New Arteon Fills Slot at Top of VW Lineup

The new Volkswagen Arteon, the German automaker’s upmarket replacement for the discontinued CC, is set to make its debut at the Geneva auto show this week.

First previewed by the Sport Coupe Concept in 2015, the new fastback slots into the VW lineup above the eighth-generation Passat, with which it shares its platform, drivelines, chassis, electrical architecture, interior and appointments.

With the luxury Phaeton now out of production, the new Arteon will take over at the head of VW’s car lineup in most markets except China, where the recently introduced Audi A6-based Phideon will sit above it.

The Arteon’s styling is credited to VW-brand design boss Klaus Bischoff, who describes the new model as “the start of a new design era.”

The CC replacement retains the highly contemporary lines of the well-received Sport Coupe Concept. However, changes were made to the grille, which combines with LED headlamps to form a distinctive full width graphic at the front of the new model.

Design elements carried over from the earlier concept include a contoured clamshell-style hood, highly detailed air-duct design within the front bumper, heavily flanged wheel arches, prominent shoulder line along the flanks and distinctive scalloping within the lower section of the doors. Also following the concept’s direction are the car’s curved roofline, muscular rear haunches, fastback tailgate, horizontally positioned LED taillamps and twin trapezoidal shaped tailpipes that are integrated into the rear bumper.

The Arteon will be offered with three different styling packages: standard, elegance and R-line. In its most sporting guise, the new 5-door fastback receives high-gloss-black air intakes at the front, uniquely styled bumpers, chrome embellishments within the lower bodywork, 18-in. alloy wheels and chromed tailpipes.

At 191.4 ins. (4,862 mm) in length, 73.7 ins. (1,872 mm) in width and 56.2 ins. (1,427 mm) in height, the Arteon is slightly longer, wider and taller than the original CC introduced in 2008.

Inside, Wolfsburg’s new fastback adopts an updated version of the Passat’s dashboard and appointments. Included among a number of high-end options is VW’s high-definition Active Info Display as an alternative to traditional analog instruments, as well as a centrally mounted 9.2-in. (23.4 cm) infotainment monitor with both touch and gesture control.

With a wheelbase of 111.9 ins. (2,842 mm), 2.0 ins. (51 mm) longer than the existing Passat, VW claims the Arteon offers class-leading rear-seat room. Nominal luggage capacity is put at 19.9 cu.-ft. (563 L), increasing to 55.0 cu.-ft. (1,557 L) when the 40:20:40 rear seats are folded.

Among the latest technology brought to the new VW is a revised version of the German automaker’s Emergency Assist driver assistance system. In addition to being able to bring the car to a stop when it detects the driver is distracted, it now enables the car to autonomously change lanes before stopping to avoid a collision.

The front-drive Arteon will be sold with the choice of three turbocharged direct-injection 4-cyl. gasoline engines and three turbocharged 4-cyl. common-rail diesels from the start of European sales later this year.

Among the gasoline units is VW’s newly developed 1.5L, which produces 148-hp in the base 1.5 TSI Evo. It is joined by the German automaker’s more familiar 2.0L gasoline powerplant offering either 187 hp or 276 hp in the 2.0 TSI.

The trio of diesels models all use the same 2.0L engine, albeit in different states of tune. Buyers can choose between 148-, 187- and 236-hp variants of the diesels, all equipped with SCR emissions technology.

A 6-speed manual transmission is standard with the 148-hp 1.5L gasoline engine and 148- and 187-hp diesels. The higher-powered engines get a standard 7-speed DCT gearbox. 4Motion all-wheel drive is available with the most powerful 2.0L gas and diesel engines.

A gasoline-electric hybrid version will be added to the lineup at a later date.

The Arteon will be built at VW’s Emden, Germany, plant alongside the eighth-generation Passat beginning in June. A definitive North American introduction date is yet to be announced, although officials say advanced orders will start immediately after its debut this week.