The successor to the well-regarded Volkswagen CC has yet to go on sale. As previously reported, the all-new Volkswagen Arteon’s US launch was (again) pushed back a few months to early this year due to delays in the certification process caused by a backlog in meeting World Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure emissions testing, commonly referred to as WLTP. That testing was supposed to have been completed early this year, meaning now.

VW previously targeted a winter 2019 launch, but evidently, that’s not happening. We reached out to VW for an update and were told by a VW spokesperson that the 2019 Arteon "basically should be on sale in late spring” this year.

The reason for the delay is the same certification issue, only VW can’t do anything about it. Turns out Audi is the one handling this. "It’s an Audi engine and they were running way behind (with WLTP certification). They are responsible for the homologation,” the spokesperson said.

The engine in question is the turbocharged 2.0-liter TSI four-cylinder with 268 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque, which is paired to an eight-speed automatic gearbox. Both front and all-wheel-drive are expected to be offered, though the latter will be optional. The Arteon has been on sale in Europe for a few months now, though it has a different and more powerful engine in that market.

After homologation delays, the car will reach dealerships a bit less than a year later than it was originally planned.

Originally promised to hit U.S. dealerships in the third quarter of 2018, the Volkswagen Arteon was delayed for our market due to homologation issues. It will now finally go on sale early this summer, a Volkswagen spokesperson confirmed to C/D.This new nameplate effectively replaces the old CC, a derivative of the Passat that had a more rakish design—like the Arteon does.

Volkswagen says the delay was due to the rollout of new WLTP regulations in global markets, which pushed the timeline back for U.S. homologation of this new model. The Arteon will remain a 2019 model-year vehicle in our market, and its U.S. specifications, which were announced in February 2018, won't change. It comes with a single powertrain—a 268-hp 2.0-liter inline-four, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission—and comes in either front- or all-wheel-drive forms.

Trim levels for the Arteon include SE, SEL, SEL Premium, and a sporty-ish R-Line model with a few visual tweaks. An Audi A7–esque hatchback with stylish curves, the Arteon looks far more attractive than the bland Passat mid-size sedan both inside and out, and it offers far more luxury features. It's also considerably more powerful than the Passat, which comes with a 174-hp turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder and is front-wheel drive only.

We don't know pricing for the Arteon yet, as that will come closer to its on-sale date a few months from now. Our expectation is that it will start in the mid-$30,000 range, with better-equipped models topping $40,000.

If there’s one thing we came away with while slingshotting the 2019 Arteon through mountain roads east of Santa Barbra, California during the vehicle's first drive event, it’s that Volkswagen’s newest sedan is a thrill to drive fast. Thrilling enough, in fact, that we left wishing Volkswagen would build an Arteon with a stiffer suspension and more horsepower to push the model to its full potential.

So when Volkswagen of America’s soft-spoken senior manager of product and technology communications, Mark Gilles, sat next to us at our lunch stop, we peppered him with questions about potential new variants while our Arteon’s piping hot brakes cooled. What he told us is promising. According to Gilles, "Volkswagen has been toying with the idea of bringing an Arteon R to the European market."

Whether that go-fast version of the Arteon would make it to America, though, is another matter. The reason Volkswagen isn’t sold on bringing an Arteon R to the US has to do with its price. Since a base Arteon SE FWD starts at $36,840 and the range-topping SEL Platinum R-Line with 4Motion goes for no less than $47,705, it’s reasonable to expect an Arteon R to start in the low to mid $50k mark.

"In the past we’ve had trouble selling a $50k+ Volkswagen in America,” said Gilles, referencing the Phaeton sold from 2002 to 2006 that failed spectacularly in the US. Another reason for the apprehension is that the Arteon's delays mean Volkswagen hasn’t had time to gauge how Americans like the standard 2.0-liter fastback before jumping in with a second version. That isn’t the case for Europe since the Arteon has been on sale in there since 2017.

The 2019 Volkswagen Arteon is Volkswagen’s new, albeit long delayed, flagship sedan. It’s more expensive than the rest of the VW sedan lineup, and it has that long, elegant body styling that says, “I’m here to make you feel important, not budget-friendly.” But no matter how much you spend on the Arteon, one thing won’t change: Its headlights will still suck. Badly.

That’s according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which has, since it began headlight testing a few years ago, taught us all just how much disparity there is between how well vehicles light the road. Some have good headlights on more expensive trims and bad ones down low, for example

But with the Arteon, which starts at $35,845, there’s no ambiguity in headlight quality between trims. No matter which version you get, according to IIHS, the headlights are going to suck.

