Can the Volkswagen Arteon R-Line Punch Above It's Weight Class? | Thomas Drives | EvoMalaysia.com

[@ThomasYap]

Thanks CheeHau Tan for pointing out about the Steering Lock-to-Lock. When I mentioned lock to lock. I meant ONE full turn from Neutral to Lock. Means TWO turns from One Lock to the other. Thanks for the feedback!

[@regizeelement8511]

Love your review… straight to the point.. no beating round the bush… you have got a new fan now :)

[@ThomasYap]

Thanks 🙏 glad you enjoyed it and thank you also for the sub! 😁

[@muhddanialhamzahabdullah7389]

Great and honest review with good comparision. Keep up doing more review. Something for me to consider on buying this car now.

[@ThomasYap]

Cheers man. Take it for a test drive man. I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

[@qinchao]

Recently, I have been entangled in buying 2021 330IM SPORT, 2022 c300 or ARTEON R lINE. It seems that Volkswagen ARTEON is very cost-effective. Compared with the other two cars, it has more 4-wheel drive, 700W HARMAN CARTON audio, and horsepower than those two. The car is slightly taller. I was worried about wind noise, but it felt ok after the test drive. The chassis is very solid, and it can be accelerated and pushed back. If there are 2 rear vent holes that look better, don’t fake 2 vent holes. At this price and performance, all Japanese cars are sold. Currently, we are waiting for 2022C300 before deciding which one to buy.

[@ThomasYap]

Yep. The drive really gives alot of confidence. So glad that you are shopping around. The other thing to consider is that some people prefer a normal sedan body style versus a coupe 4 door like the Arteon. Good luck with your purchase!

[@royalprince5878]

Go for Arteon. It's comfort levels are miles ahead of all the cars you mentioned

[@hafizizaki5297]

which one did you buy? im also considering between these 3 cars

[@tonyng3107]

So 330i better or arteon?

[@xXWillyxWonkaXx]

I love your review dude. Keep doing what you're doing.

[@ThomasYap]

Cheers! Thanks for watching too! Don’t forget to subscribe for future content too! :)

[@christophermullen7539]

Hey Thomas, curious question, when keen drivers like yourself give comments on cars not being fun, like the arteon in this case, do you guys mean you guys want the cars rear to swing out ever so slightly when driving fast at corners, somewhat like a mini controllable drifting motion? Actually wouldn’t this be counter intuitive since if that’s the case, technically it feels more dangerous to drive, and you won’t dare to speed as much, which would kinda mean it’s not as exciting ? Or am I getting this all wrong. I’m of the opinion like if a car is more stable at corners like the arteon having a 4wd, you can take corners faster (not sure if this is true as well, assuming so because it’s more planted being a 4wd as compared to the rwd in a 330i) and wouldn’t that be spirited in a way as well ?

[@enghuilim9721]

Thanks for talking about this car, im sure many have the same question!

[@ThomasYap]

You're Welcome. Thanks for VW Malaysia for arranging us the Media Test Drive Car in SOP compliant fashion! :)

[@royalprince5878]

Well, how about the throttle response in Comfort mode? Is it lazy and weak or responsive enough?

[@ThomasYap]

Not super lazy, still can get the car to overtake and speed up without much fuss.

[@FTFLCY]

I have this model (in Tumeric) in the UK, but they've dropped the 282ps engine in the recent facelift (which yours is), but apparently pertains in Malaysia. Here there's nothing between the 190ps 2.0 Petrol, and 230ps "R" now. I got a great deal on an ex demo with negligible mileage. I've had much more expensive cars in my life, and chopped in my very special 7.5 R as I've just retired and want something more soothing. I've never been more pleased with a car. Roomier than my Jag XFs (I've had 2) and rides better than my Velar 3.0 HSE. Gets loads of attention in this colour too. Facelift has better interior, but I prefer the manual heater controls of mine. As rare as rocking horse shit in the UK. 99% of folk have no idea what it is. 320i and C200s are absolutely everywhere.

[@ThomasYap]

Nice! Thanks for sharing your ownership experience. Yeah I do think the arteon really offers a good competition to the C Class and 3 series.

[@royalprince5878]

Well is the ride comfort as comfy as Camry? How about NVH (soundproofing) which Camry is good in? I believe Arteon should be on par.

[@ThomasYap]

Hm.. soundproofing is surprisingly good. Even with frameless doors. Haven’t sat in a Camry for a long time but i can say not as quiet as a 330i but it’s close. But it’s quiet and comfortable enough for sure.

[@barrysmith7291]

Thanks Thomas I bought one ,great car👍

[@ThomasYap]

Ah it is. Congrats! Glad you like it. :)

[@limvincent2862]

Thomas, great video. Can you settle my doubt once and for all. I used to drove gti mk6 and the gearbox gave me many problems. Is the gearbox of Arteon or for that matter, all the new VW such as the Tiguan any different?

