Volkswagen Arteon - long-term review

This isn’t a partly political broadcast on behalf of diesel, but before industry laziness, governmental sound-bitery, and consumer ignorance do for diesel completely, don’t dismiss it out of hand. The Arteon and its bedevilled powerplant have improved my life no end this past few weeks.

Granted, this is an engine brought to us by the same company that was guilty of one of the great corporate scams of all time. But when you find yourself criss-crossing the country to the tune of approximately 1,300 miles in one week, an average of 50mpg and a fuel tank (66 litres) capable of giving an over-600 mile range are attributes that find themselves rocketing up the wanted list.

Like everyone else, VW is currently grappling with the new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP), the real-world riposte to the outdated protocols of the old NEDC. I’ll be keen to find out what the Arteon bi-turbodiesel’s various emissions are, and suspect I’ll still be making a case for diesel unless it turns out to be the equivalent of piping NOx directly into the ventilation systems of the nation’s primary schools.

Not to diminish the scale of the problem, but it’s interesting how air quality has supplanted CO2 emissions as the environmental issue du jour. Just as the hole in the ozone layer and acid rain will be familiar to those of us who can remember the late Eighties. My point being, we all need to be better educated.