 It is up you guys, I'll go back to another one. If you're new to the channel, I am Goldpony. I do new car truck SUV reviews on YouTube and today we are in the brand new 2023 Volkswagen Arteon courtesy of Hanover Volkswagen in Hanover PA. For more information on their inventory, please feel free to check out the link in the description box below. And so obviously we're in this one today because this is an extremely good looking sedan. You also get two years or 20,000 miles of complimentary maintenance. So that's gonna save you a little bit of money there, but there are actually some new standard features for the 2023 Arteon. So ultimately in this video, we will be testing out and going over everything about this one from acceleration to braking, steering wheel, ride quality, sound system exhaust clip, all that fun stuff. So having said all of that, what do you guys say? Let's just go ahead and jump right into it. And as always, let's start with pricing it. So as you can imagine, there are a few different trim levels for the 2023 Arteon. First one being the SE, starting at $43,010. SEL for $47,180. And lastly, the SEL Premium, of course, being the one that we have today, starting at $50,175. But regardless of trim level that you go with, the power plant is going to be the same. Powering the beast is a two liter turbocharged inline four cylinder, putting out 300 horsepower at around 5,300 RPM, 295 pound-feet of torque coming in at 3,600 RPM. That power being sent to all four wheels through a seven speed DSG automatic with paddle shifters, which you guys know we will be testing out here in a little bit, but zero to 60 time coming in in approximately 4.6 seconds. Yes, this acceleration test should be fun. Top speed, 128 miles per hour with MPG nervous coming in at 25 in the city, 33 on the highway, taking premium, unleaded fuel. But so then before we do any kind of fun paddle shifter or acceleration test here, I did want to mention to you guys the drive mids. There's actually a little button labeled mode, go figure just to the left of the shifter that will give you eco comfort, normal sport and custom justing things like the shift points, a throttle response, a steering sensitivity and actually the suspension settings as well, which you don't usually see. So that is pretty cool. But anyways, now I haven't got all of that out of the way. What do you guys say? Let's go ahead and find a straightaway. Let's put the paddle shifters here to the test first and let's see how quickly these paddle shifters are going to react for us here. All right, got it in sport driving mode here. Also got it in full manual shift mode, go baby. Oh, they're quick, they're quick. Holy cow, they're quick. They're insanely quick. And if I didn't say it already, they're pretty quick. So I didn't expect that. I guess I should have because it's Volkswagen and typically Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, they always do an amazing job at their paddle shifters. And that's definitely the case in the RT on, like they're incredibly quick. So absolutely no issues there. If you want to have some fun on the weekends with the paddle shifters, you can do so because they are wonderful. But anyways, let's not give back full control to the car. I'm going to put the shifter back to the left here and let's do one more acceleration here with the RTM having full control. And let's see how quickly we can get this one here up to speed. All right, so yet again, another acceleration test here in three, two, one, go. Delay, I mean turbo lag is what I mean, but it's quick though. Once it gets up in the RPMs, it is dang quick without a doubt. But yes, there is turbo lag. Unfortunately, that's typically what you find with turbocharged engines unless they have like a mild hybrid system. Having said that, Volkswagen, if you want to add a mild hybrid system to the RT on, that would more than likely eliminate that turbo lag and probably add some MPGs as well. But anyways, having said that, still plenty quick, you're not going to have any issues emerging onto the highway. But anyways, to go along with that acceleration as always breaking is equally important. So upfront, you will find 13.4 inch ventilated front discs in the back, 12.2 inch ventilated rear discs. As far as that 60-zero stopping distance goes, it comes in at 125 feet. And since there's nobody behind me here, breaking's fine. Not as good of a breaking feel as I would expect from a kind of sports sedan like the RT on, but it's plenty fine. It wouldn't affect me whatsoever. I'd be fine with it. But anyways, then touching on suspension and handling upfront, you're going to get to make fierce and strut front suspension in the back independent multi-link rear suspension, but also an adaptive damping suspension. So that is pretty cool. What is that? I'm glad you asked. Essentially what that is, is it's going to monitor each shock absorber individually, not only adjusting to the road imperfections, giving you a smoother ride, but it's also going to kind of tighten up that suspension during heavy cornering, really giving you the best of both worlds. You got better handling, you got better ride quality. Having said that, I think we're on the most punishing road in Hanover right now. Let's see how it