[@ThomasYap]

Thanks Vincent. Well I used to own a 2018 tiguan for a while. All is good. IMO The key to a healthy gearbox is to treat it like a manual. Especially in traffic creeping forward inch by inch kills the clutch and cause extra friction (extra heat and all the problems associated with it). But so far my experience with the wet clutch are good. :)

[@royalprince5878]

I'm surprised that you face gearbox issue. Yours GTI means use Wet Clutch DSG. All the while I thought only dry Clutch DSG is problematic, even wet clutch???

[@royalprince5878]

But again gearbox in facelifted Passat and Arteon are newer ones 7 speed wet clutch DSG which is assumed to be more reliable than before

[@BJ9976]

I own the legendary MK5 GTI with the DSG 6 speed wet clutch and I have it since 2007 ( 15 Years ). I have only changed DSG fluid 3 times from day 1 and it has 180K km in mileage today.

[@royalprince5878]

@@BJ9976 How does your Golf hold up now?

[@cheehautan7800]

19:52- Lock to lock 1 turn? Are you sure?

[@ThomasYap]

Oops. I meant 2 turns from one lock to the other. 1 Full Turn from Neutral to Lock. My apologies on that point. Thanks for pointing out! Check out my colleague Bobby Ang's Review on the way it locks. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aICnqmaMiciYsLc 5:04 onwards.

[@royalprince5878]

@@ThomasYap Well Bobby found the turning circle as tight but not very tight as the RWD Germans. How did you feel manoeuvring and turning the car? Is it good enough or need make huge circle?

[@royalprince5878]

@@ThomasYap But 1 full lock is impressive to be honest. So easy to do turns in city or in high speed suddenly an idiot breaks hard in front or potong line dangerously. At least can instantly move around. Safety

[@ThomasYap]

@@royalprince5878 yes. not as tight... But can manage lah. Not that bad.

[@royalprince5878]

@@ThomasYap Haha the size also contributes to the turning circle. It's huge maa. Humongous like Accord, E Class & 5 series

[@BJ9976]

That was a great review Thomas! But one thing u did not mention was the haptic controls on the steering wheel. Many have already complain about this with the MK8 GTI. Did u have the same problem?

[@ThomasYap]

Hey bro thanks for the feedback! I didn’t have issues with it actually. Could be the way I hold the steering.

[@qinchao]

考虑一年，今天再次看车，订车了，太漂亮了，可以说被惊艳到，性价比绝对超过宝马，奔驰同价位，甚至稍高价位的车。4轮驱动，280匹的马力，350纽米。按摩座椅，700W12个HARMAN CARTON 的喇叭，汽车的尺寸，造型，非常的大方得体。宝马奔驰减配很多，性价比不高。所以最终放弃。试驾过，地盘非常扎实，可以像坦克一样碾过小坑洞，非常的稳。1.7吨重。推背感，马力十足。跑长途超级稳。现在买还有优惠，超级合适。

[@ThomasYap]

Congrats on the new car! Thanks for sharing your experience of comparison too. :)

[@royalprince5878]

Well one thing I'm not that clear. The C300 & 330i have higher performance figures (especially torque). You said Arteon trumps them in terms of power delivery. In what sense? Is the Arteon power delivery so smooth and linear or lively and robust, comparative to the compact executive sedan rivals?

[@ThomasYap]

More smooth and linear. Sometimes spec sheets numbers shows up differently in the real world. BMW feels very linear and progressive too, but in the end I felt the arteon’s power delivery is marginally better.

[@royalprince5878]

@@ThomasYap Okay that sounds good. Some prefer neck snapping acceleration but that would be uncomfortable. Lol

[@royalprince5878]

@@ThomasYap Well I did read a review article which kinda surprised me. It seems that the throttle response of the car in Comfort mode was muted and no sense of immediacy compared to pre FL (which had lower power engine). Since you drove it, how did you feel? Was the response direct and immediate? I believe you hold more credibility haha since you're a keen driver.

[@ThomasYap]

@@royalprince5878 i like the tuning of the drive settings. Comfort is actually not bad. Don’t feel the immediacy like sport but Enough to do an overtake without causing unreasonable jerkiness. But of course if you want the responsiveness a change to sport will make it urgent. Neck snapping… I think it’s hard to say either of these 3 cars are neck snapping. Haha.

[@royalprince5878]

@@ThomasYap Alright fair comment. I can take your words 🙂🙂. In terms of responsiveness, Arteon still can't surpass you 😂😂😂 Instant reply to comment. Great. I'll support this channel

[@Choony126]

Good job bro. Keep up the good work

[@ThomasYap]

Cheers bro!

