2021 Volkswagen Arteon

The 2021 Arteon starts at an MSRP of $ $36,995 and the top-of-the-line trim can go all the way up to $46,995. This is where the rivals start to sound like a better option. The Arteon is practical but not one of the most luxurious sedans in the segment. The competition offers a far better overall package. The Volkswagen Arteon competes against the likes of the 2021 Cadillac CT4, 2021 Infiniti Q50, and the 2021 BMW 330i.

For 2021, the car comes in three trim levels which are SE, SEL R-Line, and SEL Premium R-Line with the prices starting at $36,995 and going all the way up to $46,995. The base SE trim only comes with a front-wheel-drive layout and gets features like 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlamps with DRLs, 12-way powered heated front seats, proximity key, and push-button start. Go one up the trim level and for $41,595 you have the option of driving home the SEL R-line trim which comes with an option of having an all-wheel-drive.

It comes with a panoramic sunroof, seats covered in Nappa leather, adaptive cruise control, 12.3-inch infotainment, and interior ambient lighting. At the top of the line is the SEL Premium R-Line trim which comes with 20-inch alloy wheels, Massaging driver's seats, Harman/Kardon Premium audio system, Park Assist, and Area View.

Which Trim should you buy?

The trim which is the most balanced out and gets the most features for the money is the mid-spec SEL R-line trim which comes for $41,595 for the front-wheel-drive variant. It comes with features like a panoramic sunroof, seats covered in Nappa leather, adaptive cruise control, 12.3-inch infotainment, and interior ambient lighting. Also, there is the option to have an all-wheel-drive if you want some additional traction.

The 2021 Volkswagen Arteon is primarily made for effortless highway cruising and for that Volkswagen has put under the hood a 2.0L turbocharged inline-4 which is good enough for 268 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. The numbers aren’t particularly class-leading and you can not expect some great outright acceleration figures out of the engine. It is a good motor and the acceleration figures are also good enough.

Like the most turbocharged motors, this one here loves being revved and you can take it to higher revs without feeling the guilt of pushing the car around too much. This engine is mated to an 8-speed automatic torque converter unit and this is the gem of a gearbox. It just hides the turbo lag so efficiently and makes sure that you are always in the power band no matter what. There is a slight hiccup while shifting from first to second gear but once past that, the car pulls quite cleanly.

While the Arteon is the most powerful car here among all the turbo inline-4s, the Infiniti is the only one that comes with a V6 and that makes it the most powerful car here. Surprisingly it's the least powerful Cadillac which is the quickest for a sprint from 0-60 and that is all because of the power to weight ratio as it is a pretty light car. The Volkswagen Arteon comes last in acceleration performance. 

How well does the 2021 Volkswagen Arteon handle?

As sporty as the Volkswagen Arteon looks, it is a soft handler on the road. The car has the inherent characteristic of being a slightly sporty sedan and can tackle the corners better than a lot of cars in the same segment. The R-line trim comes with independent suspension allowing the car to be even more focused on twisty winding roads. 

The R-Line models sport a chunky steering wheel with four-corner notches, but the steering never feels too tight or too loose despite a steering assist system that provides light resistance at low speeds to make parking easier. When you are in a mood for spirited driving, it weighs up and sharpens the response quickly too.

2021 Volkswagen Arteon Braking Performance

This is a pretty heavy car but it can come to a halt pretty quickly thanks to the exceptional braking hardware. And not just that, the car also comes with autonomous emergency braking for those unseen circumstances as standard now. The 2021 Volkswagen Arteon comes with ventilated disc brakes both at the front and rear.

At the front, the car gets massive 13.4-inch rotors while the back gets 12.2-inch discs which are pretty much the best among the competition. These are complemented by ABS and EBD to make sure the car stops in the shortest time and distance under challenging circumstances as well.

The BMW 330i tops the charts when it comes to braking performance with just 103 feet needed to stop from 60 mph, which in all honesty, is quite impressive. Meanwhile, the Arteon is just adequate, requiring a fairly average 114 feet from 60 mph to come to a complete halt. The 2021 Infiniti Q50 is slightly better in terms of the overall braking distance compared to the 2021 Volkswagen Arteon.

Fuel Economy is not something turbo inline-4 is quite famous for. That is simply the case with the Arteon as it is though quite good when you are cruising along the highways where the car gives a fuel economy of 32 miles to the gallon but once you hit the city limits and traffic, it comes down to a mere 22 miles to the gallon. Thanks to the 17.4-gallon fuel tank, the tank range for combined driving scenarios is just over 450 miles which are quite good.

The BMW cars are famous for being quite a lot fuel-efficient and even in this competition here, it is the most fuel-efficient of the bunch and even with the smallest fuel tank, it is able to shell out one of the longest tank ranges. The 2021 Infiniti Q50 is the least fuel-efficient car in the competition but comes with the largest fuel tank which allows it to deliver the best-in-class highway range. 

Volkswagen prefers to keep its interior layout simple and without a lot of unnecessary curves or materials used. So that is pretty much what you’ll get inside the Arteon as well. It is a very clean and cohesive layout with a lot of straight lines running across the dashboard and you won’t notice the use of any unnecessary piece of trim anywhere. The whole dashboard seems to be split into two sections by a huge AC vent running across the width of the car. The upper dash is draped in leather while at lower surfaces you might find some plastics but the quality of materials used is top-notch.

The seats themselves are very comfortable and even for longer journeys, they hold you quite well. The rear seat space is also quite generous and three medium-size adults can be quite comfortable here. The only thing is due to the sloping roofline, the side occupants may hit their head on the side pillars if they are quite big. Also in the models with no sunroof, the glass area might feel a bit less making this somewhat claustrophobic at times when all seats are occupied.

