Life is all about choices, right? Regular or decaf? Fried or boiled? Wheat or rye? Decisions, decisions.
The folks at Volkswagen are happy to add to your decision-making quandary with its freshly refreshed, Chattanooga-built, Atlas midsize SUV.
Do you go for the family-friendly—and slightly frumpy—three-row version? Or the swoopy-backed, two-row, and definitely more visually interesting Atlas Cross Sport?
Both share pretty much the same mechanical bits, the same model designations, and the same below-the-waist styling. The only real differences are the shape of the roof at the rear and the number of rows of seats.
There’s not that much difference between stickers, either. The Cross Sport kicks off at a highly competitive $38,335 for the base SE model, with the regular Atlas SE starting at $39,345. A difference of a thousand bucks and change.
For 2024, both got a mid-life makeover to keep them minty-fresh and market competitive. Nothing too radical, but enough to give both bolder, more premium looks.
Up front, there’s a new grille and a cool, LED light bar that runs across the top, complemented by a bright white, LED-lit VW logo. At the rear there’s another full-width LED lightbar and illuminated logo.
My choice? From a styling point alone, I’d go with the sportier-looking Atlas Cross Sport, which was confirmed during a week piloting the flagship Cross Sport SEL Premium R-Line 4Motion.
I know, that could be the world’s longest mouthful of a model name. But with more toys, bells, and whistles than an FAO Schwarz store during the holidays, it’s a terrific value at $53,190.
Standard niceties include 21-inch alloys, an awesome panoramic sunroof, R-Line aero bumpers and exterior trim, plus silver roof rails and fancy-but-faux quad tailpipes at the rear.
Inside, standard fare includes lovely diamond-quilted leather seats, an R-Line steering wheel with paddle shifters, aluminum pedals, some funky LED lighting, and thumping 400-watt, 12-speaker Harmon-Kardon stereo.
It’s a great-looking cabin, too, with big focuses on quality, fit, and finishes. Lots of lovely materials, too, like faux carbon fiber on the dash and doors, splashes of glossy piano black, and looks-like-leather leatherette on the top of the dash.
If it wasn’t for the big VW logo on the steering wheel, you’d think you’d just stepped into an Audi.
The beauty of the interior is its vast amount of space. This thing is huge. Climb into the back seat and you can cross your legs and stretch out. The rear seats also recline for added snoozability.
Pop the tailgate and with the back seat in place, there’s 40.3 cubic feet of cargo space. Fold the seat flat—and it really goes flat—and there’s over 77 cubic feet of space. There are Holiday Inn rooms with less.
Powering these new Atlas models is VW’s heavily refreshed 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder, which replaces the previous 2.0 and long-running 3.6-liter VR6. This latest iteration packs a 269-horsepower and 276 pound-foot punch, which is an increase of 34 horsepower and 15 pound-foot over the last 2.0-liter.
Mated to an eight-speed automatic and 4Motion all-wheel drive, the turbo motor can punch the Cross Sport off the line and on to 60 miles per hour in around 7.5 seconds. Lots of sporty, heavy-breathing engine roar does make it feel as if you’re accelerating faster, which goes some way to justify the Sport badge.
And while you’d never class the Cross Sport’s handling as any way dynamic, its steering is precise and nicely weighted, there’s no shortage of grip, and body roll is kept in check. It’s also a smooth rider and strong braker, which I liked.
My only major grouse was with the unintuitive 12-inch touchscreen in the center of the dash and the near total lack of physical buttons.
Want to change the audio volume? You must look down and squint at the wafer-thin haptic slide control. Same with the temperature control. Want to adjust the fan? You must tap a tiny button and squint at the screen to work a slide control. Talk about style over sense.
But apart from this one flaw, I really rated this latest Atlas Cross Sport for its luxury vibe, fastback style, and easy-driving manners. I’d call it a coupe de thrill.
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