Volkswagen Arteon - long-term review

VW might fancy the Arteon as an Alpes-Maritime luxury boulevardier, but it’s also a hugely effective GT. And long-haul transport, for a last-minute Barlow family sojourn. It demolished the first part of the journey, for our Lyon stopover, with only the occasional grumble from the engine, reminding you that it uses the devil’s own propellant. Truly luxurious grand touring is not having to stop at a superheated French service station – we saw 39.5°C – and once again the Arteon’s giant range and mile-swallowing high-speed gait proved almost hypnotic.

For future reference, though, avoid the A7 l’autoroute de soleil on the first weekend of August. It runs from Lyon to Marseille, and basically becomes a 185-mile traffic jam.