You Can Buy A 276bhp Volkswagen Arteon For Diesel Golf Money

With news that Volkswagen is essentially parading the new Arteon Shooting Brake around without any disguise, we thought we’d see what was going on with the of the German executive saloon’s most interesting flavour - the 276bhp turbo.

Generally speaking, if you delve into the classifieds you can always find good value in terms of performance per pound, especially if you’re willing to go for things that are a couple of generations old. But when you do that you have to sacrifice the most current safety tech and all the cutting-edge gadgets of a new car.

We’re all for a cheap classifieds punt. You know that. This time we’ve found an absolute cracker that not only looks like a (relative) steal, but is just under three years old so still has basically the same tech and safety features as its brand new siblings. It will also launch to 62mph in 5.6 seconds and cruise at a limited 155mph on the autobahn.

The 276bhp range-topping Arteon in the sporty R-Line trim with all the bells and whistles is for sale at a huge discount with less than 30,000 miles covered. By our standards of used cars, that’s basically showroom-fresh. You get heated leather seats in perfect condition, high-end sat-nav, triple-zone climate control, the Dynaudio stereo for pumpin’ bass riddims, heated windscreen washer jets and all the more usual trinkets like automatic lights and windscreen wipers.

This one, found at Approved Cars Croydon, is on the market at £23,995 – down from just under £40,000 before options when new in 2017. The equivalent is £41,275 now. It still looks basically new; especially the pristine interior (except for some greasy fingerprints). It even has the panoramic sunroof for an extra feeling of airiness inside the car.

In terms of pace, luxury, space, tech and speed, we can’t think of much that matches this while keeping pace with current safety standards. If you want to be able to drive comfortably to Brussels for a business meeting and make the right first impression, take the family to the seaside for the weekend, get a wriggle on when you’re driving alone, reassure your mother-in-law on those Sunday pub lunch journeys that you’re a sound choice for her daughter after all, and also steer clear of diesel, a 276bhp Arteon is about as good as it gets for less than three years old and less than £24,000.