Volkswagen Arteon vs Rolls-Royce Ghost

What's the difference?

The value, driving dynamics and appearance are on point for a premium play here. If you can forgo the badge snobbery attached to the German big three, then you'll find lots to like about Volkswagen's Arteon.

In a disruptive era when the coachbuilder has pivoted to SUVs like the Cullinan, a sort of London black cab that’s been dipped in opulence, and succeeds despite itself, and the brand’s grand, million-dollar EV, the Spectre, the Ghost is a safe and familiar space. 

A beautiful, long, broad, immaculate land boat. It’s a space Rolls inhabits with relish. 

The Ghost Series II feels nothing like a track-day option when you’re behind the wheel. But it might do if you were stepping out of a Phantom. Or a Cullinan. Or a Wraith. Especially if you’re stepping out of the back doors. 

It’s the perfect driver’s car. As long as all your other cars are also Rolls-Royces. 

It's really all about the looks here, and while the Shooting Brake is particularly handsome, the regular Arteon looks premium and polished, too.

VW tells us injecting a bit of sportiness was a key aim here, both inside and outside, and that's particularly true of the R-Line model, which rides on bigger 20-inch alloys, compared to the 19s on the Elegance, with their own bespoke design.

The body styling is more aggressive, too, but both trims get lashings of chrome along the body work, and a sleek, swept-back style that looks more premium than overtly sporty.

In the cabin, though, you can see that this is an important car to VW. The touchpoints are almost all soft to the touch, and it's both understated and tech-saturated at the same time, including the swipe-to-adjust function for the stereo and climate, with new touch-sensitive sections added to the centre console and steering wheel.

It feels, dare we say it, premium. Which is likely exactly what VW was going for...

Yes, its exterior is more monolithic than before. The previous iteration was hardly fiddly, but the (apparently client driven) evolution here edges ever so gracefully towards what Rolls-Royce might secretly think of as brutalism.

The Ghost Series II’s generous 2148mm width is further emphasised up front, stretched across its upright prow, with slimline headlights adding definition and — surprisingly — a touch of villainy.

New, Spectre-inspired tail lamps and a discreetly inscribed double ‘R’ monogram add a reserved flourish from behind, and buyers can choose from two new 22-inch, nine-spoke wheel designs.

It’s subtle, no doubt. But it’s also impeccable.

Interestingly, both body styles share near identical dimensions, with the Arteon stretching 4866mm in length, 1871 in width, and 1442mm in height (or 1447mm for the Shooting Brake).

Those numbers translate to a seriously spacious and practical cabin space, with an acreage of room for backseat riders. Sitting behind my own 175cm driving position, I had heaps of space between my knees and the seat in front, and even with the sloping roofline, plenty of headroom, too.

You'll find two cupholders in a pull-down divider that separates the back seat, and a bottle holder in each the four doors. Backseat riders also get their own air vents with temp controls, as well as USB connections, and phone or tablet pockets on the rear of each front seat.

Up front, the theme of space continues, with storage and cubbies sprinkled throughout the cabin, as well as USB-C connections for your phone or devices.

All that space means a sizeable boot area, too, with the Arteon serving up 563L with the rear seats in place, and 1557L with the back pews folded. The Shooting Brake ups those numbers - thought not any as much as you might think - to 565L and 1632L.

Inside, yes, there are bonkers touches in this most refined of automotive spaces, such as upholstery pinpricked by 107,000 'Placed Perforations' of 1.2mm in diameter, each individually examined, that replicate the shape of some clouds spotted over Rolls-Royce's Goodwood HQ. 

Beside those flourishes of lunatic opulence, the more practical features feel pedestrian, but they’re comprehensive. The wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the seamless 'Central Information Display' and the 18-speaker 1400-watt audio, the upgraded Wi-Fi hotspot and the unobtrusive USB-C ports. The rear-seats flush with giant, streaming-optimised screens and heated and ventilated massaging seats.

Rolls acknowledges the generational movement of its clientele from back seat to front, with over 90 per cent of buyers now opting to — gasp! — steer themselves in a Ghost. But with back-seat savoir faire in its DNA, Rolls simply extends its hospitality to every seat.

The Ghost Series II is yours for an indicative price of just $680,000 (or $800K for the Black Badge) plus substantial on-road costs. The Ghost Series II extended (which we didn’t drive at the international launch in Provence) will slip in at around $20K less than the Black Badge before additional charges. 

If they seem like big numbers, you’re probably the sort of person who looks at price tags, or who shops in shops that put price tags on things. These are not common traits of Rolls-Royce buyers, who may only be vaguely aware of the actual price of their vehicle, and whose historical impression of guillotines is generally unfavourable.

So, high six-hundreds is table stakes.

But you might also think the ‘standard’ Ghost, like all Rolls-Royces, is considered by most buyers to be a mere starting point, from which they’ll typically up-spec their ride from a sumptuous and expensive options list.

Spending another 10 percent of the purchase price on customisation is a bare-bones outlay for most owners, but even so, the evolved Ghost’s out-of-the-box features are so comprehensive as to be almost overwhelming. 

First, because the Ghost has been Rolls-Royce’s driver’s car since the first (modern) generation arrived in 2010, specifically to cater to a weird (for Rolls clientele) new generation of buyers who wanted to drive their Rolls themselves. 

So that price gets you, above all, that proven but superb 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12 engine, massaged via an eight-speed transmission and an AWD system that’s as rich and viscous as Crassus’s last libation.

There’s its subtly tinkered 'flight on land' 'Planar Suspension System' (note the unspoken dissonance between the terms ‘flight on land’ and ‘driver-focused'), with an ingenious 'Satellite Aided Transmission' system that uses GPS to pick the ideal gear with which to launch out of turns.

It works hand-in-velvet-glove with Goodwood's 'Flagbearer' camera system, which tracks the road ahead to chide potholes into submission in advance.

Because it’s a Rolls, though, that’s barely even the start of the story. 

The coachwork is extraordinary, with new trim options including natural open-pore 'Grey Stained Ash' design elements, a sumptuous new bamboo rayon textile called 'Duality Twill'.

There a night-sky inspired illuminated fascia that apes elements of time-lapse celestial photography, part of the central glass panel that stretches the length of the dash. 

Sure, you might expect that level of detail for the outlay. But for the outlay it’s far from missing anything you’d expect.

There are two drivetrains on offer here — the 140TSI with front-wheel drive in the Elegance, or the 206TSI with all-wheel drive in the R-Line.

The former's 2.0-litre turbo-petrol produces 140kW and 320Nm, which is enough for a sprint to 100km/h in around 7.9 seconds.

But the lust-worthy engine tune is definitely the R-Line, in which the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol ups the grunt to 206kW and 400Nm, and drops the sprint time to a brisk 5.5 seconds.

Both pair with VW's seven-speed DSG automatic.

Rolls doesn’t like acceleration figures — too gauche, darling — but armed with that proven 420kW and 850Nm V12, the Ghost Series II has serious heft. Delivering max torque from 1600rpm — just 600rpm above idle — the effect is genuinely of one endless surge, a wafting cloud of momentum that subtly slips between gears as it exudes itself across the countryside.

The Black Badge edition, like all of its, er, ‘disruptive’ ilk offers a ‘Low’ button (‘Low’ means ‘Sport’ in Rollspeak), which bumps gearshift speeds by 50 percent when you plant your foot, and delivers a distinctly non-Rolls-like pop and burble on overrun. It also provides an extra 21kW and 50Nm, because Black Badge is mean and tough.

Volkswagen says the Arteon Elegance will need 6.2L per hundred kilometres on the combined cycle, and will emit 142g/km of C02. The R-Line needs 7.7L/100km on the same cycle, with emissions pegged at 177g/km.

