KUALA LUMPUR: Volkswagen has announced to introduce the Passat sedan fastback version, Arteon in Malaysia. It is going to be a cheaper alternative of Audi A5 Sportback. The vehicle comes with an eye-catchy design, excellent driving experience along with a spacious boot and cabin.

Volkswagen Malaysia recently introduced the 4Motion R-Line model, 2.0 TSI at the Setia City Convention Centre. However, the ERP tag placed at the windscreen denotes that it is a Singapore, market model.

The 2.0 TSI engine can pump out a maximum of 280 PS of power, while the Passat 2.0 TSI offers 220 PS, and the Golf GTI can thrust out a maximum of 230 PS. However, all three cars come with the same torque as 350 Nm. A dual-clutch seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox and 4Motion sends down the power to all the wheels.

The 2.0 TSI engine is also available in a few other countries as well, where the mill is tuned to deliver up to 190 PS of power along with a peak torque of 320 Nm. Another 1.5-litre TSI engine variant of the Arteon is also present in some countries, and it is offered with a 150 PS/250 Nm tune.

The main difference between the Passat and Arteon is the fastback body of the later. The Volkswagen Arteon comes with frameless doors, which is missing in the Passat. However, the inside of these two cars is pretty similar to each other.

Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) has not spoken much about the car, but we can expect to get more details in the first half of the coming year. Regarding the pricing, since the Volkswagen Arteon is the fastback version of the Passat sedan, we can expect that a bit higher price tag than the Passat 2.0 TSI sedan that sells for RM195,390.