I MISS THIS CAR!!!! It's a rare thing that I miss a car after we have had it but I still miss the VW Arteon even after 10 weeks!!
What a BabyDrive! The Arteon was fantastic for space! So much space! I think as a mum your personal space is so invaded by having mini-me wanting a piece of you 24/7 that having some forced personal space in the car is LUXURY!! And the driver's seat massages you too!! It's like a day at the spa when you pop to the shops!! In all seriousness the space and legroom in the cabin were fantastic! There was not a worry about a 182cm driver with a 182cm passenger behind them or in front of a rear facing child seat there was heaps of room.
The feeling of space continued in the nice uniform shaped large boot, that when empty would hold 15 shopping bags.
The Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller fitted in the boot with five shopping bags. The Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle stroller fitted in there with seven shopping bags and the Mountain Buggy Nano compact stroller fitted in there with 12 shopping bags.
In the cabin, the storage was good too! In the front, there are two good sized cup holders in the central console, a rubber-lined phone charging well in front of the gear lever, the glove box is small but felt lined and has a cooling option which is great for keeping kids snacks cool when out and about! There is a lined central console storage box and the door bins are big enough to hold a large refillable water bottle and wallet.
In the back storage is a bit more limited, there are map pockets in the back of both front seats that would conceal an iPad. The door bins are very small in the back, they will only hold a 600ml or Pigeon baby bottle.
There is also a fold-down armrest in the central seat back with two small cupholders in. They would hold a disposable or reusable coffee cup.
Behind the armrest, in the seat back, is a hatch you can open to access through to the boot.
The Arteon seats are super comfortable in both the front and back and I could definitely have a ponytail as the headrests were adjustable!
The rear seats have ISO Fix in the two outer seats which are within plastic guides and were very easy to connect to.
There are top tether anchor points in the seat backs of the two outer seats and the third top tether anchor point is behind the central seat headrest. The central top tether is extremely hard to connect and disconnect, as the headrest only raises about 2cm giving no space to feed the top tether through to attach it and the top tether adjustment buckle often sits at this point where the headrest is so it was nearly impossible to adjust it!
The rear seats in the Arteon are quite sporty shaped and had large bolstered edges with sunken seat bases. Which meant I could only fit two child seats, I found it frustrating as three child seats would easily fit across the rear seats in terms of their width but not with the cushion sculpting they had!
I fitted the Mountain Buggy Protect infant capsule rear facing on one side and the Britax Maxi Guard Pro in the other outer seat.
The Arteon was a fantastic car to drive! Not only for its space and the massage!! 😉 It was smooth, quiet and enjoyable to drive!
The media system was great too, with a lovely, big, crisp screen and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to top it off!
The cruise control was exceptionally accurate which is always confidence inspiring in a car.
The Arteon looks fantastic too! I loved the bright yellow paintwork and its long sweeping lines of the exterior and the interior was just as stylish….. I really miss that car!!
If you only need two child seats, and you'd like your personal space back, this is a FANTASTIC BabyDrive!
The Arteon scored a 5star ANCAP safety rating in 2017 and has seven airbags as standard.
BabyDrive Indepth - Storage
With the boot of the Arteon empty, it is cavernous!! It will hold 15 shopping bags.
With the Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller in the boot, it will hold five shopping bags.
The Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle stroller fitted either lengthways or widthways in the boot and I could fit seven bags in with it.
With the Mountain Buggy Nano in the boot, it will hold 12 shopping bags.
The boot is a nice big practical shaped square space that would be perfect for an emergency nappy change!
The parcel shelf in the boot is solid and attached to the boot lid with strings. You could get a large dog in this boot but you would need to remove the parcel shelf first. However, it is not a very practical boot for dogs, the dog would need to lie down because the rear windscreen is low and on a hot day the dog would be getting cooked in there too.
The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.
Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.
I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres ia not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.
There is a zip up, cargo net bag in the floor of the Arteon, which is handy for containing things e.g. shoes, balls etc.
There are wells on either side of the boot which are good for separating things from the main boot, suncream etc.
In the cabin, the rear passengers of the Arteon have two solid map pockets that are deep enough to conceal an iPad on the back of them.
There is a fold-down armrest in the central seat back that has two cup holders in it too. They are well sized to hold a disposable or reusable coffee cup. Behind this is a hatch that you can open and access through to the boot!
