Volkswagen Arteon Shooting Brake PHEV

Swish looks meet plug-in hybrid frugality

SHOOTING BRAKES WERE originally 19th century horse-drawn wagons for upper-class shooting parties, while ‘plug-in hybrid’ is very much the on-trend term. Those two worlds collide in the Arteon Shooting Brake PHEV.

You won’t need real horses to pull the estate version of the Arteon executive car; it gets the 154bhp 1.4-litre petrol engine and 113bhp electric motor combination found in the Passat GTE, plus a 13kwh battery under the boot floor.

Performance is fairly punchy, and the electric range is officially 39 miles. Electric mode has

enough poke to keep up with traffic, and the transition between power sources is smooth.

You get nicely weighted and accurate steering along with decent body control, but the ride isn’t quite as good as that of lighter, NON-PHEV Arteons, with more thuds over road imperfections. It’s still comfortable, though, if not as exquisitely cushioned as the Skoda Superb Estate iv.

The Shooting Brake PHEV trims can be specced with wood inserts on the dash and snazzy ambient interior

lighting. Materials are pleasant to touch and it all feels solidly built. But the standard 9.2in infotainment screen is average at best, proving frustrating when it lags as you use it, although you can bypass the software using the standard Android Auto/apple Carplay phone mirroring.

Rear seat space is good, but the boot isn’t great. It loses 135 litres over the standard model to the battery, leaving 455 litres with the back seats up. You get 510 litres in the Superb Estate iv and 490 in the Octavia Estate iv.

And the cost? Most private buyers will be better off with a cheaper petrol or diesel, but company car buyers can take advantage of the PHEV’S low tax bracket. The Superb undercuts it by quite a chunk, though, and that’s a better car all round.