Can The People's Car Be A Luxury Car? Volkswagen Builds A GTI Sport Limousine, Årteon

Årteon bodywork is clean, chiseled Bauhaus, something most other Germans have forgotten. Instead of complicated Baroque forms, we have instead simple, pure lines. It also drives with surprising athleticism for something so very large.

Årteon steers, corners and rides with the athletic style of an imaginary Jumbo GTI, until of course physics taps at the shoulder to say, “Listen here, old boy, there’s 800 pounds more car back here than you might suspect.” More or less an elaboration on the architecture that underpins GTI and most other current VWs, Årteon has front and rear interior space that matches or surpasses an Audi A6 or Mercedes E-class thanks to a wheelbase over nine feet long. As German luxury brands and Lexus increasingly turning to Baroque and even Rococo exterior design, a competition to make the most garish out-sized grille, Årteon stands apart as pure Bauhaus with a slight dash of graceful Art Deco to the grille and headlamps.

Taut creases across hood. Sense of tension and purpose. Beautifully executed sculpture. Fantastic integration of grille and headlights.

Putting aside the sturdy genetic origins of this handsome peasant, Årteon’s capability stacks up well against luxury sedans from the usual suspects, all of the Germans powered by similarly torquey turbo 2-liter 4-cylinders. Like most other VWs, Årteon has an Audi-engineered and VW-calibrated engine.

Front seat is adjusted for a six foot three passenger. Yes, there really is that much rear legroom. Child steps down from booster to floor, then out with all the grace of a Duchess. Not a CUV, the step to a curb is also easier for a child to complete.

Steering and cornering is excellent as in every current VW, Årteon rolling in a predictable manner and taking a nice set when arcing through big mountain bends. Chassis communiques arriving at the bio-gyroscope located at the base of the spine, the old seat of the pants, deliver first-rate intel and thus a satisfying drive. In no time, you’re working it like a bank robber with satchels of cash in the enormous trunk. Årteon drives like a far smaller car. No V8 roar, no shocking acceleration, but the chassis carries speed into corners with surprising talent for something so grandly up-scaled.

Driving to the top of the mountain was a surprising delight. Thanks to a dollop of GTI DNA, Årteon attacked tricky uphill hairpin corners with considerable style.

Perhaps not quite up to BMW or Mercedes standards, but Årteon’s interior materials are high-quality, pleasing to the touch, and tightly assembled. Dash, center console and door design is clean, crisp Bauhaus, with no tortured or convoluted surfaces.

Best feature? These buttons for activating the parking assists. I just had a $90,000 luxe sedan that buried these functions two menus down on a touch screen. In Årteon, place right-hand fingers on top of the dash for balance, then accurately plunge the button. Every carmaker should copy this means of activating the parking cameras and sensors and the planview imagery on the big touchscreen. It’s one of those industrial design elements that speak to the overall goodness of the vehicle.

One detail ably illustrates the high-level logical and obvious useful collaboration between ergo engineers and designers. At the center of the dashpanel are plunger buttons for the parking assist technologies. Brace four fingers of the right hand on the dash top and plunge either of the buttons with thumb, a perfectly sorted and nicely balanced physical move that keeps the head up, looking out the windshield and glancing down at the big screen for the planview. I recently had a very expensive European 4-door that buried these functions two layers down on a poorly sorted touchscreen, which proved utterly maddening when performing J-turns in the far corner of my garden, demanding repeated steps to the menu to activate cameras and sensors, taking eyes off the task, and the computer was slow to change screens—UGH. You’ll find absolutely no such stupidity in Årteon.

Typical of German cars, the driver is oositioned properly, the car designed around that. excellent ergonomics. Materials not quite to BMW or Mercedes standards, but crisp and of very good quality.

And switchgear. I’ve been blessed with access to the very finest cars of the VW Group, including all flavors of Lamborghini, Porsche, Bugatti Chiron, and I used to be loaned newly introduced Bentleys—God almighty, they’re all gorgeous. NVIDIA chips for the VW-badged cars are a step down, with less color and graphic capability. But from Tiguan to Chiron the logic of menus and function is intuitive, to a high standard. I had a Lamborghini Huracán EVO the week before Årteon, and the logic was parallel. Same electric parking brake button. Two thumbs up for the VW Group.