does. I did just put it in that comfort driving mode. Let's see if my mic bounces at all. That's going to be the ultimate test. And you know what's funny? It is definitely adjustable, because I just went down this road in sport driving mode, and you could feel everything. But since I put it in comfort driving mode, that is a heck of a lot better. And that's the wonderful thing about adaptive damping suspensions. Having tested over 700 cars at this point, and that's not a flex, by the way. I just wanted to emphasize that because there is a difference when you have an adaptive damping suspension. You can tell the difference substantially in terms of ride quality. So if you wanted that smoother ride, put it in the comfort driving mode. If you wanted to feel a little bit more of the road, but also get a little better acceleration and a little better steering feel, put it in the sport driving mode. So I guess you could say it has something for everyone. You got the custom mode too. So you can kind of tailor it to your own liking. But anyways, I guess I kind of covered the steering feel too. As far as cabin noise goes, we're going 42 miles per hour right now. It's pretty much wonderful. It feels like a luxury sedan in here. There is a whole lot of road noise. Whatsoever. And wind noise, same thing. So it's wonderful. It has a very serene cabin in the R-Tion. As far as visibility goes, it's fine. Honestly, I can see perfectly fine out the back. Not going to have any issues there. And rain sensing windshield wipers actually do come standard on the R-Tion as well in terms of forward visibility. So if it detects any kind of mist or rainfall, it's going to automatically throw on those windshield wipers for you. So just one last thing you got to worry about. So you can better focus more of your attention on actually enjoying the drive because this is a pretty fun drive. Anyways, that about rounds out the performance segment of this review, guys. Let's now go ahead and take a look at the exterior of our brand new 2023 Volkswagen R-Tion. All right, so here she is, you guys. The new 2023 Volkswagen R-Tion finished in deep black pearl. So if you're a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean, this is the color for you. But let's go ahead and start with where this one is made. Taking a look at the VIN first character is the letter W indicating that the Volkswagen R-Tion is actually built and assembled still in Germany. Which isn't always the case with SUVs. Like I just test drove the Atlas Cross Sport and that one is built and assembled in the U.S. So fact that this one is made in Germany that is pretty darn cool. But as always, let's go ahead and start up front of the R-Tion here. LED headlights now come standard for all trim levels across the board. Believe it or not, they were not standard last year for 2022, but they are now standard this year. So that is pretty cool. But having said that, an adaptive front lighting system is gonna come standard on every single trim level across the board. Now, I love that. Essential with that is when you're going around to bend at night, those headlights are going to swivel based on the direction of your steering angle. Better help illuminating what is around that bench. You're less likely to hit a deer or a cyclist or whatever the case or a bear. So that is definitely a nice little safety feature there. Also love the LED daytime running lights. And I know that sounds like a boring feature, but they're actually incorporated into the front grille. Hopefully guys can tell when I'm getting this shot right here, it kind of continues onto the front grille right through the Volkswagen emblem. So I love that look. It's very unique. It's unlike any other brand out there, but automatic feature, of course, coming standard on this one. So when it starts to get dark at night, the headlights will turn on automatically for you there. Automatic high beams coming on the SEL trim levels. Only Volkswagen put that on all trim levels. The base Corolla gets automatic high beams, man. I'm telling you, add that on all trim levels. I do like the R logo found in kind of the upper corner of the grille that looks pretty darn good as well. Very low hoodline too. I love that look. I love that this one is finished in black. It looks amazing in black. And this front end is definitely my favorite look without a doubt. You guys got to agree with me there. But anyways, that pretty much rounds out the front end. Let's not go ahead and check out the side of the Volkswagen Arteon. So now taking a look at the side of this one chrome window surrounds, do you come standard? You will have some chrome accents found kind of on the side skirts. Really it's just the bottom portion of the doors there. But anyways, that looks good. Also got that R badging that kind of continues onto the front fenders. That's a pretty nice accent piece there. Body color power adjustable side mirrors do come standard. They will be heated with LED integrated turd signals then as well. Then take a look down at the wheel setup. You're going to find 18 inch alloys for the SE and then 20 inch alloys, AKA what you guys are looking at right now for the SEL trim levels. But again, very good looking side silhouette here. Let's now go ahead and make our