The 2020 Volkswagen Arteon is an impressive premium sedan…when equipped with all the best options. 4Motion all-wheel drive, a panoramic roof, and advanced safety gear are all on the options list, but for a heftier price. Volkswagen is betting that you’ll be distracted by the handsome style of the Arteon. It’s certainly one of the most stylish vehicles to wear the VW badge and a turbo engine with great gas mileage sweetens the pot.
The 2020 Volkswagen Arteon has an MSRP of $35,995. There are four model trims available for the new Arteon. The base model is called SE and comes with blind-spot monitoring and LED headlights. The next tier is the SEL. It comes with a panoramic sunroof and a navigation system.
Then, there are R Line versions of the SE and SEL. The R Line SEL Premium model comes with all-wheel drive, a premium sound system, and all the best features from the other models. The 2020 R Line trim adds additional style points to an already upscale sedan. It comes with R Line badges, 20-inch alloy wheels, and special edition bumpers. On the interior, the R Line model gets faux aluminum pedals, a black headliner, and sporty accents around the cabin.
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For more info on the R Line model, check out this amazing video walkthrough of its features
Progressive Good Looks of the 2020 Arteon
Volkswagen is world-renowned for its tame styling. Just look at the VW Jetta and Golf models; they’ve changed very little in recent years and they easily blend into the parking lot. The Arteon is a refreshing departure from the vanilla exterior wraps that Volkswagen has produced before.
It has a well-sculpted exterior that starts with a wide grille in the front fascia. The horizontal lines of the grille lead right into narrow LED headlights. The clamshell hood has athletic lines sweeping up toward the windshield.
From the profile, viewers might have trouble naming this vehicle. That’s because it cuts similar lines as Chevrolet, Nissan, and Honda sedans, which is a good thing for Volkswagen. The wheel wells can accommodate 20-inch wheels and just beg for an aftermarket ground effects kit.
The roofline rides low on the VW Arteon and then slopes down gracefully to merge with the trunk. The Arteon has an available hands-free powerlifting hatch in the back. You just wave your foot under the rear fender and the trunk pops up. That’s an interesting feature on a sedan. Usually, you see this on crossovers, SUVs, and minivans.
Performance Capabilities
The 2020 Volkswagen Arteon has a 2.0 Liter TSI turbo engine that produces 268 horsepower and 258-pound feet of torque. It’s managed by an 8-speed automatic gearbox. For an internal combustion (ICE) vehicle, the Arteon gets remarkable gas mileage. The 2020 Arteon gets 22 MPG in urban settings and 29 MPG on the highway.
The 2020 Arteon excels at carving corners. You can adjust the ride quality through the dashboard controls and make the handling a bit sportier. It has a progressive steering system, adaptive chassis dampers, a cross differential system, and available all-wheel drive. Otherwise, the base model just gets a front-wheel-drive setup as standard.
Safety Gear from Volkswagen
The 2020 Arteon from VW comes with some advanced standard safety features. The base model gets outfitted with a rearview camera, pedestrian monitoring, frontal assist braking, and blind-spot warnings. The SEL Premium adds adaptive cruise control to the equipment list.
It’s important to note that most Volkswagen vehicles also come with great warranty and maintenance coverage. The Arteon gets 2 years of cost-free maintenance and 3 years of roadside assistance. You might not need to rely on these services that often because the 2020 VW Arteon received good crash scores from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
Interior Amenities of the 2020 Volkswagen Arteon
The Arteon has an exceptional, sophisticated interior with plenty of technology and creature comforts. It manages to match the futuristic aesthetics of luxury sedans without the price hike that usually comes with it. The trick here is the lack of upscale materials.
The 2020 VW Arteon isn’t outfitted with all the luxurious largess that you’d normally see inside a luxury sedan. For example, the Arteon might not be able to match the 64 color ambient lighting choices of Mercedes-Benz, but Volkswagen equips the Arteon with 3 colors that you can adjust to create different moods.
The rear bench isn’t all that spacious, but you can pack in more cargo than passengers. The trunk of the Arteon has a removable deck cover and the rear seats are 60/40 folding. There are 55 cubic feet of cargo space to play with back there.
The Takeaway
The 2020 Volkswagen Arteon has an enticing list of optional features. If you don’t watch your wallet, you’ll leave the dealer paying way more than the sticker price. For example, the front seats can come ventilated with driver massage. The steering wheel can be swapped out for a heated one. The available panoramic sunroof should have come standard, but this sought-after feature went straight to the higher model trims.
After choosing the best options for the 2020 Volkswagen Arteon, the MSRP climbs up considerably. The R Line SEL model equips the Arteon with the best performance, safety, and tech equipment. The adjusted MSRP sits around $48,715.
The hands-free trunk is a statement about the target audience of the Arteon. Sedans aren’t as popular as crossovers, so Volkswagen has placed several crossover features on the Arteon. It’s a smart move. The VW Arteon can easily attract buyers with growing families who need to pile on the mileage.
VW touts the Arteon as a premium sedan, but there’s a glaring lack of luxury trappings inside the cabin. There’s no wood and leather upholstery is reserved for the highest trim level. The center console screen is just average-sized. In truth, the Arteon would make a better bargain family hauler if all the options come standard. For the price, the Arteon will have stiff competition. Regardless, it sets a precedent for Volkswagen and highlights a willingness to think outside the box.