The door pockets in the back of the Arteon are tiny, they will only hold a 600ml bottle but they are lined. In the front the door pockets are also lined, I could get my wallet in them just behind a large refillable water bottle.
In the central console are two cup holders. They would hold a disposable or reusable coffee cup, a large refillable water bottle or a 600ml water bottle. They are really good size, practical cup holders.
The central console storage box is nicely felt lined, it is quite small but has a USB and AUX socket inside. There is a 12V socket just in front of the storage box and a little well that was a good spot to put the key.
In front of the gear lever is a rubber lined tray for wireless phone charging, there is a USB socket in it too and it has a cover.
The glove box is just like that of the Skoda Superb! It is quite small and felt lined and it has a cooling dial so you can chill the contents. I could fit my wallet in with the manual but an iPad would not fit.
There is no glasses case in the ceiling. There is a felt lined coin drawer by the driver's right knee also.
BabyDrive Indepth - Noise
The parking sensor volume cannot be turned down, but you can mute the sensors very easily by pressing a mute button on the touchscreen when the sensor screen comes up. This is not remembered, so you need to press the mute button each time you drive.
I did not notice a lane departure warning noise, I could just feel the Arteon steering me back into the middle of my lane if I drifted toward the edges.
The indicators in the Arteon have quite a dull tic so I don't think they would disturb little passengers.
The Sat-Nav voice can be muted by pressing the announcements button on the screen, this appears when you bring your hand near the touch screen.
The media system uses Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, it is easy to connect to and I found it easy to navigate  too!
The windows are frameless so when you close the doors you actually hear the thump of the door closing and then the windows closing the last few millimetres. This makes quite a bit of noise that did wake my daughter once when she was asleep and I tried to escape for a breath of fresh air!!
You can come to a stop in the Arteon and get out with the engine still running and not sound any alarms!
Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!
SO this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a cars BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!!(I only stand outside the car, I am not a bad mother!!)
The auto engine cut out switch is positioned by the gear lever so you can turn it on or off. It is not remembered so you have to turn it off for every journey.
I find this function really disturbing for sleeping babies, you have just got your baby to sleep in the car and you stop at lights and the engine turns off sometimes they will stay asleep but when the engine shudders to a start again it shakes baby awake and all your efforts are ruined!! Even coming to a stop at lights with the engine running can be enough to wake a sleeping child so turning the engine off and on again will definitely do it! I have driven routes I know have roundabouts rather than lights just to avoid coming to a stop for any length of time!!
Road and engine noise in the Arteon was not a problem, it is such a lovely, quiet and smooth car to drive.
The Arteon has a seatbelt removal alarm to alert you if passengers take their seatbelt off while driving.
One thing I did notice was the head-up display has quite a loud sound to its mechanism. Every time you come to a complete stop and turn the engine off it whirs away!! I don't think it would wake a sleeping child but I didn't risk it when my daughter was asleep.
Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!
That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.
If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?
It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?
A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.
Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!
I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.
BabyDrive Indepth - Car Seats
The Arteon had two ISO Fix, one in each of the outer seats, they are within plastic guides and I found them really easy to connect to.
There are three top tethers, the outer two are situated in the rear seatbacks, the central top tether point is behind the central headrest. This one was really difficult to connect to because the headrest only raises about 2cm, making feeding the top tether through really difficult. It also made adjusting the top tether straps difficult too as lots of child seats have the top tether adjustment on the strap where the headrest is, making it really hard to get your fingers in to adjust it.
I installed the Mountain Buggy Protect infant capsule rear facing in the outside seat and the Britax Maxi Guard Pro forward-facing child seat in the other outer seat.
The back seats of the Arteon are actually really wide and the seat base is wide enough to fit three child seats across. However, the shaping of the seats means I can't actually install them. The two outer seat bases and backs have really defined cushioning at the sides like bolsters which means a child seat has to sit in the centre of the seat between the bolstered sides. Which is a real shame because otherwise I could have fitted three child seats easily!
With child seats installed in both outer positions, I could sit in the central seat between the two child seats and I had plenty of head and legroom. My feet could straddle the footwell hump easily and it was actually quite comfortable.
The seats are quite bucket-like so you may need a wedge to level out infant capsules.
There is at least 30cm of legroom for the front passenger in front of a rear facing child seat it is fantastic for space in the Arteon!
BabyDrive Indepth - Drive & Comfort
Comfort in the Arteon is fantastic! The front seats are extremely comfortable and you can even have a massage while you are driving!? Which is how all mums should travel!!!
