VW Arteon

[FRSkoda]

My superb was at the garage (yet again) yesterday and as its a joint VW / skoda garage I had a chance to sit in the Arteon - 5 door hatch / coupe - looks rather nice and interior quality and exterior build solidity was (as expected ) a massive jump up from the superb - for example the thickness of the bodywork metal means that panels don't flex when you press them.. but its rather too flash looking for me. Interestingly the 190 motor 4 motion isn't available - if you want 4 wheel drive then you have to get the 240 tdi or the 280 tsi... Yes its a lot plusher than the skoda, but £16k extra for 240bhp but otherwise near identical spec.. not sure the difference justifies it.

Edited 30 June, 2017 by FRSkoda

[freelunch]

I saw this review: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volkswagen/arteon/first-drives/volkswagen-arteon-20-tsi-280-r-line-2017-review

and it looks like it has come from the same design studio as the Superb.

[Fatso]

56 minutes ago, freelunch said:

I saw this review: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/volkswagen/arteon/first-drives/volkswagen-arteon-20-tsi-280-r-line-2017-review

and it looks like it has come from the same design studio as the Superb.

I noticed the Superb got a couple of mentions in the comments for that article.

[penguin17]

I think it looks ace.   I had the Pasatt CC and that was a great car despite being a sharp suit wrapped around an aging platform and drivetrain.   

 

I think VW are being a bit optimistic with pricing but I'd expect some hefty discounts and good lease deals to be available after it's been on the market a year or so. 

 

 

[teebs]

I think they're trying to go more up-market with this car versus the old CC.

 

VW need to be honest with themselves, the vast majority of their sales will be to the fleet / company car market. 

[jrn6581]

Am I the only one thinking that VW should get rid of the Passat and concentrate on this I've never really understood the point of the Passat. It clearly competes with Insignia, Mondeo and the rest of the D segment stuff but if VW are to be believed it's an alternative to the BMW 3-Series and Merc C-Class and clearly it isn't and with this new offering i think they are just having a laugh thinking this will tempt people away from premium stuff. Now if only Skoda had got their hands on the design I think they would have made more of an impact than VW will.

[Croat]

I was just looking at this comparison!

 

 

 

Honestly I didn't jet drive the Superb I own Octavia 3 PFL, but I did test the Arteon and it looks so sexy. I was impresed with the Elegance test model with 2.0 TDI 150 hp with DSG. Bit pricy but so sexy! I tought to my self this is competitior to the superb. Altough superb has more space in the back. I think this is nicer looking. More sporty!
Not shoure can I justify the price. Some say it looks like Audi A5 sportback. Yet audi is so boring inside thes days.
 
Arteon is wery comfortuble to drive and steer. But I realy need to test the Superb.
Superb is though more roomy and Passat like, but better loking than Passat to me interior and exterior.

Edited 5 July, 2017 by Croat

[Superb170]

The Arteon commands a high price for a car that is just bordering on premium when for similar (or close enough) money can get an A5 which is full-on premium.  I still think the Arteon will be a slightly niche choice and most will go for the A5.  Nice car all the same but very hard to justify over a Superb as the Superb probably has 80-90% of everything the Arteon has in terms of comfort and refinement, even looks TBH.

Edited 5 July, 2017 by Superb170

[Coops]

I like the look of it. I'm ready for something different now - thinking that when my Superb is replaced in 3 years I'll go for something else. 

 

If I'm honest - I'm bored of the Superb now.

 

[penguin17]

I'm sorry but the new A5 looks pants.  The design is now dated IMO.  The very first A5's look fat and boring now; whilst the new one, in my eyes, shares a very similar silhouette to the Ford Mondeo...

 

Mercedes is now heads and shoulders above the premium German marques in terms of design.  Rumor has it their build quality is slowly improving too.  TBH a bit gutted as I could lease the new E Class for cheaper than my Sportline.  

[freelunch]

I can't see buying the Arteon (how do you even say that?) as it looks just like my Sportline, maybe a bit lower and more "swoopy". But value for money?

 

I, too, like the E Class coupé, except for the front grille. The back end looks a lot like my old Brera. I wish for an Alfa Romeo Giulia coupé, but doubt that they'll make one. 

 

I've only had my Sportline since January, but am sure I will be more than happy to hang on to it for three years. I'll get tired of the red before I get tired of the Sportline.

 

I got rid of my FJR1300 yesterday. Paid off my credit cards and bought a years' insurance for the car. I've settled into sedate late middle age. 

 

I love it. 

[roughrider10]

2 minutes ago, freelunch said:

I can't see buying the Arteon (how do you even say that?) as it looks just like my Sportline, maybe a bit lower and more "swoopy". But value for money?

 

I, too, like the E Class coupé, except for the front grille. The back end looks a lot like my old Brera. I wish for an Alfa Romeo Giulia coupé, but doubt that they'll make one. 

 

I've only had my Sportline since January, but am sure I will be more than happy to hang on to it for three years. I'll get tired of the red before I get tired of the Sportline.

 

I got rid of my FJR1300 yesterday. Paid off my credit cards and bought a years' insurance for the car. I've settled into sedate late middle age. 

 

I love it. 

No, don't give up on motorcycling, I've just turned 60 but I refuse to give up on my bikes, in April 2016 i sold my beloved Yamaha R1 Super sports, this was for serious reasons, the riding position played hell with my wrists as its head down and ass up, the risk of losing my licence due to its insane speed, it would hit over 100 mph in first gear, and the high possibility I was going to die. So my solution was to move down to something more manageable and comfortable, so I brought a little Honda CRF250L, and I love it.

[Coops]

19 minutes ago, freelunch said:

<snip>

 

I wish for an Alfa Romeo Giulia coupé, but doubt that they'll make one. 

 

 

It'll come I'm sure of it.

