Pros and Cons: 2020 Volkswagen Arteon R-Line – If only it were as fast as it looks

If you have a budget of around RM 250k and you’re looking for family car that’s not an SUV, you’d naturally steer towards the established compact execs like the BMW 320i and Mercedes-Benz C200. But there is an alternative, and that is the 2020 Volkswagen Arteon R-Line.

The 2020 Volkswagen Arteon R-Line is positioned above the Volkswagen Passat as a premium offering, an alternative to the usual compact executives. Should you be eyeing for one, we’ve rounded up the pros and cons to help with your buying decision.

Pros – Sleek four-door coupe design

With the LED light bars that integrate with the grille, the Volkswagen Arteon looks wide and low. Two traits that enhances the appeal of a car, while the opposite is true for humans, but we digress.

The sloping roofline differentiates it from a regular 3-box design sedan. And not forgetting the frameless doors, which automatically add 10 times more appeal. Yes, design is subjective, but we’ve yet to encounter anyone who doesn’t find the Volkswagen Arteon attractive in person.

Pros – Supreme practicality

The Volkswagen Arteon is a hatchback. But not in the traditional sense. Unlike sedans, the tailgate opens up with the rear windscreen for a large opening. This makes the boot aperture much larger than traditional sedans, boosting practicality.

Space inside incredibly generous as well, particularly legroom at the rear. A 177 cm tall adult would have about 4 tennis balls of kneeroom, and the footwells are large too. Headroom is a little compromised by the sloping roofline, though it’s still acceptable.

Pros – Reassuring handling

The Volkswagen Arteon drives like an enhanced Passat. It turns in a little sharper with slightly less body roll, and feels more composed through the bends with more grip.

This heightened ability is attributed to the wider track widths and longer wheelbase. Plus, there's the rather grippy Pirelli P Zero tyres, and the electronic diff (XDS) that claws its way out of corners.

Pros – Clean-sounding Dynaudio system

The Volkswagen Arteon is fitted with a 700-watt Dynaudio sound system that channels audio through 11 speakers, including a subwoofer. It’s a worthy upgrade from the standard system found in the Passat.

There are 4 sound profiles to choose from – Authentic, Speech, Dynamic and Soft.

Authentic sounds the most natural and clean, although some may find it too tame. Which is where Dynamic comes in, bass texture firms up and mid-bass gets a boost along with the treble. The subwoofer doesn’t make its presence felt until it’s turned up a couple of notches. 

Rest assured, there are enough settings for most users to tweak to their liking. But out of the box, it sounds faithful to most music with minimal colouration.

Pros – Rather fuel-efficient

After a journey of 97.5 km broken down to 70/30 highway and city driving, 7.05 litres was refuelled to brim the tank once again. This works out to a calculated figure of 7.2-litre/100 km.

For comparison's sake, the G20 BMW 320i Sport returned 8-litre/100 km during our test and the Honda Accord 1.5 TC-P averaged 8.8-litre/100 km.

Cons – Lack of ADAS

The Volkswagen Arteon is not equipped with any form of Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS). Not even a blind spot warning, which is particularly useful for a car as lengthy as this.

In this day and age when even a Perodua Axia has AEB, it’s almost inexcusable for a premium car to omit this safety feature.

Cons – Top-end performance a little lacking

While the Volkswagen Arteon isn’t slow by any accounts, its chassis and the aforementioned heightened ability suggest that it could do with more power than the 190 PS engine has to offer.

0-100 km/h is tested at 8.4 seconds, 0.3 seconds slower than the Passat with identical powertrain. Upside is the Arteon feels more eager to accelerate with less hesitancy from the powertrain.

Then again, the Volkswagen Arteon is supposed to be positioned at a higher rung than the Passat. It’s a little weird for the Passat to be quicker than the Arteon no?