Volkswagen Vento factory vehicle with a new headlight cluster has been snapped doing some test rounds. The headlight cluster features integrated LED daytime running lights, which seems similar to that of the Volkswagen Jetta facelift. With its last facelift in June 2015, VW India could offer this feature as a model year update on the Vento. There is a possibility that this Vento could be an export-spec model, as VW India exports cars to 35 countries, and the Vento is the most exported product, which is also sold as Polo Sedan in certain markets. Thus, the LED daytime running lights could be offered exclusively for certain export market. On the inside, the sedan features a 2-DIN music system with Bluetooth compatibility, a multifunction steering wheel, electrically-adjustable and folding wing mirrors, cruise control and leather seats. Talking about the engine, the Vento will be offered in three variants a 1.2-litre TSI petrol and a 1.5-litre TDi diesel engine and a 1.6-litre MPi petrol engine. A 7-speed automatic transmission will be offered as standard on the TSI variant, in the TDi version it will be optional and a 5-speed gearbox is standard.
The 2019 Volkswagen Arteon. Go to Germany and shop for the all-new Volkswagen Arteon sedan, and you鈥檒l be spoiled for choice: different engines, different trim levels - it鈥檚 always the way. Not in North America, though. Apparently, we鈥檙e too impatient to want a choice. 鈥淚n Europe, you鈥檙e okay to wait six weeks and maybe longer, but here, you buy it right now,鈥?says VW North America鈥檚 product manager Kai Oltmanns. He鈥檚 talking about a prospective buyer walking into a dealership to purchase a car. 鈥淚f we give too many choices, the customer may not be able to get the right car right now. We鈥檙e good with this one choice. The R-Line package includes 20-inch wheels. Volkswagen Canada expects to sell maybe 1,000 of the new flagship Arteon sedans, the successor to the mid-sized CC, each year. CC buyers almost always opted for the loaded editions, so that鈥檚 what is available this time around.
All singing, all dancing, and all built on VW鈥檚 new MQB platform, which also underpins the Jetta, Atlas and Tiguan. 鈥淭here was nothing wrong with the CC, but it runs on the old platform,鈥?says Oltmanns. The new Arteon is thoroughly updated with leading-edge technology and a modern Gran Turismo design. Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 11.8 City, 8.7 Hwy., 10.2 Comb. The Arteon has a fastback design that鈥檚 low and sleek. It looks good - not so much a boring sedan as an attempted coupe, which is always more exciting, for better or worse. It鈥檚 not particularly memorable in a parking lot, but drivers will notice those swivelling LED headlamps coming up in their rear-view mirrors, shrouded beneath the clamshell hood. Certainly comfortable, and everything falls to hand as it should, but again, not especially memorable. I had to look at a photo to remind myself what it was like, and that鈥檚 after spending all day in the car. It鈥檚 spacious inside, with enough space in the rear for a pair of six-foot passengers to be comfortable, though their hair will brush the headliner.
Since Canadians only get the top-end trim level, the seats will be Nappa leather and both heated and cooled in the front, heated in the rear. A heated steering wheel is standard, as is a massaging driver鈥檚 seat, though it鈥檚 not really a massage - the lumbar support band pushes in and out against the small of the driver鈥檚 back. Yes, the only engine available in North America is the most powerful one, with 268 turbocharged horsepower and 258 lb.-ft. German rocketship. Overtaking is still a manoeuvre to be planned well in advance. More impressive is the handling. The Arteon鈥檚 dimensions are very similar to the CC, but while the new sedan is about 5 cm longer, it has an additional 12 cm of wheelbase. This gives it a bigger overall footprint. There are five different drive modes - Econ, Comfort, Normal, Sport, and Custom - and there are many settings within each that are easily adjusted by the driver. The computer will even set the active cruise control to stick more aggressively to a specific distance behind the car in front, or swivel the headlights more quickly around corners.