way to the back. So now since we are around to the back of this one, all the way to the top, body colored shark fin antenna. Just below that, you kind of have that center high mount stop lamp. So always like that. A gloss black rear spoiler does come standard on the Arteon and no, it's not body colored because we have the black exterior. I wanted to emphasize that. So even if you go with a white Arteon, you're still going to get the gloss black rear spoiler. So it looks good on black and black. I will say that. But anyways, LED tail lights do come standard on this one. So a little add illumination at night there. That looks good. But I do have a gripe around the back of the Arteon. I will say that you guys kind of see, it looks like we have integrated dual exhaust outlets. Those are fake. And this is something that Audi and Volkswagen tends to do. And I'm not a big fan of it. I'm not going to put the exhaust outlets integrated into it. Don't make it look like you did. Just kind of don't do anything. So anyways, just underneath, you will find dual exhaust outlets tucked away. So having said that, I do believe you guys know what we have to do next. As always here is that exhaust clip. It's up and out since we are around to the back of the Arteon. When it comes to opening that rear hatch, it is a power hatch or a power trunk, whatever you want to call it. But that is pretty dark. There's a button on the key file, but the coolest way to go ahead and open it up is the hidden way within the Volkswagen logo. And Volkswagen owners already knew of this, but most people don't that don't own a Volkswagen. If you press in on the upper portion of that Volkswagen logo, it's kind of like the 007 way to go ahead and open it up. So I love that. But anyways, once opened up, cargo capacity comes in at 27.2 cubic feet. If that was not enough space, there of course is a 6040 split. So that bumps that up to 56.2 cubic feet. Ton of space for a sedan. There is some LED cargo lining back there. There's also some grocery bag hooks, which typically you'll only find in SUVs, but very rarely on sedan. So I like that. There's some chrome-plated tie-down anchors, another SUV feature, but very rarely on sedan. So a big fan of that. Little bit of storage in the back corners as well. And if you're aware to lift up underneath of that cargo floor, there is a spare tire as opposed to the fix-the-flap. But then, making our way up to the rear legroom, ton of space, 40.2 inches. Anything over 40 inches is luxury good. For reference, I'm in even six feet tall. This is how much space I had in the rear seats here. Trizone climate control comes standard on every single trim level across the board. So not only do you have rear ventilation, obviously, but rear passengers can set their own temperatures as well. So I like that. But rear center armrest with cup holders does come standard. There is also a 12-volt power outlet and a phone charging port as well. And if you wanted heated rear seats, go with the premium trim level that we have today. But then, making our way up to the front seats, V-tex leatherette seating for the SE trim. Leather seating, though, coming with the SE L trim levels. Power adjustable front seats with power lumbar coming standard. Heated front seats also coming standard. But if you want a ventilated front seats, go with the premium trim level. But overall, as far as seat comfort goes, plenty comfortable. Definitely no issues whatsoever when it comes to seat comfort here in this thing. But then taking a look at the steering wheel. It is tilt and telescoping, of course. It is manually adjustable. Leather apps for all trim levels across the board. You got the flat bottom with the orange signal at the very bottom portion of it. I like that. And get this, a heated steering wheel is now newly standard for 2023. And yes, every trim level across the board is now going to get a heated steering wheel. It used to be, the last time I reviewed the RT on, it used to be only the premium trim level. Only the very top trim level got that. But not all of them get it. So well done, Volkswagen. But now let's go ahead and make our way to the startup. Let me start by showing you guys the key here. You got your Volkswagen logo on the one side. When you flip it over, lock, unlock. That button to pop the rear hatch there. And then the times two button. That's going to be a remote start for the SE L trim levels only. But ultimately it is all keyless entry with a push button start. So all I'm going to do here is simply put my foot of the brake and press that engine start button located just to the left of the shifter. And so once started up, you have this 10 and a quarter inch full digital gauge cluster. I absolutely love it. It is going to change colors, depending upon the drive mode that you put it in. But my favorite part about Volkswagen and Audi gauges is there's a view button on the right side of the steering wheel. If you press that, it completely changes the loadout of the gauges. So a bunch of different looks. It gives you your kind of classic or traditional looks with the tachometer and speedometer. But you could also choose to display just navigation up there if you wanted to. So I absolutely love that. I think that is a pretty cool look. And