2021 Volkswagen Arteon earns Top Safety Pick
April 8, 2021
The 2021 Volkswagen Arteon, a large car, earns a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety when equipped with specific headlights.
To qualify as a Top Safety Pick, vehicles must score good ratings in all six IIHS crashworthiness evaluations including the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests. They must also earn advanced or superior ratings for both vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention, as well as an acceptable or good headlight rating. For the higher-tier Top Safety Pick+ award, good or acceptable headlights must come with all trims and packages.
The 2021 Arteon has a new standard front crash prevention system. Just like last year’s model, it earns superior and advanced ratings in the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations, respectively.
When it comes to headlights, the LED projectors that come with the Arteon’s SEL R-line and SEL Premium R-line trims earn a good rating, but the poor-rated base headlights on the SE trim prevent it from winning the Institute’s highest award. The base headlights don’t illuminate the roadway adequately on straightaways or curves on the high beam setting. On the low beam setting, they provide inadequate light where the road curves to the left.