The 2021 Volkswagen Arteon comes with a cargo capacity of 27.2 cubic feet which is more than enough for all of one’s daily needs, thanks to the fastback shape. Even for some weekend trips, this can easily store luggage for four or five occupants. Given that the opening is quite wide and the lip is also quite low, it is considerably easy to utilize all the space inside. There is also a false flooring under which is the spare tire.

The Arteon might not be the most spacious car here for the front row occupants but for the rear seat comfort, it is definitely the best among all. Also due to the fastback shape, it has the biggest trunk in the bunch giving it some additional points. The cargo area is way better than all the other rivals. All the sedans offer very similar space in the front and rear rows. The 2021 Infiniti Q50 offers the best rear-seat space in the competition. Some of the key interior features are:

• Ventilated front seats with massage feature
• Sports steering wheel and sport front seats in R-Line trims
• Interior ambient lighting
• 60/40 Split-folding rear seats
• Electrochromatic rearview mirror
• A 3-zone climate control system

What’s there to keep you entertained?

The Arteon comes with a pretty typical 8-inch infotainment touchscreen that you’ll find in all of the Volkswagens these days. The touchscreen is super responsive with punchy colors and big icons, making it quite easy to use and navigate.

It is also super bright making the readability under direct sunlight no issue at all. It comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity along with all other basic connectivity features. This display is supplemented by an 8-inch digital driver’s display and while it is pretty much similar to the ones we see in Audi, it has got to be one of the best displays in the competition. Some of the key infotainment features are:

• An 8-inch standard touchscreen infotainment system
• New MIB3 interface system
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• 12-speaker Dynaudio music system
• 12-speaker 700W Harman Kardon audio system
• 8-inch digital driver’s display
• In-built navigation system with prompt updates
• Volkswagen Car-Net

The 2021 Volkswagen Arteon is one absolutely gorgeous car. It came out a few years back and we are still drooling over the way it looks. The low roof, long wheelbase, and sloping rear window give it a fastback style with hatchback functionality. The front might feel a bit messy to some as there are a lot of lines going on there, but we certainly like the 3D element they bring on to the table, and also the LED light bar running across the width of the car looks good too. The R line gets more aggressive bumpers which compliment the overall look better than the normal Arteon. 

At the side, the sloping roofline looks evident and that fastback coupe type look gives the car a characteristic stance of its own. Long wheelbase along with those massive 20-inch rims makes the car look sporty and elegant. The rear quarter has got to be one of the best angles to look at the Arteon. As wide as it may look from the front, the rear is more squatted and with those slim taillights, it looks rather unique. The small lip spoiler and twin exhaust pipe at the lower bumper give the car that much-needed sporty stance.

It is pretty much the heaviest car here and that is quite obvious as the Arteon also has the biggest footprint here. It is the longest and widest car here and though it has a low roof than some of the others, it is still pretty much the biggest car in the competition. The 2021 BMW 3 series offers the longest wheelbase in the competition followed by the 2021 Infiniti Q50. Some of the key exterior highlights include:

• Heated power folding ORVMs with integrated indicators
• New light bar in the front grille
• LED lighting all around with LED DRLs
• 19 and 20-inch alloy wheels
• R-Line trim get distinctive badging
• Rear lip spoiler
• Frameless windows

The 2021 Volkswagen Arteon is equipped with quite a lot of safety tech which helps it in getting away with any crash situation and even if there is a crash, the car will be able to keep all the occupants pretty safe. Though the car hasn’t been tested by the NHTSA, the IIHS has awarded the Arteon with their “Top Safety Pick” award and also the car received a “Good” rating for all the crash tests including the highly notorious small front overlap test for both driver and passenger side.

Further, if we talk about the safety equipment list of the car, it comes with Adaptive cruise control, pre-collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, tire pressure monitoring, and lane-keep assist. The other safety features list include ABS with EBD, traction control, electronic stability control. If the system detects an unavoidable impact with a pedestrian, the hood raises before impact to help reduce head trauma. Some of the key safety features include:

• Dynamic Road Sign Display
• Travel assist system and Adaptive Cruise Control
• Tire Pressure Monitoring
• Blind Spot monitoring
• Automated Emergency Braking
• Pre Collision system
• Post Collision system
• Updated Rear View camera
• Lane Keep Assist
• Park Assist

2021 Volkswagen Arteon vs 2021 Cadillac CT4

The Cadillac CT4 is maybe the most flashy car of the bunch cause it is after all a Cadillac. The car is well built and has come a long way to compete against the Germans but we would say there are still quite a few rough edges that the manufacturer needs to smoothen out before we can really put our money on the Cadillac. Until then, Volkswagen gets out the vote.

2021 Volkswagen Arteon vs 2021 infiniti Q50

One thing that makes the Infiniti Q50 an instant winner is the more powerful V6 motor which makes it a better option than the 2021 Arteon. Talking about the actual comparison between the two, both of them are equally good and bad.

Both of them have some features that the other one lacks and both have their own strong and weak points. The Infiniti Q50 offers a better overall package compared to the Volkswagen Arteon.

2021 Volkswagen Arteon vs 2021 BMW 3 Series

Both the BMW 3 Series and the Volkswagen Arteon look absolutely gorgeous. While the Arteon is the new kid in town, the 3 series has ruled this space since forever and that is pretty much for very obvious reasons.

For once it is a better driver’s car and also comes with a more fuel-efficient motor.

Well if you ask us then you should. It is one hell of a looker, is quite spacious inside, the TSI motor is a gem, and paired with that gearbox is just outright brilliant. The interiors are quite a lot comfortable and the digital driver’s display is amazingly beautiful. All the while the car is pretty affordable too. So if you are in the market for an entry-level luxury sedan, you can look out for the 2021 Volkswagen Arteon.