New Volkswagen Arteon set for Australian comeback

The facelifted Volkswagen Arteon has been unveiled alongside a new Shooting Brake derivative -- and both versions of the German car-maker's flagship passenger model will be available in 236kW high-performance R guise for the first time.

The biggest change to the Arteon for its midlife makeover is the addition of the wagon model, which is claimed to be all-new from the B-pillar rearwards.

Despite its striking lines, Volkswagen says the Arteon Shooting Brake's beauty is more than skin-deep, with the rakish wagon offering 11mm more front headroom and 48mmm more rear headroom in the rear.

Boot space, meanwhile, has been boosted to 590 litres -- up from the fastback sedan's 536 litres.

For Europe, there's also the new choice of a plug-in hybrid powertrain that combines a 13.7kWh battery with a 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder to produce a combined 160kW, plus a pure-electric range of up to 55km.

More relevant to our market could be the new R versions of both the Arteon fastback and Shooting Brake.

Lifting its turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder from the Golf R, the Volkswagen Arteon R produces 236kW and 420Nm and channels all its might through an all-wheel drive system. There are no performance claims for the Arteon R yet, but a sub-5.0sec sprint to 100km/h is expected.

Helping reign in any over exuberance, the VW Arteon R sports 20-inch alloy rims and comes equipped with large 18-inch brake discs clamped by four-piston callipers up front and a floating single-piston unit at the rear.

In the metal, you'll recognise the upgraded Arteon R by its imposing sports body kit that features a front splitter, rear diffuser and quad exhaust outlets.

Inside, the fastest-ever production Arteon gets nappa leather-clad sport seats, a new sport steering wheel and R-specific graphics for both the infotainment system and digital instrument cluster.

The rest of the updated Arteon comes equipped with new LED headlights, a tweaked radiator grille that integrates the daytime running lights, a redesigned front bumper and a pair of new tail-lights.

Inside, there's an updated multi-function steering wheel, touch-sensitive controls for the air-con and a redesigned upper dash panel.

New options include a 700-Watt premium sound system and a 30-colour ambient lighting system.

As standard, all Arteons now feature a digital 10.25-inch instrument cluster and either an 8.0-inch or 9.2-inch infotainment system.

Instead of a key, the refreshed Arteon can also be unlocked and started by a driver's smartphone.

Under the bonnet, aside from the new R model's high-performance engine, all the previous powertrains carry over unchanged. That means Australians will likely again be offered the 206kW 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine in the sole Arteon model previously available here, combined with a seven-speed auto and Volkswagen's 4MOTION all-wheel drive.

New tech introduced for the revised Arteon includes Volkswagen's Travel Assist semi-autonomous cruise control that can steer, accelerate and brake on the highway at speeds of up to 210km/h.Road-sign recognition, lane-keep assist, park assist and a new emergency assist system -- which can bring the Arteon to a halt if it thinks the driver is unresponsive -- have also been introduced.

The upgraded Volkswagen Arteon sedan, new Arteon Shooting Brake and R versions of both models will be launched in Europe in the third quarter of 2020.

Volkswagen Group Australia told carsales the Arteon would return to showrooms Down Under in early 2021, following its withdrawal late last year due to supply issues, but said the all-new Shooting Brake and R versions were yet to be confirmed for local release.

"We'll consider other variants depending on availability and price," said VGA spokesman Paul Pottinger.