The Arteon is fitted with a 66-litre tank, and a PPF or petrol particulate filter, which strips some of the nasties out of the vehicle's emissions. But, VW says, it's “very important" that you only fill your Arteon with premium feel (95RON for the Elegance, 98RON for the R-Line) or you risk shortening the life of the PPF.

Provence is not entirely a driver’s paradise, with every stretch of slightly twisty tarmac only a counterpoint to a motorway lined with Marseille lorries, Depardieu-esque men in tractors who refuse to move to the verge, and small villages where each kerbside corners sit millimetres from the foot of an adjacent boulangerie.

Which is to say it’s neither a place for economy runs, nor a location at which to run up the consumption numbers with a madcap series of impromptu hill climbs.

Our Ghost II drive returned around 16L/100km, which feels about right with that gorilla-in-a-tuxedo 6.75L V12, and is only slightly above the official figures of 15.8L/100km. Not great, could be worse.

Full disclosure: we only spent time behind the wheel off the R-Line variant for this test, but even still, I feel pretty comfortable suggesting that it's the punchy powertrain you want.

Surely the very first hurdle any company hoping to play with the premium-brand big boys must clear is that of easy, effortless momentum? It's difficult to feel like you've made the premium choice when you're engine is straining and striving under acceleration, right?

And on this, the Arteon R-Line shines, with plenty of power underfoot whenever you need it, and a delivery style which means you rarely, if ever, fall into a hole waiting for the power to arrive.

For mine, the suspension might be a touch too firm for those seeking a truly wafting drive experience. For the record, it doesn't bother me — I always prefer to know what's happening underneath the tyres than be entirely removed from the experience — but a result of this sporty-feeling ride is the occasional registering of bigger bumps and road imperfections in the cabin.

The flip side of the firm(ish) ride is the ability for the Arteon - in R-Line guise - to swap personalities when you engage its sportier settings. Suddenly there's a snarl to the exhaust that's absent in its comfortable drive modes, and you're left with a vehicle that tempts you to head for a twisting back road to see what it's about.

But in the interests of science we instead headed for the freeway to put the Arteon's autonomous systems through their paces, with the brand promising Level 2 Autonomy on the highway.

While the technology still isn't perfect — some braking can occur when the vehicle's not entirely sure what's happening ahead of it — it's also pretty impressive, taking care of the steering, accelerating and braking for you, at least until you're reminded its time to put your hands back on the wheel.

It's also bloody big, the Arteon, with more space in the cabin - and especially the backseat - than you might be thinking. If you have kids, they'll be positively lost back there. But if you cart adults on the regular, then you'll hear no complaints.

The Ghost Series II drives like a magic carpet, serene and untroubled; in almost any stable other than that of Rolls, calling it a ‘driver’s car’ would have you throttled by their skunkworks. Everything is relative.

Still, it hides its considerable dimensions well. There’s never any doubt that you’re in a large saloon, as you white-knuckle the Ghost’s impeccably appointed steering wheel, but there’s always enough power to deliver creamily instant throttle response, even in the case of initially misjudged cambers. 

Nor can the Black Badge hide the shimmy of that characteristic ‘flight on land’ body drift. The upside is that its manners are impeccable, even through the worst possible pieces of corrugation Provence can deliver. 

If anything, the Ghost Series II’s big-hearted bulk adds to the fun factor, especially in some of Rolls-Royce’s more garish colour options, when gasping South of France MAMILs stare in amazement as a bright yellow, five-and-a-half metre Rolls passes them on the outside, scattering their various baguettes and garlands of onions.

You get airbags, ESC, adaptive cruise, parking sensors and auto parking, and a rear camera. But don’t expect Rolls-Royce to allow the blighters at ANCAP to wreck one.

The Arteon is covered by VW's five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, and will require servicing every 12 months or 15,000kms. It will also get VW's capped price servicing offer.

Expect just a four-year servicing and warranty offer for Australian customers of this vehicle. So that means an unlimited-mileage warranty, including all services, for the first four years.