First shown back in 2015 as the Sport Coupe Concept GTE, the Arteon has reached local shores and I had a chance to drive two derivatives in Johannesburg recently.

What is Arteon?

In very basic terms, the Arteon is a successor to the Passat-based CC model from a few years back in that it is a highly stylised four-door saloon car that places an emphasis on a sporty appearance and features engines, a platform and interior bits from other products within the Volkswagen portfolio.

Those looks

There are very few concept cars that get to see production without being heavily revised. The Arteon, although toned down slightly, certainly resembles the aforementioned 2015 Sport Coupe Concept GTE. This is a very good thing indeed, up front there's a clamshell bonnet, the new face of Volkswagen which incorporates sharp, compact LED headlamps which integrate brilliantly with the horizontal lines of the front grille and large lower air intakes.

In side profile, the strong shoulder line, pillar-less doors and coupe-esque roofline do a good job of disguising the fact that this is one of the longest cars to make use of the brand's superb MQB platform. The rear-end features wraparound LED taillamps and a chunky rear bumper which houses the well-integrated exhaust exits on either side.

The need for R-Line

Overall, the Arteon is a great thing to behold but must be finished in the correct hue and equipped with the R-Line package to best express those design details. The R-Line pack makes up two of the three models within the range, with the base model Elegance variant kicking things off.

The top-spec R-Line TDI and TSI models get 19-inch alloy wheels (optional 20-inch), sportier bumpers, a black bootlid spoiler, chrome-tipped exhaust exits, a chrome strip across the lower bodywork and gloss black C-signature front air intakes.

Interior familiarity

Stepping inside the Arteon, one is greeted by a familiar sight, with the same switchgear, steering wheel design and infotainment/instrument cluster options as the likes of the Tiguan, Golf and Passat. There is a central air vent which spans the length of the dashboard, but overall, it's a very familiar place to be. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as the Arteon displays all of the characteristics that make current Volkswagen interiors ergonomically impressive.

At launch we only had the option of driving the two top-spec R-Line models which come as standard with the 9.2-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, gesture control, Bluetooth connectivity, sat nav and App compatibility, a leather-wrapped sport multi-function steering wheel, heated Nappa leather seats with the R-Line logo, aluminium pedals and black roof liner.

Powertrains

The engine line-up consists of two powertrains, one of which is a front-wheel drive 2.0-litre turbo diesel with 130kW/350Nm and a six-speed DSG gearbox which is good for a claimed consumption figure of 5.6-litres/100km.

The range-topping variant gets the same powertrain as the popular Golf R model, albeit with slightly less power and torque. The 2.0 TSI variant gets the 4Motion all-wheel drive system, 206kW/350Nm and the superb seven-speed DSG gearbox. This means that this rather large machine will get from 0-100km/h in 5.6 seconds and on to a top speed of 250km/h.

Driving Arteon

As with all cars that use the MQB platform, the Arteon impresses in most areas. It provides a relatively supple ride quality, is comfortable, refined and excellent in day-to-day driving situations as I found on the congested streets of Johannesburg.

When presented with the opportunity to drive both the petrol and diesel models at Zwartkops Raceway, I found both to be out of their element, which is to be expected. Despite this, both acquitted themselves respectably and provided predictable, if slightly numb dynamic driving experiences. But, assessing these cars on track is a tad pointless as they are best on the open road, munching kilometre after kilometre.

Verdict

The Arteon is a really impressive product that undercuts key rivals such as the upcoming Audi A5 Sportback and current BMW 4-series Gran Coupe in terms of pricing and specification while offering a slightly bigger package. It is, however, in a segment that is slowly declining into obscurity while its key rivals have the badge credentials to lure buyers, while the Arteon is still an unknown entity.

Service and warranty

The Arteon range comes standard with a five-year/90 000km Maintenance Plan and a three-year/120 000km warranty.

Pricing

2.0 TDI Elegance DSG - R599 900

2.0 TDI R-Line DSG - R649 900

2.0 TSI R-Line 4Motion DSG - R699 900