For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Avalon have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Volkswagen Arteon doesn't offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Avalon are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Arteon doesn't offer a back seat reminder.

Both the Avalon and the Arteon have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard front crash prevention system, and its headlight's “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Avalon its highest rating: “Top Pick Plus” for 2019, a rating granted to only 103 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Arteon has not been fully tested, yet.

Toyota's powertrain warranty covers the Avalon 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Volkswagen covers the Arteon. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Arteon ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The Avalon's corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Arteon's (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

There are almost 2 times as many Toyota dealers as there are Volkswagen dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Avalon's warranty.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it's being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Avalon's reliability 12 points higher than the Arteon.

J.D. Power and Associates' 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota fourth in reliability, above the industry average. With 65 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is ranked 28th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports' January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota second in reliability. Volkswagen is ranked 24th.

The Avalon's 3.5 DOHC V6 produces 33 more horsepower (301 vs. 268) and 9 lbs.-ft. more torque (267 vs. 258) than the Arteon's 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Toyota Avalon is faster than the Volkswagen Arteon:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Toyota Avalon uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Arteon requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Toyota Avalon higher (5 out of 10) than the Volkswagen Arteon (3). This means the Avalon produces up to 16.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Arteon every 15,000 miles.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Avalon's wheelbase is 1.1 inches longer than on the Arteon (113 inches vs. 111.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Avalon is .3 inches wider in the front and 1.4 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Arteon.

For better maneuverability, the Avalon XLE's turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Arteon's (37.7 feet vs. 39 feet). The Avalon Limited/Touring's turning circle is .3 feet tighter than the Arteon's (38.7 feet vs. 39 feet).

The design of the Toyota Avalon amounts to more than styling. The Avalon has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .27 Cd. That is lower than the Arteon (.29) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Avalon get better fuel mileage.

The Avalon Touring uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Arteon doesn't offer active noise cancellation.

The Avalon has 7.8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Arteon (104.3 vs. 96.5).

The Avalon has .9 inches more front legroom, 1.8 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear headroom, .1 inches more rear legroom and 2.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Arteon.

The Avalon Limited/Touring has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver's line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Arteon doesn't offer a heads-up display.

The Toyota Avalon has won recognition from these important consumer publications: