Driving Report VW Arteon: The First Choice as a Hybrid – and the Better Touareg

You might be helped: The Arteon with the eHybrid abbreviation also manages around 50 kilometers of electric range in our initial test rounds, officially it's 59 km for the Fastback and 57 km for the Shooting Brake in the WLTP. This would even cover an astonishing 95 percent of the needs of German drivers, which, according to a study by the Federal Ministry of Transport, occur daily. It also cruises diligently in the selectable hybrid mode, especially in the emissions-heavy take-off operation.

Even with a "dead" battery there's an advantage: Regeneration

Even if the 13-kWh lithium-ion battery is empty, effective regeneration during braking remains, and the good feeling that, unlike the grumbling diesel, the deceleration energy is not lost but is available again as electrical energy during the next urban jolt. An initial 60-km test round on a winding and hilly country road course in the Harz with a three-quarters full battery first resulted in a realistic and stable electric range. And secondly, a moderate mixed consumption of 3.7 l/100 km, when the combustion engine came into play.

Managing the power: Predictive Hybrid Strategy

The so-called predictive hybrid strategy is clever, extracting even more from the combustion-electric interplay before simply running the battery flat and then occupying an otherwise always thirsty combustion engine almost alone. The navigation system uses map data and GPS to predictively – foresightedly – provide hints to the driver so that he decelerates early before a curve, thus leveraging optimal regeneration. With active ACC or "Travel Assist," i.e., assisted transverse and longitudinal guidance up to 210 km/h, the premium Passats even regulate this automatically, for example, when entering a town and thus automatically adapting the use of the drive systems in advance.

Already swift purely on electric power

Well, the Arteon, driven solely by the 85 kW electric engine, hardly noticeably interrupted by the jerking of the 6-speed DSG, performs so well that one will hardly ask for more in everyday life. If you want to let it "rip" on a free country road on the holidays: The GTE button helps. Then, thanks to 218 system horsepower and 400 Nm total torque, the Arteon sprints to 100 km/h in 7.8 seconds, pulls through like a large-volume V6 engine thanks to electric boost, sorts the gears smoothly and quickly, and garnishes the whole thing with a bit of rowdy sound from the canned thanks to sound modulation of the actually "old" 1.4-liter TSI turbo. It does the job perfectly in this pairing with the electric motor. The standard TSI, on the other hand, can be safely forgotten. What is the point of a 2.0-liter TSI with 190 horsepower or even a 2.0-liter turbo gasoline engine with 280 horsepower? It's absurd that VW intends to introduce a 320-horsepower TSI from the sporty R-Line studio by spring. Hopefully, the customer will draw their conclusions.

The diesel is supposed to be genuinely clean with twin dosing - always

And if he drives a lot of long distances, it's better to continue with the "good old diesel," which, as in the entire reformed VW group with the new TDI generation, the emissions are said to be truly eliminated in all operating conditions. Twin dosing is the magic word here, which is said to eliminate nitrogen oxides at low as well as high temperatures and reportedly also at high highway speeds. A spokesman said that they want to exceed the regulations and refers to the fully published emissions protocols that the Arteon TDI completed with the NGO Emissions Analytics and reportedly even undershot the EU limits for the stringent RDE cycle.

Bottom line: Most people drive best with the eHybrid

Hmm, grumbling and not very harmonious in cooperation with the 7-speed DSG, the power delivery, especially with the 200-hp TDI (completely unnecessary), occurs explosively and additionally it drives more sluggishly in the narrow switchbacks of the Harz compared to the coherent, snappier and smoother eHybrid. It is worth noting that the 1.7-tonne Arteon in general also counts among the "grand tourismos" in the so-called sport mode, as the manufacturer wants to position him. In other words: Comfort prevails over ultimate hardness and agility, a sensitive and comfortable steering feel prevails over razor-sharp nervousness. Passat virtues, so to speak. Only the somewhat diffuse brake could bite more precisely.

With the diesel, we managed hardly less than 6.0 l/100 km on the country road with the rather front-heavy and comfortable vehicle with moderate driving style, which is not too far from the WLTP values of 5.2 l/100 km. But it really only pays off for daily long-distance drivers. We pressed the sprint-strong top TSI with all-wheel drive to 7.3 l/100 km with sensible driving, but less is hardly achievable here. More, on the other hand, quickly: Anyone who spurs the GTI engine, quickly has to expect consumption well over 10 l/100 km. While on the highway, the good Cd value of 0.26 of the sleek silhouette represents an advantage over the trendy SUV faction and the Arteon's style and design relative 2.1-tonne big-size SUV Touareg.

Refined Travel Assist paves the way

On the highways, the further developed Travel Assist can also be used most effectively. With the press of a button, the sensor technology then takes over almost everything from accelerating and maintaining distance to passing through construction zones (now also recognizes yellow lanes), lane keeping, and emergency braking, partially automated at Level 2. The steering wheel now recognizes more sensitively whether hands are on the wheel and no longer constantly triggers alarms. If necessary, however, the Arteon decelerates to a stop if the driver indeed no longer responds to warnings and braking. However, once the system recognized a truck relatively late, we had long since pressed the brake by then. The intelligent cruise control usually reacts quickly and reduces the speed to the allowed measure. A foresighted driver can manage this more efficiently and let the car coast longer instead of decelerating sharply.

Speaking of which: Efficiency tips are also available via navigation, for example, when a crossroad is coming up behind a curve and the driver unknowingly accelerates once again. The active lane-keeper now aligns more with the center and no longer oscillates from left to right. Many small steps on the way to autonomous driving. And yet, the driver should always be attentive and, in the truest sense, aware of the current traffic situation.

What does this mean?

Reason and enjoyment united in a hybrid – for us, the matter is clear with the Arteon, which stands "pars pro toto" for the entire conventional portfolio of the conglomerate: If a natural gas model is not available as another worthwhile alternative, as with the Golf or Passat, then the eHybrid replaces the TSI and usually also the TDI. It is the most reasonable and in everyday life probably the most efficient and enjoyable choice. Especially if you subtract the "innovation premium" from the starting price of 51,927 euros. If you indeed charge with green electricity daily. Otherwise, the stylish PHEV calculation from VW does not add up, neither economically nor ecologically. And while we are at it: The Arteon is also the better Touareg, whose raison d'être as an oversized big-size model for itself and as a category in light of this fine, spacious, and frugal station wagon is more in question than ever.