Volkswagen Arteon is one of the hottest hatchbacks in Qatar right now

The 2018 Volkswagen Arteon was Qatar Living's official car for the recently concluded Qatar Motor Show. If you were following us on Instagram, you may have got a sneak peek of the Arteon already.

We had the luxury of test driving Volkswagen's potential flagship for over two weeks and we instantly fell in love with it. Let us tell you why the Arteon is oh-so elegant.

The Arteon is arguably more capable of turning heads than any other Volkswagen, especially if the exterior is emphasized by colors such as Turmeric Yellow. However, our test car was black and was still a major head-turner. Our test was already off to a great start.

Some members of the Qatar Living team have been driving Volkswagens for a while, mainly Touaregs and Jettas, but the Arteon was the most inspirational and intimidating piece of design we’ve seen from Volkswagen for a while.

Arteon Options

The Arteon comes in three variations - base model is just called the Arteon, then there's the Arteon Elegance (the one we tested), and the top option is the Arteon R-Line.

The new look of the Arteon is quite a departure for Volkswagen from its traditional angular front-end look and could potentially be the design for their entire lineup.

The chrome-stripped front grill runs all the way from the radiator to the headlights, which are full LED as standard. That's a nice touch considering the price tag of QAR150,000 for the base model. The front is loaded with a couple of sensors and a forward facing camera.

The in-cabin driving experience was exceptional and must say it was on par with some of its other German counterparts (Audis, BMWs and Mercs must beware). The interior was elegant and spacious and loaded with technology - push button start, heated seats, adaptive cruise control, lane assist, blind spot assist and rear traffic alert just to name a few.

When you enter the cabin, you get the impression of sheer space, an approach that categorizes the Arteon as premium luxury. The wide vent that covers the length of the dashboard is nifty and the rather huge 9.2-inch digital display is one of the smoothest we have tried.

We also loved the active HD info display in the instrument cluster, which enables a 3D birds-eye navigation system. The blue ambience lighting that runs along the dash and on to the 4 doors adds to the luxurious vibe.

The Drive

Now for our favorite bit - the driving experience itself. The Volkswagen Arteon is equipped with a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder petrol engine that produces 280 horsepower and 350 Nm of torque. The engine is mated to an engaging 7-speed automatic gearbox, which is the perfect recipe for one of the smoothest rides.

The Arteon we tested sported the 4Motion badge, which means it's an all-wheel-drive, and it really never had any traction issues when putting down the 320 Nm of torque and 280 horses.

The Arteon also features four driving modes - Comfort, Sport, Economy and Normal. We drove in Normal mode for the most part as it felt just about right. The Comfort mode seemed a bit floaty and the Sport mode just made the Arteon too fidgety. We didn't even bother to try the Eco mode.

The only limitation we noticed was the subtle turbo lag when rolling off and back onto the throttle while in the Comfort and Normal mode. This problem does not persist in the Sport mode, but throttle response can still be found wanting at times.

In the Sport mode, the Arteon can transform from an Elegant lady to a ferocious animal. We didn't push the car to it's limits, but from the several reviews we have seen, this car can be a pacy thriller.

Closing remarks

Overall, this car is the epitome of the phrase bang for the buck. At QAR150,000 for the base model, the Arteon is better priced than the Audi's A5, BMW's 4 Series Coupes and Mercedes Benz's C-Classes.

In a nutshell, the Arteon is eye-catching, spacious, stylish and loaded with helpful technology and features. The pros outweigh the cons minimalistic design and average throttle response.

If you'd like to book a test drive the Arteon, head to the Q-Auto dealership located on Salwa Road or visit www.volkswagen-me.com