The Volkswagen Arteon is one of the best understated, pretty, executive sedans that you can get your hands on. I’ve always been a fan of it. Now, there’s a new one and it gets a Shooting Brake variant too making it possibly the best new German car to have without entering the luxury brand territory.
The Arteon Shooting Brake is not an upright station wagon, but instead, a bread-van body style or a ‘Combi’ in Skoda-speak. The standard Arteon has a fastback body style similar to the Audi Sportback models. In its 2020 avatar, most of the Arteon design seems unchanged. The Shooting Brake stretches out the roof and window lines towards the rear and gives it a roof spoiler. With the rear seats folded down, the shooting brake has a load capacity of 1623 litres over the fastback’s capacity of 1557 litres.
Arteon Shooting Brake 
Arteon Sportback
Most of the updates for the Arteon apart from the new bread-van variant involve the tech under its skin. It gets a new eHybrid (plug-in hybrid) variant that allows you to drive the Arteons in pure EV mode if need be. But the one we’re interested in is the Arteon R which is the flagship performance specification and gets new sporty tech for its AWD system called R-Performance Torque Vectoring. It distributes torque variable between the axles and also between the rear wheels employing selective wheel torque control for improved driving dynamics. The Arteon R borrows mechanical bits from current VW Golf R hot-hatch with its 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine in the Evo4 version but tuned to an output of 316bhp and 420Nm. It should be enough to launch the Arteon from 0 to 100kph in around 5 seconds. The R will also sit 20mm lower than the standard models and gets sportier bumpers, skirts and quad-exit exhausts that seem real unlike the ones on the regular Arteon and a few new Audis too.
There is also the Arteon R-Line Edition for both fastback and shooting brake variants, limited to 1000 units. That’s right, a limited edition VW. It gets a series of cosmetic specifications that won’t be offered on the standard models. In terms of powertrains, the R-Line Edition is available with the choice of four powerful engines, all mated to a 7-speed DSG. The most powerful option here is the 2.0-litre TSI engine tuned to an output of 268bhp.
In case you want a fast diesel, the R-Line Edition can be had with a 2.0-litre unit that makes 236bhp. All R models allow you to turn off ESC entirely. The most powerful versions get the optional extra of adaptive chassis control as standard kit. The entry-level Arteon R-Line also gets 2.0-litre TSI and TDI engines that are tuned to an output of 188bhp. In case you want something a bit tree-friendly with the style of the Arteon, there is the new 215bhp eHybird variant that uses the entry-spec 1.5-litre petrol engine and an electric motor with a claimed range of around 50km in EV mode.
The R-Line Edition gets 20-inch Rosario alloy wheels, darkened rear windows with an interior perfectly matched to the exterior. Even the standard Arteon still gets a nice cabin albeit a typically dull one with too many touch controls for my liking. It is kitted out with a digital instrument cluster, a large central touchscreen infotainment system that now supports wireless connectivity for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. There is also the latest slew of driving assist systems include travel assist which allows for partly automated driving at up to 210kmph.
In terms of costs, the Arteon R Shooting Brake (the one to have) will likely cost around the same as an entry-level Audi S5 Sportback. That’s an expected price tag of approx. GBP 50,000. However, the slightly more expensive S5 Sportback does come with a 3.0-litre diesel that makes 342bhp and 700Nm. Which one would you have? Or is there another option you’d like to shout out (pre-owned cars not included)? Share your answers in the comments below the gallery and don’t forget to subscribe to The Auto Loons for more cool updates from the car world.
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