In A Sea Of Four Door Coupes Can The New VW Arteon Make Waves?

The four-door coupe look is all the rage these days. From the awkward-looking BMW Gran Coupe to the Tesla Model S, it feels like the market is flooded with long, four-door liftbacks.

That market saturation has had its casualties as the field gets more and more diluted. Sales of Volkswagen’s CC have slid south since they first introduced the car in 2008, peaking in 2011, when they sold 29,502 cars. Last year they only moved 3,237 cars in the United States, so their new Arteon is either what VW needs to pump up its higher end sedan market or it’s just another four-door coupe in a quagmire of four-door coupes. You decide.

VW first exposed the world to the idea of a CC replacement in 2015 with their Sport Coupe Concept GTE, and not much has changed in its appearance since it became the Arteon. Arguably better looking than the CC, the Arteon will be the top car in the VW lineup, placing it significantly above the Passat. As evidence of how much farther above the Passat it is, the Passat starts at just over $22,000. The Arteon? Current pricing in the German market, where they are already taking orders, is just shy of $53,000. That’s a pretty big leap.

Technology abounds in this new ride. Cruise control can be set to adjust your speed according to the posted speed limit. If a driver becomes incapacitated the car will slow down and move to the right-most lane. Your car will even anticipate upcoming curves based on the GPS and turn the headlights into the curve before you even start to saw at the wheel. That’s a lot of pretty sweet tech.

In Europe there will be a choice of six different engines with between 148 and 276 hp, including three different diesel engines. Unfortunately – or fortunately depending on your point of view – given that VW just pleaded guilty to three different federal charges in the Dieselgate scandal, don’t expect see the oil burners hit these shores any time soon.

There’s no word when the cars will appear on this side of the pond, but deliveries in Germany will begin some time in June. We should know not long after that if this is the car the four-door coupe market needs or not.