[TheGreatSoprendo]

Just back from an 18 day family Euro road trip (France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and back through France to UK) and was keeping an eye out for Arteons while travelling, especially as I've only seen a couple in the UK so far. I expected I'd see loads on the autobahn at least.

In summary, my highly unscientific survey of European Arteon ownership suggests that they're just as rare in Continental Europe as they are in the UK. After 4000km of road I spotted a grand total of 4 Arteons:

1. Italian registered, driving south from the Brenner Pass in northern Italy
2. Italian registered, parked in Sirmione, on Lake Garda
3. Italian registered, on motorway driving south of Verona
4. French registered, driving through Alsace

None at all on German roads, most surprisingly.

I can only therefore conclude that the Arteon's beauty appeals more to the style conscious Italians and French than their less flamboyant north European cousins :smile_big:

 

[fastback]

Once an Arteon R comes out I bet it will help to further stimulate sales of it and lower Arteon versions. It helps that HGP made their very own version before VW had a chance: https://www.autoevolution.com/news/...80-hp-is-ready-for-36l-twin-turbo-119570.html

 

[TheGreatSoprendo]

Availability seems to be a big stumbling block from what I can see (perhaps as a result of WLTP).

Just take leasing, for instance, an increasingly common way to buy new cars in the UK. There have been plenty of attractive lease deals available on the Arteon, but with a 6 month waiting time people seem unwilling to sign up. I'm waiting for mine but I can understand why many wouldn't want to (eg if you're swapping one lease car for another, it might be hard to time the switch-over correctly with such a long lead time), and people are naturally impatient.

Maybe it will only ever be a niche car - 9 times out of 10 people with £30K+ to spend on a car will go for a BMW/Merc/Audi/JLR, and even if they can see beyond those badges, most tend to want an SUV these days.

 

[ArteonAdam]

I’ve recently ordered a 1.5 TSI R-Line on a 24 month lease. Been given a 6 month lead time. Not too fussed because I’m not in a massive rush.

The lease deals are (IMO) dirt cheap at the moment. I’ve agreed to £238 PCM with a £2149 deposit.

A BMW 4 Series on the same contract is £330 PCM and £2970 deposit. The dealer also wanted a £360 admin fee as well...

The salesman explained the WLTP to me. I’ve been informed that the cost of the lease may rise pending the results of WLTP. If that happens I have the right to cancel. The salesman’s opinion was that WLTP would be likely to effect diesels and the older petrol engines.

The second hand values are interesting. There’s a 67 plate R-Line 2.0 TDI with 29k on the clock is going for £23,200 and a 67 elegance is going for £24,295 with 13k on the clock.