Volkswagen has upgraded the Arteon for the 2020MY and it now qualifies for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) Top Safety Pick award.
However, despite boasting improved features, it has failed to nab the Top Safety Pick+ award, over the headlights in the base SE trim level, which do not provide sufficient illumination at night and were rated as ‘poor’.
On a more positive note, the adaptive LED headlamps offered in the SEL, SEL R-Line and SEL Premium R-Line grades were rated ‘good’, with the agency stating that “visibility was good on both sides of the road”, both “on the straightaway” and “on curves”, and adding that “the low beams never exceeded glare limits”.
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In other tests, the 2020 Arteon managed to avoid collisions with other cars at 12 and 25 mph (19 and 40 km/h). It also avoided accidents or slowed down in the tests that simulate adult and child crossings in front of the vehicle, but “failed to slow down in tests simulating an adult walking in the road in the same direction as the vehicle”, the IIHS notes.
Offered in four trim levels, priced from $35,995 for the FWD and $37,895 for the AWD models, the 2020 Arteon has standard autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian monitoring, forward collision warning, blind spot monitor, rear traffic assist, automatic post-collision braking system, ESC, ABS and eight airbags.
The list can be enhanced with the optional lane assist, park steering assist, overhead view camera, high beam control and adaptive cruise control.