The front seats have an electric adjustment so you can get them just so! The headrests adjust backwards and forwards so I could very comfortably wear a ponytail!!
I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get it just right too… said no new mum ever!!!
The second-row seats do slope down sharply towards the back of the car. They do not slide and adjust for legroom but you don't need them to, there is so much legroom in the Arteon, it is enormous!
The cruise control buttons are not obvious as to what their function is and at first, I thought you could only adjust the speed in increments of 10km/h, then playing with the buttons revealed I could go up by 1km/h too. So I think it just all needs clearer labelling. The cruise control was very accurate and I could completely rely on it to stick to my set speed even on undulating roads.
There are four large air vents across the dashboard for the front passengers.
As well as two in the back of the central console storage box for the rear passengers.
The aircon controls are well positioned on the dashboard and easy to use too. I found the airflow excellent in the Arteon.
Visibility is very good in the Arteon too, which I was very surprised about because it is a low car I didn't expect it to be! Even rear passengers found it good and for rear-facing passengers there is a big, triangular window at the back that they have good vision out of. Perhaps because the windows are frameless there is not that framing around them that causes breaks in your vision, so it feels more open.
Even though you sit low down in the Arteon you can raise up the height of your seat considerably and almost feel SUV like, if or when you need to sit higher on the road.
There are lit vanity mirrors in both visors in the front, I was surprised the visors were not extendable though!
The interior lights in the back cannot be reached by the driver but there is a handy switch in the front ceiling for turning on and off the rear interior lights! Which is a great BabyDrive feature!
I have found Tulsi does not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.
Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINATELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a 5minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!
It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.
The Arteon is REALLY nice to drive! It is LOVELY to drive!! Both around town and out on the open roads too. It is practical and luxurious at the same time.
Parking is absolutely fine, even though it is a big car its visibility is great and the reversing camera is sooooo good and clear oh there too!
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi and she has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread when we get the big cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the Arteon was really easy and enjoyable to drive and to park!
There are carpet floor mats throughout and the handles over the rear doors are well positioned to hold a childs toy.
There is keyless entry as well as a powered tailgate and a kick operated tailgate. When you operate the tailgate from the boot, it does not beep, however, when you do it using the key or from the button inside the cab it does beep!
I LOVE powered tailgates now I am a mum! When I go out to the car carrying my daughter, with my arms laden with everything I now appear to need even just to nip to the shops for some milk!! I can press a button and it opens without me having to do some weird contortionists move to open it manually whilst trying not to drop anything (especially my child!!) It is fabulous!! The only downside is I have sometimes thought I could get something out of said boot when my daughter is asleep in the car and the beeping has woken her up!
BabyDrive Indepth - Safety
The VW Arteon scored a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2017, with an adult occupancy protection score of 96%, and rating of 36.8 out of 38 points.
It scored 7.87 out of 8 for the frontal offset test, and 8/8 for the side impact test and 7.87/8 for the pole test.
For child occupancy protection the VW Arteon scored 85% (42.1 out of 49.)
The crash test performance for a 6-year-old scored 11.31 and the crash test performance for an 10-year-old scored 11.74.
In the frontal offset test, protection of the 10 year dummy was ‘Good’ or ‘Marginal’. For the 6 year dummy, protection of the chest was ‘Marginal’, while protection of other critical areas was ‘Good’ or ‘Adequate’. In the side impact test, protection of both dummies was ‘Good’.
For child safety features and child seat installation, the VW Arteon scored 7 points for safety features and 12 points for installation check.
For pedestrian protection, the VW Arteon was scored 85% (36.1 out of 42) and for safety assist it was scored 74% (8.9 out of 12).
The VW Arteon has seven airbags as standard, dual frontal and side airbags in the front, drivers knee airbag and full-length curtain airbags for the front and rear side passengers.
The VW Arteon comes with adaptive cruise control (ACC), antilock braking system (ABS), autonomous emergency braking (AEB), automatic headlights, automatic high beam, attention assist, blind spot monitoring (BSM), electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), electronic stability control (ESC), emergency stop signal (ESS), emergency brake assist (EBA), forward collision warning (FCW), lane departure warning (LDW), lane keep assist (LKA), daytime running lights (DRL), hill launch assist, reversing collision avoidance, manual speed limiting and tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) as standard.
Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and the parking sensor beeping sound.
I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!
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