 

Even the stock Giulia is stunning:

 

[Speedman]

 

17 minutes ago, Coops said:

 

It'll come I'm sure of it.

 

Even the stock Giulia is stunning:

 

Sat in one of these at the weekend - I agree the outside is lovely but the inside is cramped, uncomfortable and cheap looking.

[freelunch]

6 minutes ago, Coops said:

 

It'll come I'm sure of it.

 

Even the stock Giulia is stunning:

 

That's the £60K model you're showing. The standard model is not as low or as sexy. The boot is too small and access to narrow. The stop/start is quite agricultural. And they're having first year teething problems, if you read the Alfa Romeo forums. Still...

 

@roughrider10 Yeah, I was quite sad to see the back of the bike, but I only put 85 miles on it last year. If I didn't live in central London, I might consider something smaller, but no. 

 

I confess to thinking that getting rid of it is an admission of getting old. I was getting tired of hefting that lump around. Even the courier who collected the bike was puffed after loading it in the van. Said it was the heaviest bike he'd wrestled with.

[skomaz]

I think the Alfa is auto-only in the UK as well...

 

Not sure I like the front end of the Arteon...   it doesn't seem to have been thought through properly with that body coloured lip on the leading edge of the bonnet between the lights - looks a bit droopy to me.

 

 

[roughrider10]

18 minutes ago, freelunch said:

That's the £60K model you're showing. The standard model is not as low or as sexy. The boot is too small and access to narrow. The stop/start is quite agricultural. And they're having first year teething problems, if you read the Alfa Romeo forums. Still...

 

@roughrider10 Yeah, I was quite sad to see the back of the bike, but I only put 85 miles on it last year. If I didn't live in central London, I might consider something smaller, but no. 

 

I confess to thinking that getting rid of it is an admission of getting old. I was getting tired of hefting that lump around. Even the courier who collected the bike was puffed after loading it in the van. Said it was the heaviest bike he'd wrestled with.

The FJR1300 is a big lump of a bike, the R1 was bloody heavy as well, if I ever had dropped it, there was no way I could pick it up on my own, the little CRF is manageable and i love riding around the country lanes of Hampshire. But as they say, once a biker, always a biker, keep an open mind on that one.

[freelunch]

7 minutes ago, roughrider10 said:

... keep an open mind on that one.

Oh, my mind is open! At the moment, my wallet is shut. 

[Coops]

40 minutes ago, Speedman said:

 

Sat in one of these at the weekend - I agree the outside is lovely but the inside is cramped, uncomfortable and cheap looking.

 

Typical Alfa then!

 

39 minutes ago, freelunch said:

That's the £60K model you're showing. The standard model is not as low or as sexy. The boot is too small and access to narrow. The stop/start is quite agricultural. And they're having first year teething problems, if you read the Alfa Romeo forums. Still...

 

 

Shame.

 

30 minutes ago, skomaz said:

I think the Alfa is auto-only in the UK as well...

 

Not sure I like the front end of the Arteon...   it doesn't seem to have been thought through properly with that body coloured lip on the leading edge of the bonnet between the lights - looks a bit droopy to me.

 

 

 

I think they didn't want to upset the grille lines coming off the headlights - there are 2 of them, having a third would make it look odder than it is now. But you're right it does look a bit of an afterthought. Strange that Skoda dropped the large opening hatch in the S3 but then VW pick it up in this.

 

[penguin17]

Notice that there's a few VAG cars now sporting a clamshell style bonnet.  Was the Superb the first to have one?  

 

 

[kezwald]

6 hours ago, freelunch said:

I got rid of my FJR1300 yesterday

 

Bet you miss it already ?

 

5 hours ago, roughrider10 said:

the risk of losing my licence due to its insane speed, it would hit over 100 mph in first gear, and the high possibility I was going to die. So my solution was to move down to something more manageable and comfortable, so I brought a little Honda CRF250L, and I love it,

also have a YZ426 crosser 4 stroke and its mental like going from a petrol to diesel with torque lol. Started at the age of 9 with a KX80 and ended up sponsored- about the only thing I have trophies in and finished racing 20yr ago

I'm a decade behind you in age

[kezwald]

The Arteon does not float my boat unfortunately from the pics

[roughrider10]

10 minutes ago, kezwald said:

 

Bet you miss it already ?

 

also have a YZ426 crosser 4 stroke and its mental like going from a petrol to diesel with torque lol. Started at the age of 9 with a KX80 and ended up sponsored- about the only thing I have trophies in and finished racing 20yr ago

I'm a decade behind you in age

Like you I have had bikes since I was 16 years old, only time when I was without a bike is when we had kids, so could not afford to have a car and bike, but you are never to old to ride, I love the freedom of a bike, and with the little CRF I've found a few nice little green lanes to potter down, but I'm already drooling over a second bike, Yamaha MT10, which basically has the R1 detuned engine in a sit up beg frame, I have not told her in doors though.

Edited 5 July, 2017 by roughrider10

[kezwald]

13 minutes ago, roughrider10 said:

Like you I have had bikes since I was 16 years old, only time when I was without a bike is when we had kids, so could not afford to have a car and bike, but you are never to old to ride, I love the freedom of a bike, and with the little CRF I've found a few nice little green lanes to potter down, but I'm already drooling over a second bike, Yamaha MT10, which basically has the R1 detuned engine in a sit up beg frame, I have not told her in doors though.

 

for some reason first part was missing from my other post which I quoted you on I have a 14plate Fireblade and yes agree with you

[roughrider10]

2 minutes ago, kezwald said:

 

for some reason first part was missing from my other post which I quoted you on I have a 14plate Fireblade and yes agree with you

Good on you, love the Fireblades but i can't do head down any longer, but you keep going for as long as you can and enjoy.