2021 Volkswagen Arteon review: German luxury for everyone
"The Arteon combines style, technology and comfort to create a truly upscale experience."
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Looks great inside and out
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Well equipped
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Wireless Apple CarPlay / Android Auto
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Good balance between driving behavior and handling
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Not as sporty as rivals
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Inconspicuous driver assistant technology
Volkswagen may be the "people's car", but sometimes Germany's largest automaker tries to be lifted.
This is the case with the Volkswagen Arteon 2021. VW's flagship wants to offer a little more luxury without breaking the bank. VW tries to raise the Arteon above its smaller models primarily through design, a more luxurious interior and a long list of technical features.
The Arteon competes with the Nissan Maxima, Toyota Avalon and Kia Stinger in the dwindling niche of mainstream brands' prestige cars. However, VW is so confident in the Arteon that it also named the Acura TLX and Infiniti Q50 luxury sedans as competitors. However, as we shall see, the Arteon is missing a key component that these luxury brands offer.
VW launched the Arteon for the 2019 model year, but the 2021 Arteon is getting a major update. It receives the latest MIB3 infotainment system and driving aids for travel assistants and emergency assistants as well as an updated design and newly mixed equipment. The base front-wheel drive Arteon SE starts at $ 38,190, but our test car was an SEL Premium R-Line model with 4Motion all-wheel drive and a base price of $ 48,190.
Design and interior
The main selling point of the Arteon is its styling. It's still recognizable as a VW, but doesn't look as good as the automaker's other models. To achieve this look, VW designers used the old Detroit formula "longer, lower, wider" to give the Arteon a wider stance, short front and rear overhangs, and a low roof, similar to "four-door coupes" from luxury brands such as Audi A7 and Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class. Large wheels (18 inches, 19 inches and 20 inches for SE, SEL and SEL Premium) fill the wheel arches well.
VW gave the Arteon plastic surgery for model year 2021, but you'll need to look carefully to see the differences. The chrome bars of the radiator grille have been reshaped, as have the front air intakes. SEL and SEL Premium models receive the previously optional R-Line appearance package as standard. This adds sportier style elements such as a rear spoiler and an LED light bar in the radiator grille (all trim levels are equipped with LED headlights and taillights as standard).
The sleek design of the Arteon comes at the expense of the passenger compartment. Due to its low roofline, the Arteon has less headroom at the front and rear than the more conventional Volkswagen Passat. This sedan also has more front legroom, but the Arteon has a bit more rear legroom thanks to a longer wheelbase.
It's still recognizable as a VW, but doesn't look as good as the automaker's other models.
The headroom and front legroom are also the worst among the Arteon's competitors. At the rear, VW offers more headroom and rear legroom than the Nissan Maxima or Kia Stinger and is right behind the Toyota Avalon in these key figures.
Like the Stinger, the Arteon has a tailgate instead of a traditional trunk. At 27.2 cubic feet with the rear seats installed, the VW offers significantly more cargo space than the Kia, Nissan or Toyota. You can also fold the rear seats down for up to 56.2 cubic feet of cargo space.
The typical VW interior has a minimalist design that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Designers have avoided the visual clutter in the Toyota Avalon's interior, and controls are placed exactly where you need them. While the material quality is somewhat inconsistent across the VW range, the interior trim materials on our SEL Premium test car seemed appropriate for the price of the car. The Base SE models are covered with V-Tex synthetic leather, while the equipment variants SEL and SEL Premium are equipped with standard nappa leather – a higher quality than is usually the case in this segment.
Technology, infotainment and driver assistance
The Arteon is getting some notable technical improvements for the 2021 model year, including the latest MIB3 infotainment system from VW. This adds wireless Apple CarPlay / Android Auto connectivity, multiple device pairing, and USB-C ports. Two connections for the occupants in the front seats are standard, while the SEL Premium models have a third connection for the second row. A built-in Wi-Fi hotspot, Amazon Alexa compatibility, and a SiriusXM satellite radio receiver are also standard. Charging mobile phones is also standard in the SEL and SEL Premium equipment variants, while the SEL Premium has a Harman Kardon audio system with 12 speakers.
Although the operating system is different, like the previous year's model, the 2021 Arteon still gets an 8.0-inch touchscreen. The 10.0-inch digital cockpit instrument cluster screen is also broadcast, but is now standard on all models. Compared to the old MIB2 system, the screens don't feel dramatically different because they have similar graphics and menu layouts. That's not a bad thing – the user interface was still easy to use – but the main benefit of MIB3 seems to be the updated smartphone connectivity, not the display. Neither were we fans of the new VW haptic control, which is installed on the dashboard and the steering wheel. They had to be deliberately pressed like normal buttons, but lacked the tactile feel of real analog controls.
