VW Arteon R-Line facelift launching in Malaysia soon

It appears that the facelifted Volkswagen Arteon, unveiled back in June 2020, will be making its Malaysian debut soon. This is after a six-second teaser clip was seen uploaded to Facebook, followed by the caption “The new Arteon R-Line 4Motion coming soon.”

The Arteon is still relatively new here in Malaysia. In August last year, Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia launched the locally-assembled R-Line with a 2.0 litre TSI turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, offering 190 PS and 320 Nm. The sleek D-segment fastback carries a price tag of RM221k.

The hotter Arteon R-Line 4Motion with 280 PS and 350 Nm of torque appeared shortly after, though that RM270k CBU unit was a one-off by Volkswagen PHS Autohaus.

What’s interesting is that the caption of the teaser clip mentioned 4Motion, indicating that the facelifted Arteon may arrive in a hotter state of tune. There is the full-fat R variant with the blown EA288 2.0 litre four-potter that dishes out 320 PS and 420 Nm, though it’s very likely we won’t be getting that.

Upgrades are fairly significant for a midlife update. The dashboard layout gets heavily revised, featuring redesigned air vents and the deletion of the analogue clock. This is good, for those who want a more distinct separation from the Passat, which it is clearly based on.

There is also a touch-based HVAC controls below the eight-inch infotainment screen (now with the new MIB3 system, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto) for a more modern look, while a new steering wheel design (also with touch controls) with a thicker centre boss greets the driver. The fully digital instrument cluster continues to be offered.

Other niceties include a fancier 30-colour ambient lighting system, a wireless smartphone charging tray, and even a 700-watt Harman Kardon premium audio system for range-topping models. Again, the specifications are market dependent, so don’t get your hopes up just yet.

On the outside, the design changes are fairly subtle. The huge front grille remains, but the LED daytime running lights are now connected by additional LED strips. Volkswagen’s IQ.Light matrix LED system is available as well, and the rear end gets a brand new LED tail light design.

The biggest, most obvious change is the addition of the Shooting Brake variant. It is essentially an estate version with a stretched roof, offering 565 litres of cargo capacity (fastback has a pretty cavernous 563-litre space). This expands up to 1,632 litres with the rear seats folded down (1,557 litres for the fastback). In both cases, the load space has a maximum length of 2,090 mm, which is plenty.