VW Arteon Shooting Brake

‘Posh Passat’ or actual Passat? Here’s our answer

AS I WRITE, OUR ARTEON HAS JUST returned from ecoty support car duties with legendary snapper Andy Morgan. More on that next month, but while our long-termer was away, Volkswagen kindly lent us a Passat GTE Advance 1.4 Estate to fill its place.

Regular readers may remember a neighbour of mine referred to the Arteon as a posh Passat, and having now spent a bit of time in an actual Passat I’ve decided that his comment isn’t too far off the mark. The design is far sleeker and more considered on the Arteon, more elegant, leaving the Passat looking a bit boxy by comparison. It’s the same story inside too, with a noticeably different look and quality (unless you’re my daughter, who didn’t actually realise we were in a different car until I asked her opinion). Again, the Passat feels less luxurious and more basic.

What I wasn’t expecting was the way the Passat drives. Being a hybrid, it’s more economical than our 2-litre petrol Arteon, as you’d hope, but it delivers its power much more smoothly too. I must admit that when our Arteon first arrived, its sluggishness at low revs made me momentarily think it was a diesel (Andy made the same mistake when he collected it from evo Towers). However, once you get up and running, the Arteon feels like it edges ahead, despite its lower claimed power figure of 187bhp to the GTE’S 215bhp.

Curiously, you can’t get the Passat with the 2-litre petrol, but you can get the Arteon as a hybrid 1.4 R-line for £42,930 – a mere £85 more than the Passat Estate GTE in top-end ‘Advance’ trim. My choice? I’d stick with the 2-litre Arteon, which undercuts said Passat by £3295. Posher and more affordable. What’s not to like?

(@washlander)

Date acquired July 2021 Total mileage 8827Mileage this month 956 Costs this month £0 mpg this month 37.9