[@syc92]

I had already place my booking for 330i but you make me so confuse now hahaha

[@ThomasYap]

Ahhh….. maybe test both and see which one settles? Haha

[@tonyng3107]

Bro so which one u go?

[@royalprince5878]

Haha DSG known for lightning quick gearshifts but ... Hold on a second, I just zoomed in the dashboard cluster and the car was running 400 over km. Maybe after the the 1 thousand mile break-in period, it will improve. Usually test cars prior to this have already covered at least 1.5k to 2k km. So yaa maybe I'm right 🤣

[@ThomasYap]

wahhh. I applaud your level of detail and observation hahaha. Yes this is a very fresh test car from VMCP I believe.

[@royalprince5878]

@@ThomasYap Yes. Basically the brakes, suspension, engine and gearbox will reach the peak performance after run-in so as fuel consumption (peak efficiency after break-in). Anyway cool to see a very new car to be tested. Looks fresh

[@royalprince5878]

@@ThomasYap This test car, I am very sure the 1st person to get the hands on it is the Legend Ys Khong. Followed by Aurizn members and currently WapCar @ Adrian.

[@ThomasYap]

@@royalprince5878 It seems like that.

[@eric8188]

How about comparing this to G30 530i?

[@ThomasYap]

I think 530i has better cabin than the arteon. But probably not as fun as the Arteon R-Line 4Motion. And not as Cool looking as the Arteon. Frameless doors make me drool. :P

[@royalprince5878]

@@ThomasYap Ride comfort lebih kurang sama ke?

[@ThomasYap]

@@royalprince5878 530i better

[@royalprince5878]

@@ThomasYap Yaa definitely. The price. So Arteon is to be compared with C Class 3 series S60 only.

[@syafiqbaharudin1973]

hi, nice shirt. how to get it?

[@ThomasYap]

Got it from track day 2017. Not sure if you can buy it

[@ashraffendy2010]

Thanks for the review. Its refreshing to hear it from your perspective. Well, this Arteon is on my wish list apart from S60 and G20. Perhaps stage 1 tuning should be enough for this car to play around 😁😁

[@ThomasYap]

Thanks glad you enjoyed the review! :) yeah I was mighty impressed by the S60 too - probably the best in a daily drive in this category (in my opinion). But lacking the fun element.

[@ashraffendy2010]

@@ThomasYap for daily drive, and straight line, S60 is a no brainer. Tested it before, the torque is awesome but then handling left more to desire. I think Arteon shine more on that , same goes to G20. If budget permissible, I might eyeing c43 nor 340i 🤣🤣

[@ThomasYap]

@@ashraffendy2010 Hahaha. Yep! and S60 is great for car enthusiasts who have already the fun cars. In fact I've done a review early this year. Took it up Genting and found it... lacklustre. hahah. But everything else is overly impressive. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYa0nJqnfKypf9k

[@ashraffendy2010]

@@ThomasYap uh huh! I'll watch it shortly. Thanks for sharing , it seems I missed out your review on S60 tho . Keep up the good work!

[@ThomasYap]

@@ashraffendy2010 No worries. It was a car that I wasn't looking forward to drive. But after driving it. I was very happy I did.

[@deaf_eagle4469]

Volkswagen: Just look at our arteon BMW Fanboy's: BMW all day every day

[@ThomasYap]

I know right. My Inner BMW fan is going, "NOOOOOOOOO. BUT IT SO GOOD!"

[@bukitkatilmp]

Arteon offers better value for much less.

[@JohnsonLuvie123]

Lovely car😍

[@ThomasYap]

Yes it is! :)

[@gwloo]

Very good review!

[@ThomasYap]

Thanks! Appreciate it :)

[@chongws7247]

Bro, W205 center console also hollow la! Alamak don't simply tembak lah! 😂 Do some study first please You are mocking those W205 owners for paying more and getting less! 😂 Haha

[@ericljy99]

Best option below 300k

[@dcdarren8080]

Background music is overpowering

[@ThomasYap]

Thanks for the feedback DC will take note in the future

[@chongws7247]

Knock your A class and tell us is it hollow or solid! 😂

[@kennethlee3177]

Great review with a refreshing perspective from a Porsche owner! My head and wallet say "Arteon R Line", but my heart says G20 330i... :P

[@ThomasYap]

Yeah the arteon is a very competent choice. Would say more competent than fun. Where the 330i is more fun. But as an all rounder and the ease of drive. This is just for me la, the fun part is fulfilled by other cars in garage so I’ll be ok with it. Haha

[@kennethlee3177]

@@ThomasYap Agreed, the Arteon seems like a potent machine, basically a more grown up, mature Golf R Mk7 (that has put on some weight), perfect as a all-rounder machine. Best value for money in the premium compact Exec category! But the 330i has more drama and flair to it.. Also, the interior, the key and the brand of BMW (not to mention the resale value) make it more appealing to some people like me. :)

[@ThomasYap]

@@kennethlee3177 Yeah somehow. RWD has it's charm that is irreplaceable.

