The Arteon is not Volkswagen's best design car in recent years. The Tiguan somehow looks better among its small SUV peers than this does. Fortunately, there aren't a lot of German four-door coupes in this price bracket.
What price bracket? Well, the Arteon sits somewhere between the CC and the old Phaeton, so it can be compared with things like the BMW 4 Series Grand Coupe and the Audi A5 Sportback.
A few days ago, we discussed how the cheapest Arteon is available in Germany from €49,325. That one comes with standard AWD, a 7-speed DSG and the 280 PS version of the 2.0 TSI. That doesn't sound too good particularly when the equivalent Audi A5 Sportback costs €48,100.
However, the VW is faster to 100 km/h (5.6s vs. 6s), has 28 more PS and come standard with Alcantara seats and LED headlights. But I think the Arteon will just sell on practicality since it's got a 563-liter trunk compared to the 480-liter one in the Audi. What's more, it's got about 13 centimeters of extra legroom.
But if you think the base €49,325 base price is too high, you need to consider the numerous options that are being shown in this promo video. For example, the R-Line body kit, the lovely turmeric yellow metallic paint, €1,000 20-inch wheels in black, the €510 digital dashboard, a €870 reversing camera and the ultra-expensive infotainment system. Overal, we're looking at a €60,000 four-door coupe in this clip.
The problem with that is that the CLS-Class starts at €55,000. Not only has it got the better badge, but it's also the originator of the whole four-door coupe segment.
There's no question the Arteon will be cheaper when less powerful engines become available, such as the 1.5 TSI Evo. However, we want to know if a V6 option will be offered in the States because an overpriced 4-cylinder premium car rarely works.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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