2020 Volkswagen Arteon gets hot R and Shooting Brake estate

The Arteon was launched in 2017, and it’s fair to say it wasn’t the hit that VW had hoped. Thankfully VW hasn’t killed it off entirely but tried to make it a thoroughly better machine and broaden the product line.

At the top of the tree is the Arteon R. It’ll have the 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder from the Golf R with 320PS (316bhp) and 420Nm (310lb ft), a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox and four-wheel-drive. It’ll also use a system called ‘R-Performance Torque Vectoring’, which can distribute the engine’s power across each axle and to individual wheels in the blink of an eye.

New to the range with the Arteon R will be the Arteon eHybrid. It’s the first time plug-in hybrid power has come to the Arteon, and Volkswagen hopes that “drivers will be able to cover their daily driving distances with zero emissions locally”. So, electric power for the trip to work or the shops, and petrol power for a trek from Land’s End to John o’ Groats. A regular journey, I’m sure you’ll agree.

A new system called ‘Travel Assist’ will be available on the Arteon, too, which “makes driving in stop-and-go traffic and through roadworks in particular noticeably more convenient”. Essentially it’ll keep you in your lane, brake if the car in front comes to a stop or an athletic pedestrian leaps into the road, and slow the car down in anticipation of the road ahead, for sharp corners, junctions and roundabouts, for example.

Design wise, the Arteon but particularly the Arteon Shooting Brake look excellent. A “completely new interpretation of the estate concept”, as VW says, is a bit of a stretch, but it is incredibly handsome.

The interior has been given a good going over as well. Sadly VW has ditched physical controls in favour of digital sliders (prepare to drive over a pothole and instantly set the air-con temperature to high) and there are touch controls on the steering wheel. You can also wirelessly connect to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and there’s a 700 watt stereo system from Harman Kardon. There are even 30 different interior lighting colours.