[@kennethlee3177]

@@ThomasYap Well said! :)

[@ow9196]

The walkaround should have better lighting

[@ThomasYap]

Yeah I agree. With the Lockdown, it's better to do it indoors. But of course, outdoor with good sunlight is the best. My apologies this is the best I can do in my area for now!

[@royalprince5878]

@@ThomasYap Naah if have studio lighting would be awesome 😂😂😂

[@dineisharvin7747]

Bro review with stylo dressing

[@ThomasYap]

Thanks :)

[@mohdhabibullahhameedsultan9585]

But no AEB, what a crap with this price??? Suppose to include that safety feature, even lower price toyota car does have that, what a shame

[@ThomasYap]

Sadly that feature is not on this car. So as on the Audi A5 Sportback. It's a tough balance to provide the features and to control the cost price. My guess, is that they feel this is a feature that will not deter most Malaysian Buyers. Just my guess.

[@deaf_eagle4469]

The infortaniment system is not as good as BMW I drive.

[@ThomasYap]

True. Many have many opinions. But in my experience, my favourite is iDrive.

[@aeroline11]

Infotainment of BMW is better than VW but the instrument cluster the BMW is not good as VW digital cockpit.

[@royalprince5878]

Out of topic : Your voice seem familiar and now this video. Got it. You have the British English accent. Your voice sounds like Wade Barrett, WWE Superstar 😅😅😅😅 British guy

[@bibiiu3559]

Ahhh BAD NEWS BARRETT

[@royalprince5878]

@@bibiiu3559 Yaa 😅😅😅

[@ThomasYap]

LOL

[@Priestitude]

Jus wan to comment u looks like bobby

[@nessuno5403]

"punch above its* weight"

[@1992vinod]

Here is a suggestion to VW malysia gm. Bring the price down to 180k .Slap in the 1.4 tsi engine,change to analogue speedometer,remove wireless carplay,change headlining to white,remove massage seat,remove 360 camera,remove 4 motion .And volla u can bring down maybe to 150k,make it a poor mans car. :D .Point is that,is the equipments that make the price go up

[@royalprince5878]

Nope. Why wanna drop the proven reliable EA888 Gen 3 engine? The 1.4 engine is known for oil consumption and other issues.

[@mikeyap4159]

Would say use the 1.8Tsi brilliant engine!

[@1992vinod]

@@mikeyap4159 yeah ,the 1.8 is a reliable one as tested by u ye😁😁.

[@ThomasYap]

@@mikeyap4159 yep. That 1.8 is brilliant!

[@dcdarren8080]

VW did that with Passat B8 trendline but it did not sell

[@tyranalexis5199]

Nice car butttttt still no confidence on the quality and reliability.

[@ThomasYap]

Many Malaysians are worried but so far I’ve heard they have improved with the later models.

[@tyranalexis5199]

@@ThomasYap really got to think about it deep deep if i’m changing from a Camry 2019

[@ThomasYap]

@@tyranalexis5199 Sounds like it. But I guess it's safe to say that both have VERY different ownership experience. But with a 5 year warranty unlimited milage, 3 years service and VPCM taking over VW Malaysia. I'd be ok with it. Had the Tiguan 1.4 before, and was very impressed with their improvement when VPCM took over.

[@tyranalexis5199]

@@ThomasYap thanks for the opinion, will give a thought

[@fareedbakar8643]

adik bobby ke ni ??

[@ThomasYap]

Mata sepet tapi bukan adik. Hahahaha

[@stewarty777]

It supposed to be real aluminum! At least the carbon design part.

[@ThomasYap]

Cost Saving Measures hahaha. But I guess most people who buys won't mind. Or not a strong point to deter people from buying it.

[@fzal]

The fake exhaust pipes!! Come on vw!

[@ThomasYap]

:((

[@mrlive005]

technically, the review doesnt say that it has 2 pipes showing downforce(left and right), and its more practical for comfort car like this. take a look at most bmw and merz, even the high model has the fake 1 exhaust

[@khoryonghong6965]

Can turn off?

[@mrlive005]

Your review is not really honest tough, at first you shouldnt talk about your mercz and its sounds like you just want your mercz win over this car. basically your treating this car as shit and kept saying oh thats suprise, oh this suprising. that is not how you review the cars. you need improve on review

[@ThomasYap]

I can see why you say that and I understand. Yes, I am benchmarking it against my 10 month ownership of a W205. And it may come out as a comparison. Thanks for your feedback anyways.