A substrate is coated with a coating system including at least one diamond-like carbon (DLC) inclusive layer. In certain embodiments, the coating system includes an anti-reflective layer, a DLC inclusive layer provided for hardness/durability purposes, a primer layer, and an FAS inclusive hydrophobic layer provided over the primer layer. The anti-reflective layer is provided in order to reduce visible light reflections off of the resulting coated article and thus to improve visible transmission of the article. In certain embodiments, the primer layer may be provided in order to enable improved adhesion between the FAS inclusive layer and the DLC inclusive layer that is provided for hardness/durability. In certain embodiments, each of the anti-reflective layer, the DLC inclusive layer, and/or the primer layer may include DLC for purposes described herein. In certain alternative embodiments, the primer and FAS layers need not be provided.