It is 6:40 on a Friday evening and the parking lot at the end of the office block has emptied out. Rows of white, black and silver cars sit in the fading light, all of them the same, all of them forgettable. Then you see it, parked at the far end, and you slow down without meaning to.

It is the colour that stops you. A deep, molten gold that looks like brushed brass in the shade and catches fire the moment the sun touches it. Then the shape registers. The bonnet sweeps back in one long, sculpted fold, a chrome-edged grille runs full width into slim LED headlights, and a bright amber signature glows along the lights like a lit fuse. The R-Line badge sits on the grille for those who know what it means. Enormous turbine-style wheels in gloss black and polished metal fill the arches, and above them the roofline slides down in one clean, frameless arc toward the tail. This is the Arteon, Volkswagen’s flagship fastback, and it looks like a coupe, a saloon and a hatchback agreed to be beautiful together.

Walk around the back. A black lip spoiler crowns the boot, slim LED tail lights glow in a sharp red signature, twin exhaust trims sit neatly under a chrome-edged bumper, and the ARTEON name is spelled in clean silver letters above the 4MOTION badge. That badge matters: four wheel drive, which means all the grip you could ask for on wet Nairobi roads and upcountry drives.

Open the door. Black leather seats, quilted and deeply sculpted, with the R logo stitched into each front seat and carbon textured headrests that look as sporty as they feel. They hold you at the shoulders and thighs, they adjust electrically, and the grey contrast stitching gives the cabin a tailored edge. The flat bottomed steering wheel is trimmed with perforated grips and chrome controls, the pedals are brushed metal, and a thin copper accent line runs along the dashboard and door cards. Look up and the panoramic sunroof opens the cabin to the sky.

Ahead of you, the instrument cluster is fully digital, a crisp, configurable screen that shows speed, navigation and driver information in sharp detail. A large touchscreen sits in the centre of the dashboard, with proper physical climate controls below it, a small mercy in the age of touchscreens, and a neat gear selector beside your hand. A dashcam is already fitted, so every drive is covered from the very first kilometre.

Press the start button and the 2.0 litre turbocharged petrol engine wakes. Paired with a quick shifting automatic gearbox, it pulls away gently when you want calm and surges forward with a confident push when you want more. Overtaking on the highway becomes a decision rather than a risk, and the cabin stays quiet enough for a conversation at any speed. With four wheel drive underneath, the power goes down cleanly every time.

The odometer reads 80,274 kms, which for a 2019 flagship is a car in its prime. The leather, the cabin and the paint all look properly cared for, and there is plenty of motoring left in it.

This is the car for the professional tired of the same three German badges in every car park. The entrepreneur who wants to be remembered after the meeting. The enthusiast who knows what an R-Line is and does not need it explained. And anyone who has looked at a plain grey saloon and thought: surely there is something with more soul.

There is only one gold Arteon, and the lot is not where it will stay. Book a viewing, sit in those R seats, open the sunroof and take it for a drive. Fair warning, by the time you reach the first roundabout, the decision will probably be made.