IIHS published a recap of the Arteon’s safety ratings Tuesday, saying it did well in crash safety but missed out on any award qualifications due to its headlights. It got IIHS’ top rating, a green “Good” icon, in every overall crashworthiness category, but the big, fat red mark comes in the headlights category: “Poor,” IIHS’ lowest of four ratings for that test

IIHS ratings list the Arteon as having three different headlight setups, which all received that “Poor” rating. The bottom SE trim that starts at $35,845 has LED projectors without high-beam assist, via IIHS, and the evaluations of the lights ranged from “inadequate” to “fair” visibility depending on the situation.

The LED projectors on the SEL and SEL R-Line trims, which start at $41,795 and $43,560, respectively, were also rated as poor, but IIHS described certain areas of visibility as “fair” and “good” despite the low beams creating “excessive glare.” Similar was true for the LED projectors on the $46,210 SEL Premium trim, which, unlike the other headlight options, does have high-beam assist.

Regardless, though, each option got a giant, red “P” for poor on it, and more details on the individual IIHS ratings can be read here. That means no matter how much money gets thrown toward Volkswagen’s top sedan, buyers in this model year still won’t have great visibility going down the road.

Good luck out there, as usual.

Volkswagen has been talking about the prospects of introducing an Arteon wagon since December 2016, even before the fastback received its world debut. The more stylish alternative to the not-for-America Passat Variant was finally announced in August 2019, although at that point, the peeps from Wolfsburg only revealed plans for a shooting brake, without actually mentioning it would be based on the Arteon. The car was indirectly revealed about a month ago as the CC Travel Edition for China, and now, we finally get to see its European cousin while undergoing testing in snowy Sweden.

Disguised to mimic the Passat Variant, the Arteon looks quite large and therefore it should be immensely practical. VW might label it as a shooting brake, but at the end of the day, it’s a typical wagon with rear doors and all. The test vehicle appears to be almost undisguised, although there are stickers on the taillights to hide the actual design. At the front, the bumper appears to be carrying some camouflage in the same color as the vehicle’s body, but it’s probably not hiding something to write home about.

Much like the aforementioned CC Travel Edition, the Arteon Shooting Brake appears to have a slightly higher ground clearance and is also equipped with plastic cladding on the wheel arches. These tweaks effectively make it a fancier alternative to the Passat Alltrack and a more premium option compared to the recently launched Skoda Superb Scout.

Aside from the obvious extension of the roof, the more practical Arteon has gained a bigger rear spoiler and a wiper, while the CC Travel Edition’s roof rails appear to be missing on this prototype. Faux exhaust tips are noticeable – a trend that can’t die soon enough.
We’re not expecting any major changes inside as the Shooting Brake will likely carry over the liftback’s cabin. That said, VW has promised the Arteon will get a facelift later this year, which will bring some “cool enhancements” inside, according to Hein Schafer, VW's senior vice president of product marketing and strategy. We also know the new derivative is going to be assembled in Germany at the Emden plant, and there is somewhat of a chance it will be offered in the United States to compete with the Subaru Outback and that rumored lifted wagon from Ford.

An official reveal of the posh shooting brake should take place later this year, either to coincide with the debut of the Arteon facelift or shortly thereafter.

Volkswagen's Arteon is approaching the midpoint in its lifecycle, and the automaker is planning an update for the sultry fastback sedan that will include a number of new variants.

One of the new variants will be a high-performance Arteon R, a prototype for which has been spotted. The prototype is completely devoid of camouflage gear meaning the debut must be coming up shortly.

The Arteon R features a more aggressive front fascia with enlarged intakes on either side and a new front splitter. The car also sports an upgraded brake package with blue calipers, as well as a set of quad-exhaust tips. Both are signature traits of the Volkswagen R performance skunkworks.

Power is expected to reach just over 400 horsepower, generated by a new 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6, and drive should be to all four wheels via a dual-clutch transmission. The combination should be good for a 0-60 mph time of around 4.0 seconds. The Arteon's performance currently tops out at 268 hp, generated by a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4.

As mentioned earlier, the Arteon R will arrive alongside an updated version of the complete Arteon range. Among the updates pegged for the car are revised styling, a new dash design with a larger infotainment screen and more connectivity options, and possibly a tweaked all-wheel-drive system. There will also be a new shooting brake body style.

