VW shoots to thrill
MAXINE ASHFORD TEST DRIVES VW’S NEW AGILE AND
FOLLOWING on from the launch of the five-door Volkswagen Arteon in 2017 there is now an all-new model in Shooting Brake body style with estate car practicality.
This new addition benefits from the completely new interior that VW introduced on the latest 2020 Arteon with a redesigned dashboard panel, centre console and upper door trims that all give the car a modern and premium feel. The Arteon Shooting Brake, which measures 4.86 metres in length, looks impressive from any angle thanks to its sleek streamlining, LED light clusters and LED daytime running lights, body-coloured bumpers and door handles and 19-inch alloy wheels. Our car, in R-Line spec costing £38,420 (£41,720 with extras), featured a touch sensitive steering wheel and there are touch panels for the lighting and a slider to operate the climate control. It also boasted an R-Line styling pack that added C-signature gloss black air intakes, additional badging, door sill protectors plus two-tone door mirrors.
The upgraded leather seats could be heated and featured 14-way power adjustment with massage function and memory settings.
The cabin looks clutter-free but is very richly equipped with the likes of an eight-inch colour touchscreen navigation and infotainment system with
We Connect Plus for up-tothe-minute online traffic information. There is full wireless smartphone connectivity, along with three-zone air conditioning and ambient lighting with a choice of 30 colours. The car was powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine delivering 190PS and 320Nm of torque.
This was mated to a sevenspeed DSG automatic transmission and the car could reach 62mph from a standstill in 7.8 seconds and topped out at 145mph. According to official figures, under WLTP testing, the Arteon Shooting Brake could achieve a combined 35.6mpg with carbon emissions of 179g/km.
Despite its lengthy dimensions, the vehicle is deceptively agile and the road holding impresses even when pushed hard into long bends.
The acceleration through the automatic gearbox is smooth and responsive with a constant stream of power at your disposal.
It feels well balanced with nicely weighted steering and the highly effective insulation does a great job of stifling any engine, road surface or wind noise. In addition, the suspension set-up smooths out all but the most severe bumps and dips along the way. There are drive modes called Eco, Normal, Sport and Individual that alter the driving characteristics of the car and special mention to the 10.25inch digital TFT display behind the steering wheel that is fully customisable. Comfort levels are of a high standard with bags of room in the back for three passengers, although the person in the middle seat will find their feet straddling the quite large transmission tunnel. Storage will obviously be a priority for anyone purchasing the estate model and it certainly lives up to the challenge with a boot capacity of 565 litres, increasing to 1,632 litres with the rear seats dropped flat. The tailgate is power-operated and there are a number of other storage compartments scattered throughout the vehicle. Safety kit is comprehensive on the car and it is packed with driver assist systems, including adaptive cruise control with predictive cruise control feature, road sign recognition, traffic assist with jam assist and roadwork lane assist, a lane assist system that recognises the road edge, all-round parking sensors and an emergency assist system that intervenes if it detects the driver is incapable of driving. VW believes the sales split between the Arteon fastback body style and the new Shooting Brake version will be about 50:50. The car is on sale now with eHybrid and Arteon R models on the horizon too.