- the 2022 volkswagen arteon will have a more powerful engine with 300 horsepower.
- there are now three trim levels available: se r-line, sel r-line, and sel premium r-line.
- the base price rises $3000 to $41,190 for the front-wheel-drive se r-line.
vw likes to call the arteon its flagship model, and the hatchback is rising into a slightly higher echelon for the 2022 model year thanks to a powertrain upgrade and a higher starting price. the 2022 arteon now has a 300-horsepower version of vw's turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four, and it starts at $41,190 for the base se r-line model.
the new power output of 300 hp and 295 pound-feet of torque represents an increase of 32 hp and 37 pound-feet over the previous model. the updates also include a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission to replace the previous eight-speed conventional automatic. we expect this will result in quicker acceleration than the 2021 model we tested, which reached 60 mph in 6.4 seconds.
the base se model comes only with front-wheel drive and now includes the r-line appearance upgrades, which largely explains the higher base price. the sel r-line now comes standard with all-wheel drive and starts at $45,810, an increase of $1220 over last year's sel r-line awd. vw has not yet released pricing for the 2022 arteon sel premium r-line, which also has all-wheel drive.
other changes include a different 18-inch wheel design for the se, new optional 20-inch wheels for the sel, and new standard equipment for the se including park assist and a wireless phone charger.