Used 2021 Volkswagen Arteon Consumer Reviews
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The Arteon is a beautiful car for enthusiasts looking for a spacious sedan. Based on it’s size it is right up there with the Audi A5 Sportback. The power is sufficient enough to coast through a highway at good speeds. The 260 Pound feet torque at low rpm makes it easy to take over. The car is huge on space. I am 6 feet tall and never had an issue with the space. The back seat is humongous and it could easily fit 3 at the back. The boot is spacious and stylish. The digital cockpit will be a nice addition along with an already excellent 8 inch infotainment screen with Carplay standard. It is easy to maneuver in the city and an excellent drive on the highway. It’s a true Grand Touring Car.
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A German Touring Sedan As The New RoadMaster?
This is one fine piece of machinery. From the nicely-weighted door-closing thunk to the integration of high tech features, the driving experience ticks all the right boxes. It is not a sports sedan, but it is not sedate. It's not a canyon carver, but you'll exit your apex with confidence as you search for the next one. And all this with a cavernous hatchback area that swallows up cargo on par with SUV's and station wagons. I have the line-topping SEL-P R-Line AWD. The Good Interior Seats: on the same par as my Audi A8. Comfortable, supportive, infinitely adjustable and ventilated. Nice Nappa leather. Excellent contour. HVAC is exceptional. Recent 2500 mile trip to FL and hardly ever had to adjust the temperature. Fan does not blow excessively high on start-up, and the cabin maintains its temperature. Windows: there is no wind thump when you roll one down at speed. Nice! Dash: Not as gimmicky as the A5, much friendlier than the Volvo, and visually a delight to look at. The high degree of customization will ensure you find the right combination of what you want to see. Easily adapted for long-tripping, ripping around town, or visiting Grandma. Learning curve a bit steeper than you'd like. Engine/Transmission I have not wanted for power, although who wouldn't want more? The Edmunds ding on slow downshifts is NOT justified. If you are in Eco mode, of course you have to stabby stabby the accelerator, otherwise it responds just fine. The paddle shifters are nicely placed and just the right size. Steering/Braking/Suspension The adjustable dampers, along with your adjustments to throttle and suspension, make this a near-Audi in every sense. And you can save your favorite combo for future use. I find turn-in a breeze, the tires hold the line well, and stomping on it at exit does not loose the back end. Of course, another 30-40 ponies might change that. Tech We have a winner! Adaptive Cruise is just as Edmunds described: not too hard on the brakes, and a little slow to regain speed. Otherwise it works very well in all conditions. Lane Keeping also performs admirably. Drive Assist is a low-level autonomous system that kind of helps you along vs taking over. I like that. Touch screens are the future, and the future is now. Again, there is a learning curve. Once you've found how to do what you want to do, it is rather intuitive. Road Characteristics There is virtually no wind noise below 80 mph. The occasional tire thump comes through, but with 245/35-20's you have to expect that with tiny sidewalls. Gas mileage is as advertised.. I got 32.9 on the FL trip. --March 2023 Update-- almost 20k miles in 9 months. This is one great highway cruiser. Replaced front rotors at 21k, a known VW concern. Local indy much less expensive than dealer. Replaced OEM Conti's with Michelin Pilot Sport 4AS, changing size from OEM 245/35/20 to a 235/40/20 configuration. Wanted a little more sidewall to help with potholes. Two side effects: the Speedo now runs 2-3mph below actual at highway speeds, so I have to remember that when setting the ACC. Secondly, my MPG trip computer is now accurate to within 1-2 tenths. Recent FL trip produced trip computer MPG numbers that exactly matched manual calculations on 3 of 4 tanks, and the 4th was .02 off. No squeaks or rattles as I've zoomed past 25k. Thank you VW for providing a full-size matching spare.... I rashed up a wheel and it is now my spare tire! --- end update. **Special Commendation** to the headlights. They are nothing short of miraculous. The adaptable beam pattern illuminates everything ahead of you, regardless of corners or hills. Cornering lamps and fog lights wrap up the package. What a safety boost! The Not-As Good Steering wheel angle is only column-adjusted, so the wheel itself does not pivot independently. I'd like another 1" of drop, but that is purely subjective. Cubby for the phone is awkwardly located above the shifter and you need to learn to contort your fingers to remove it. Charge is very slow. Also, the only USB ports are USB-C, I had to upgrade my cables. Lastly, the glove box is so small the Owners Manual will not fit in it. Oh, and whoever designed the OM should be fired... it is very poorly laid out, making your learning curve a bit harder than it needs to be.
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- SE 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $18,00050 mi away
- SEL Premium R-Line 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $26,99928 mi away
- SE 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $19,991106 mi away
A refined sport sedan that can bring the muscle!
I purchased one of the first available fully loaded SEL Premium R-Line Arteon in New England. I was drawn by the shape, design, and performance of the Arteon. Car and Driver magazine selected the Arteon as one of the 15 most beautiful cars for 2019. If you don’t want the looks and stares from people or for them to come up and ask you about this car, I would say buy something else! When you get tired of the “comfort mode” and want performance just put it in the “sport mode” and use the paddle shifters for a more aggressive driving experience. The Arteon was rated at 27 mpg on the highway, but I have found surprisingly good fuel economy on the highway. Over the first 3K miles I am averaging between 32-34 mpg. It has an amazing cargo space with more than 27 cubic feet and with the seats down more than 50 cubic square feet. My favorite features include: the digital cockpit, 4Motion all-wheel drive, ventilated and massaging driver’s seat, 700 watt Dynaudio sound system, 360 degree camera, Apple Car Play, adaptive chassis control, and adaptive cruise control. All in all I am very pleased with the car. I would say it is not a true performance sedan, but rather a semi-luxury sedan that can be aggressive when you need it to be. It comes with a 6 year/72K miles limited warranty which is one of the best available. On the down side, I needed to buy a 12V-to-USB converter for the rear seat, as there are no rear seat USB outlets.
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Just what we were looking for
I read a million reviews on the Arteon before purchasing it this week. The main complaint that came through those reviews is that the car doesn’t handle sharp enough or accelerate enough with blistering speed. Ok maybe so when compared to a V6 Audi or the like but enough is plenty enough. I put 1,000 miles on it this first week. It’s a great highway cruiser and handles nicely on back roads. It’s quiet and smooth and inspires confidence.
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2nd go Around
I bought a Sel in 2019 and loved it before it was totaled by a hit and run driver! Bought a SUV (Lincoln Corsair) nice interior, but it was no where near as comfortable, or drove as well as the Arteon. After 3 months traded it for the 2021 Lapiz Blue(Kudos on the color VW) Sel-R Arteon, a lot of great upgrades with the tech and materials from the 19 model I had! I can't understand why this car isn't a best seller! It is not underpowered, it was designed for highway/autobahn cruising at 70 MPH+ and it does that well!
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