VW's updated Arteon is expected to be introduced later this year as a 2021 model. Sadly, we've heard that the Arteon R and Arteon shooting brake won't make it to the United States. That doesn't necessarily mean we won't see any new variants here; an Arteon plug-in hybrid is also in the works and still a chance for local sale.

Two. That's how many Volkswagens have leaked out onto the internet today. Earlier this morning we got a good look at the Volkswagen ID.4, VW's electric crossover that's earmarked for multiple markets, including the United States. The second is a car we are most certainly not getting: The 2021 Volkswagen Arteon wagon.

The leak first appeared on CarNewsChina's Facebook page, and it makes it quite clear this is essentially Volkswagen's take on the Audi A4 Allroad. However, we aren't so sure Volkswagen's executed the off-road wagon concept quite as well as Audi. Those of you with good memories might recall the recent teaser Volkswagen sent out for the refreshed Arteon, which we called "über-hot" at the time. Well, we were wrong, because what we have here is basically a lifted wagon version of the more attractive Arteon sedan.
Updates to the Arteon sedan, which the U.S. will get, are still on the way, and the aforementioned teaser promised a revised interior to make the car feel more premium. There will also be visual changes to the front end—many of which you can see in the leaked images. We are also still crossing our fingers for an Arteon R that's been spied mulling about Germany. Until we get official images of the Arteon and its wagon counterpart, though, you can take a look at the leaked images and make up your mind as to whether you like it or not.

The Volkswagen Arteon, which landed on American shores for the first time for the 2019 model year, is getting a refresh. for 2021. Part of that refresh is a 315-horsepower R trim that you’ll be able to get in either fastback or wagon guise. If you live outside of America, that is.

According to Autoblog, the new model is 20 mm lower than the standard car and a system called R-Performance Torque Vectoring allows the car to take all 315 horsepower from its turbocharged four-cylinder engine and dump them all out onto the road through either of the rear wheels when you need it under cornering stress. Add that to new brakes and the adaptive suspension that all Arteons sit on and it’s clear that this new car is a force to be reckoned with.

Volkswagen says that all that will allow the car to hit 60 miles-per-hour in under five seconds and that the car’s top speed is limited to 155. That’s no joke, especially when the standard car’s 268 horsepower felt a little slower than expected when Andrew tested the American-market car last year.

No manual transmission will be on offer. You’ll have to make do with the standard dual-clutch box that you’ll find in all Arteons. What is unique on this car, though, are the blue brake calipers framed by bigger wheels, more aggressive front air intakes, and exclusive sports seats and interior trim. The standard car’s interior impressed Andrew about a year ago, and these updates do make it look a bit more special.

Both the fastback and wagon should hit the European market within months but don’t expect to see it over here any time soon. If you really want one, start planning to ship one over in late 2045 at the earliest if import laws don’t change. If you want a fast VW before then, the next R model we might expect to see will be the eighth-generation Golf. Whenever Volkswagen decides we’re ready for it, of course.

The 2021 Volkswagen Arteon is rolling into dealers as we speak, and VW just announced official pricing for the updated model.

Unfortunately, the refreshed Arteon gets more expensive. The new base price for the SE trim is now $38,190, including the $1,195 destination charge. That’s $1,175 more than the 2020 Arteon, which was already questionably expensive. VW does provide more goods for the extra coin this year, though.

Every new Arteon now comes with VW’s Digital Cockpit instrument cluster as standard equipment — you had to upgrade to the (now unavailable) SEL trim to get it before. VW also inserted an updated 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and gave it a more premium dash with touch-sensitive buttons.

Both the SEL R-Line and SEL Premium R-Line trims get a touch cheaper this year, so you’ll get a slightly better deal if you want one of the higher-content Arteons. The SEL R-Line now starts at $42,790 (or $44,590 with all-wheel drive), and the SEL Premium R-Line at $48,190.

Every trim comes with the same 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that makes 268 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque.

One quick look at Autoblog listings for the Arteon show sizable discounts for most new ones listed. The prices that VW is asking for the Arteon do come across as high, especially when you consider what else can be had for its price — namely the Kia Stinger. Basically, don’t pay anywhere close to the list price for one of these.

VW hasn’t exactly been selling many of them either. Sales started to pick up in May last year, and VW has sold just over 5,000 since then. It’s reasonable to assume a lapse due to the pandemic, but the Arteon has had some of its best sales months from June to September this year. We’ll see if this light update and price massaging is enough to move the needle.