keep assist, and autonomous emergency braking.
It all adds up to what is one of the outstanding executive cars on the New Zealand market. Plenty of people seem to be recognising this too – because demand is outstripping supply. And that’s the perfect way to keep any motor vehicle premium.