The interior has a minimalist design that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
In the area of driver assistance, the 2021 Arteon has two new functions – travel assistant and emergency assistant – but only for the higher-level models SEL and SEL Premium. Travel Assist combines adaptive cruise control with automated lane centering so the car can steer, accelerate, and brake on highways with clear lane markings (but you must always keep your hands on the steering wheel). Emergency Assist was developed for situations in which the driver is unable. It monitors the driver's attention and automatically brakes the car to a standstill if no activity is detected. All Arteon models also have standard blind spot monitoring, forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking.
None of the Arteon's direct competitors offer an equivalent of Travel Assist or Emergency Assist. Fortunately, we didn't have to test the Emergency Assistant, while the Travel Assistant showed that this type of technology still had a long way to go. The system was a little slow to respond when we changed the set cruising speed, and while it was able to keep the Arteon in its lane, it tended to turn late so the car came pretty close to the yellow or white lines. This is a mistake that a novice driver would normally make. Shouldn't a machine be better?
Experience at the wheel
The Arteon offers an impressively refined driving experience, but one thing is missing from its competitors: sportiness.
VW only offers a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with a turbocharger, eight-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive as standard. All-wheel drive is available in the equipment variant SEL and as standard in the SEL Premium, but not available in the basic SE model.
The Nissan Maxima and Toyota Avalon offer more power than the 268 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque that the Arteon can muster. The larger V6 engines that are standard in the Japanese sedans both produce around 300 hp with roughly the same torque as the Arteon's Turbo-Four. The Kia Stinger's base four-cylinder engine has less power than the Arteon engine, but the Kia is also available with a 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6 that develops 365 horsepower and 376 lb-ft of torque. The Stinger and Avalon are both available with all-wheel drive, but Toyota only offers it with a less powerful four-cylinder engine.
The ride quality was impressive, even on winter-ravaged roads with crater-sized potholes.
Big cars like the Arteon have traditionally valued comfort versus performance, but the Maxima and Stinger have been sporty designed, and even the Avalon now has a TRD performance model. The Arteon just has nothing to counteract this. It's not slow, but the acceleration doesn't exactly push you back into your seat. The steering is precise and while the Arteon doesn't have that floating feel typical of large cars, there is no sense of urgency either.
At a more relaxed pace, the Arteon is excellent. The standard adaptive chassis has made an excellent balance between handling and comfort. The ride quality was impressive, even on winter-ravaged roads with crater-sized potholes. Our only complaints were rough gear shifting and we felt excessive tire noise.
The Arteon would make a great long-haul cruiser or commuter, but it also has what it takes to be a good driver's car. We'd love to see a tighter, livelier version (like the Arteon R sold in Europe) alongside the standard version.
Fuel economy and safety
The fuel economy of the 2021 Volkswagen Arteon is 25 mpg (22 mpg city, 32 mpg highway) with front-wheel drive and 24 mpg (20 mpg city, 31 mpg highway) with all-wheel drive. That's not bad, but only because cars like this are typically not designed to be fuel efficient. The only exception is the Toyota Avalon Hybrid, which is rated at 43 mpg together.
The Volkswagen Arteon 2020 was recognized by the Insurance Institute for Road Safety (IIHS) as a “Top Safety Pick” and achieved the top rating “Good” in all crash tests. The Arteon missed the highest rating “Top Safety Pick +” due to the low scores for its standard headlights. These assessments should be carried over to the 2021 model. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has not published any crash test ratings for the 2021 Arteon.
VW offers a four-year, 50,000-mile warranty on new vehicles and two years of free scheduled maintenance, both of which are transferable to subsequent owners. Nissan and Toyota both offer a three-year warranty on new vehicles of 36,000 miles, but also a five-year warranty of 60,000 miles on the powertrain. Kia tops them all with a 10 year 100,000 mile warranty on the powertrain and a five year limited 60,000 mile warranty. VW also lacks the excellent reputation for reliability of the Japanese and Korean brands.
How DT would configure this car
To achieve maximum technology, you need to go for the SEL Premium R-Line model with the highest range. It has a parking assistant and the Harman Kardon audio system with 12 speakers as well as all the technical functions from the equipment variants below, including the driving aids for the travel assistant and emergency assistant, charging the mobile phone and recognizing traffic signs. The SEL Premium also has standard all-wheel drive, heated and ventilated front seats and a massaging driver's seat.
Our opinion
Cars like the VW Arteon tend to offer more of everything – more power, more space, more comfort – to gain prestige and justify higher prices. VW makes the game better.
The Arteon has numerous premium features, from nappa leather to the latest smartphone connectivity, but it also feels more upscale than its competitors. The Nissan Maxima and Toyota Avalon feel like larger versions of their respective automakers' other sedans, while the Kia Stinger can't compete with the Arteon in terms of interior quality, technical features, or general sophistication.
VW's flagship feels like a real luxury car, but it also has luxury car prices. Our highest range SEL Premium R-Line test car had a price tag pretty close to a mid-range Acura TLX, a car that VW considers a competitor. The Arteon lacks some of the Acura's more sophisticated features, like the ELS studio audio system, but the real difference is on a winding road. The Arteon can do a lot of things, but not sporty.
Should you get one
Yes. Don't be a badge snob.
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