overall, Volkswagen and Audi do an absolutely amazing job with their gauges without a doubt. Anyways, to make your way to overall interior quality, there is a power sunder for the SEL trim levels. Titan black headliner does come standard. You have an overhead sunglass holder coming standard as well. LED interior lighting also coming standard. That is pretty cool. I always like seeing that. Stainless steel pedal caps coming for all trim levels, auto dimming rear view mirror, all trim levels as well. And I like the little compass with the homelink controls for up to three different garage doors. That's pretty cool. Multicolor ambient lighting. SEL trim levels as well. Wireless phone charger, SEL trim levels yet again. So wireless phone charger, by the way, is located just in front of the shifter. But also right in front of the shifter, you have kind of the dual zone climate control in the front. And the cool thing about this is if you want to turn up and down the air, you kind of just slide your finger to the right and to the left. So it's not an actual physical button anymore. You just slide your finger. I love that. It's different. It's pretty cool. But anyways, just behind the shifter, you have an electromechanical parking brake. You have a couple cup holders. And within the center arm rest, a couple USB charging ports and a very little bit of storage in there. But it's there nonetheless. So anyways, RTN definitely gets a job done in terms of interior quality here. But now let's go ahead and make our way to the infotainment screen because eight inch color touch screen display does come standard for all trim levels across the board. Bluetooth and audio streaming coming with that. Android Auto, Apple CarPlay. Factory navigation system coming with that as well. You can check out your weather information, your stock information, also radio information. And so when it comes to the sound systems, there are two of them. You're going to find eight speakers for the SE and R line trims. But then if you go with the premium that we got today, you're going to find a 12 speaker Harman Kardon sound system. So that is the one that we have today. So what do you guys say? Let's go ahead and turn on the radio, see what we got playing today. And let's test out the clarity of this one. This is it. You know, it's interesting. So most Volkswagen's, when you upgrade the sound system in any of their vehicles, it's usually Fender, but with the RTN, it's Harman Kardon. Harman Kardon's better. That was a wonderful sound system. Sorry, Fender. I have a Fender guitar, so I'm not biased or anything, but Harman Kardon did an excellent job with the RTN here. And that sounds amazing. Ton of bass, clarity. It was crystal clear. I love it. But anyways, last thing I want to mention to you guys on the infotainment screen elases, when you do put the RTN in reverse, you will find a rear view camera. Once again, not the clearest rear view camera out there, but yet again, it'll get the job done, which is always is going to lead us into safety. And so to start, IIHS top safety picks. That's a pretty darn good start right there. Front side, side current airbags do come standard. In the back, you're going to have latch, AKA lower anchors that tether your children for the rear car seats, rear child door locks, tire pressure monitoring system, but also coming standard blind spot monitoring system with rear cross traffic alert, forward collision warning with autonomous emergency braking. There's lane trace assist, emergency assist, and adaptive cruise control as well. Then if you were to go with the premium trim that we have today, you're also going to get front and rear parking sensors. So overall, when it comes to my final thoughts here, this thing is a very, very good looking sedan without a doubt. Definitely will turn some heads. IIHS top safety pick. That means it's incredibly safe as well. So a nice combination there. Like the multicolor ambient lighting. As far as room for improvement goes, there is some turbo lag, although having said that, it's still stupid quick once you get higher up in the RPMs, but I hate turbo lag that drives me nuts and needs a hybrid system in my personal opinion. If you're going to do that, like BMW now does, like Mercedes-Benz has done for a while, like Volvo does. And this is kind of competing with those cars because it's the same price range. So I'm just saying it needs a mild hybrid system to get rid of that turbo lag. It's also a bit more expensive than the competitions to keep that in mind. In my personal opinion though, if you got this much money, the looks kind of make up for it because this is probably one of the best looking sedans out there right now. But anyways, let me know what you guys think of the new RT on in the comments section below. And that is about it for this one, you guys. Thank you so much for watching. Feel free to follow me on social media at the bottom of the screen if you wanted to see what's coming next on the channel before it gets to YouTube. Be sure to hit the subscribe and the bell notification button if you're in the new car reviews because that is what we do here on this channel. After all, do appreciate you guys watching more than you know and I'll see you guys all in the next video. Stay Gold.