16 Long Term Test Cars on The Road Racing to The Hill

vw
ARTEON
Pretty
replacement for
the Passat
cc
--.......-_ -'-·
THE VOLVO'S TORQUE
BONUS IS NULLIFIED
BY ITS EXTRA WEIGHT
AND HEIGHT
•
VOLVO
XC60
Medium-sized
posh SUV
smugness
Ben will, in just
17 miles or so,
complete this
overtake
Arteon versus the SUV takeover
Families used to drive cars like the VW Arteon, being run by Ben Pulman.
Now they drive cars like Anthony's Volvo XC60. Progress?
HENEVERASELECTION OF cars gather
i11 a windblown lay by, their keys up for
grabs in a Tupperware box of opportunity,
some fobs will prove easier to purloin than
others. Unmissably bright though its paint
• is, such is the case with Ben Pulman's VW.
The M5's keys are nowhere to be seen; ever. The Arteon's are
always there. So I grab them.
The Phaeton was a great car. Quite why such a sublime
machine sank without trace is still baffling. (In 2014, VW sold
31 Phaetons in the UK. In 2015 ... eight.) But, in the context of a
mass manufacturer of 'people's cars' having des idees au dessous
de sa gare, it is entertaining to speculate on how the Lexus LS400
might have fared badged as a Toyota.
I mention this because, at a time wherein the top-heavy
SUV/crossover mould - ably personified by our Volvo XC6o -
do1ni11ates our auto1notive topography, Volkswagen is
having another stab at the original prestige saloon format in the
form of the Arteon. Happily, the Arteon is a much better fit in
the Volkswagen line-up than the ill-fated Phaeton. It's spacious
enough to allow the unfeasibly long Mr Pulman to sit comfortably
behind himself, comprehensively appointed and with no
W12 powerplant in sight. Lest we forget, as presented here, the
Arteon is also a cool nine grand less than the XC6o.
Followi11g Pul111an across fa1niliar yet endlessly enjoyable
Welsh roads, the sun quickly drying the tarmac just as soon as
the fast-moving cloud base stops throwing down rain, it strikes
that in the VW, for the money, you are well rewarded. Ben rightly
describes the Volvo's interior as 'lovely', but so, in a somewhat
more Teutonic fashion, is that of the VW. Indeed, so comfortable
and spacious is it that, but for the lack of evil-smelling dog
accommodation the ff-Cs would happily be prised from one to
t'other. Arteon estate, anyone?
Botl1 VW and Volvo major in suspension compliance focused
very much on. ride quality, a definite bonus from tl1e perspective
of other family members.
However, while the XC6o may still be hustled along at a
respectable lick, the torque bonus it enjoys over the Arteon is nullified
by extra weight and height. And when it comes to B -roads,
the perceptibly quicker, more responsive and agile latter actually
entertains while the farmer merely copes.
You'll have to take n1y word for all of this, though, because
garnering feedback from colleagues at our gathering proved a
tad tricky: 'Have you tried the Volvo or the VW yet?' 'No not yet
but I will WHO'S GOT THE Ms KEYS?' ►
ANTHONY FFRENCH-CONSTANT
2018 I The Best Cars as Your Choices 4