One can harrumph at VW sedan that costs $48,000 totally loaded. But VW is also hip to leasing. And the new head of VW America ran Audi for many years, quite successfully. Expensive sedans and CUVs are often lease items, as it’s easier to write-down the cost against an LLC/LLP.

Can the VW badge carry a price tag that ranges from mid 30s to nearly $49,000 loaded to the gills with 20-inch wheels, all-wheel drive and tasteful trim? At what point is a VW a luxury purchase? Or is this simply the 4-door coupé alternative to a VW Atlas CUV? Keep in mind that INFINITI marketers used to pull their hair out at the mere mention of the Toyota Avalon, which in past years many consumers preferred to a smaller but ostensibly more luxurious Maxima-based INFINITI.

R-line is mostly cosmetics, and includes optional 20-inch wheels. Even with the huge wheels, the car had an excellent ride over the worst LA highways. If the minor blackout trim pieces don’t work for you, save a few grand and skip R-line. I’d say treat yourself.

Do many Americans want this type of sedan, which is aimed at the Chinese market where 4-door sedans with limo-quality rear seat legroom are popular? In the U.S., such cars are often leased within an LLP/LLC, and under Trump tax law the deductions are quite generous, which in fact encourages more spend. Trump’s tax laws must be a boon to luxury sedan and SUV makers. A BMW 5-series or Mercedes E-class with all-wheel drive, a 4-cylinder turbo and comparable equipment can run $68,000+, with a lease ranging from $740 to over $900 after a downstroke. Here, Årteon competes on value, equipment and performance.

Trunk is enormous under a long, broad hatch. Plenty of room to store all that money you save compared to a Mercedes E-class.

At the valet stand, Årteon’s handsome lines outshine the more expensive competition–you can be the guy who gets it, not the guy who plays it safe. It’s important to note that a comparably equipped Mercedes C-class is many thousands of dollars more than a fully optioned Årteon, easily ranging over $53,000. C-class is a much smaller car with a far less useful rear seat, and C-class and its related Mercedes products are pretty common in our part of Los Angeles—when is a luxury brand no longer exclusive?

Årteon is only awkward from certain rear angles with forced perspective that show the height of the back end. Årteon should age well.

That leaves the dealership experience. VW dealers are fairly well run, often family businesses. VW Pasadena has tended my VW Daddywagen daily beaters, proving efficient and tidy in that no-nonsense get-it-done German fashion. But VW dealers are not luxe. You’ll toast your own bagel waiting during service, no croissant offered up by an attractive young person. Coffee, not cappuccino. An Uber ride to the office after service drop-off, not a flatbed pickup at your house. The upside is you won’t be at service all that often, and VW might want to consider funding flatbed pickup and/or delivery of Årteons. That makes Årteon a far better proposition than a Genesis bought and serviced at a Hyundai dealer. Rusnak and McKenna in Greater Los Angeles tended my Porsche for years, and both offered pickup and a croissant. Flatbeds I loved, but I never ate a croissant in either dealership. I don’t have the time, do you?

Not a bad line here. Grille is Art Deco, but is not a Rococo monstrosity like those of some luxury sedans and CUVs.

My 4motion Årteon test car would hold appeal in the Rocky Mountains, Pacific Northwest and New England, but anywhere else one can save several thousand by opting for front-drive. Are 20-inch R-line wheels needed? No, but the suspension contained their weight and motion fairly well, and they look spectacular.

Rear seat offers stunning leg room, even with front seats positioned for those well over six feet tall. Doorframes are tall so there is no strain or back ache with locking seatbelts for the booster seat. Smaller children still in child safety seats are just as easily moved in and out.

If a 3-row VW Atlas CUV has burdensome overtones of afterschool activities, if a pressed German suit is desired, there’s little reason to hold back. If you appreciate honest design and a smart German package, Årteon is an engaging option to the German usual suspects.

The photos here are not trompe-l’œil. Årteon’s big as it seems.