Volkswagen Arteon review

It may not have a premium badge, but the Arteon isn’t an overtly cheap cash buy next to rivals that do. And while it is currently predicted to hold respectable resale values, its PCP finance payments are much higher than those of the BMW 4 Series and Audi A5 Sportback, but less than the Jaguar XE's.

Because list price has a bearing on company car tax, even though the Arteon’s engines are relatively clean, monthly benefit-in-kind payments on the better-performing but pricier 2.0-litre engines don’t look super-cheap. For that reason these are better suited for private buyers who don't do vast annual mileages - although fuel consumption is generally on a par or better than rivals'. For business buyers, the 1.5 TSI manual provides the lowest company car tax payments.

There are two trim levels to choose from, and both are extremely well equipped. We’d stick with entry-level Elegance, which gets you features including a 12.3in digital instrument screen, LED headlights, adaptive cruise control, 18in alloys, keyless start, front and rear climate control, nappa leather seat trim and heated front seats. A few options you might want to add are adaptive dampers, keyless entry with electric tailgate operation, metallic paint and a rear-view camera. R-line is a sportier offering, adding bigger wheels and rear privacy glass.

Euro NCAP awarded the Arteon its maximum five-star safety rating. We've poked into the finer details of those tests and found the Arteon scored very well in each individual category – there are no glaring weaknesses in adult, child or pedestrian protection and its safety systems work well, too.

As standard, safety kit includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian sensing, traffic sign recognition and lane departure warning. You can add blindspot monitoring and a feature called Emergency Assist, which will bring the car to a controlled stop, including steering, if the driver becomes unresponsive.