VW UPGRADES ATLAS BY MAKING SEVERAL SAFETY FEATURES STANDARD EQUIPMENT

Introduced just a couple of years ago, the Atlas SUV is the largest vehicle in Volkswagen’s lineup and has become the German automaker’s third-best seller behind only the smaller Tiguan crossover and Jetta compact sedan.

VW sold nearly 60,000 Atlas SUVs in 2018, the first full year of production, and is well on pace to top that this year with just over 22,000 sold the first four months, an increase of 7.3 percent over the same period last year.

It’s no surprise. The Atlas offers lots of space for cargo and passengers with three rows of seating and a maximum of just over 96 cubic feet of storage space in an attractive package that drives more like a compact than a mid-size SUV. Even my passenger for the week commented that it seemed smaller than it actually is.

There’s even good rear cargo space with the third-row seats in place, which is not always the case in seven-passenger SUVs. The third row in many SUVs often is suitable only for children and not very big ones at that, but such is not the case with the Atlas.

Not sure how they would fare on a day-long trip, but the third-row riders have nearly 34 inches of legroom, and with the way the second-row seats tilt and slide forward, they don’t have to be contortionists to get back there.

VW said at the time of its launching that the Atlas was going at the sweet spot of the core of the market. It was “designed for the American family” and is built at the company’s assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Seems right to me.

Though it is too soon for major changes in only its second year, the 2019 Atlas now gets as standard across the line such safety features as Front Assist (which alerts the driver to a potential collision), Blind Spot Monitor, and Rear Traffic Alert.

Even the base S trim gets automatic headlights, rain-sensing wipers, and heated side mirrors as standard. Other trims are the SE, the SE w/Technology, SE w/Technology R-Line, SEL, SEL R-Line, and SEL Premium with additional niceties as standard.

The SE w/Technology that served as my ride for the week included 18-inch alloy wheels, automatic LED headlights with LED daytime running lights, fog lights, rain-sensing windshield wipers, three-zone climate control, leather-wrapped tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, 10-way power driver’s seat with lumbar support (4-way manually adjustable front passenger seat), leatherette seating surfaces, roll-up manual second-row sunshades, and a front console with USB data and charging port and 12V and USB charging ports in the first and second rows.

Technology in the SE w/Technology includes adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning with pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist, push-button start, remote power liftgate, Bluetooth connectivity, and an 8-inch touchscreen for audio.

SEL and SEL Premium models also get upgraded features like VW’s Digital Cockpit with a fully-digital instrument cluster offering a customizable presentation of important vehicle information on a 10-inch display.

The Atlas comes with the choice of two engines, both mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. A 2.0 turbocharged 4-cylinder is rated at 235 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque kicking in a 1600 rpm. It is available with front-wheel drive only.

A 3.6-liter V6 is rated at a maximum 276 hp and 266 lb.-ft. of torque and is available with VW’s 4Motion all-wheel drive configuration as well as front-wheel drive.

Both engines feature stop/start technology, but that annoying feature can be turned off with the push of a button at the bottom of the center stack. Fuel consumption for the 4-banger is at the rate of 20 miles-per-gallon city, 26 highway and 22 combined and for the V6 17/24/19 with FWD and 17/23/19 with AWD.

That’s not the most fuel-efficient in its class, but is not the thirstiest either. You won’t be winning many drag races with the Atlas (of course, you don’t do things like that), but you won’t be left idling at the light either.

With an optional trailer package ($550), towing capacity is generous 5,000 pounds.

MSRP for the Atlas starts at $32,890 for the S FWD with the 4-cylinder engine and runs up to $49,390 for the top-of-the-line, AWD V6 SEL Premium trim

The SE w/Technology carries a price of $38,840 with FWD and the trailer package.

For more about the Atlas, you can check out my coverage of the 2017 media preview at https://tinyurl.com/y4z34jl4.

What I liked about the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas SE w/Technology: The ride is comfortable and quiet, and the cabin is especially spacious, though it drives like a much smaller vehicle. Too many three-row SUVs don’t have the space at the back to handle the staff that often comes along with seven passengers, but the Atlas gives you a nice area (20.6 cubic feet) behind the last row. You get 55.5 cubic feet behind the second row and 96.8 cubic feet with the second and third rows folded. Technology is plentiful and user-friendly.

What I didn’t like about the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas SE w/Technology: Though there’s something to be said for simplicity, the interior styling could use a bit of upgrading and a bit less plastic.

Would I buy the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas SE w/Technology? As I have mentioned before (several times, actually) I personally have no need for a three-row SUV, but this one could make me change my mind. It’s particularly good if you’re looking for German engineering but don’t want to pay luxury prices to get it.

VOLKSWAGEN HOPES TO GAIN SALES MUSCLE WITH INTRODUCTION OF NEW ATLAS SUV

A new SUV is coming to Volkswagen showrooms in May.

And yes, the VW folks say, its an SUV, not one of the growing numbers of “crossovers” that basically put an SUV body over a sedan chassis. (Though Mark Gillies, Senior Manager for Product Communications, sees them as “interchangeable terms.”)

The 2018 VW Atlas will be a second model to come out of the German automaker’s assembly plant in Chattanooga and will be distributed throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico on this side of the Atlantic and Russia and Middle Eastern countries on the other. It also will be manufactured and sold in China under the name Teramont.

VW chose the San Antonio suburb of Boerne (pronounced “Bernie”) in the heart of Texas Hill Country as the site to preview the new model to automotive media members from around the country and the world, really, with representatives from the Mideast, Russia, Canada, and Mexico included in one of the sessions as well.

Why Texas?

“If you look at it,” Gillies said, “the Atlas is a really big midsize SUV and it looks right at home here on the roads in Texas alongside all the trucks and SUVs here.”

A second reason, he added, is that the company tagline is “Life is as big as you make it,” and there’s no place bigger in the Lower 48 states than Texas. At 198.3 inches long, 78.3 inches wide and 70 inches high, the Atlas is larger than any other VW model on sale in the U.S.

Texas Hill Country also offered the opportunity for journalists to stretch the legs of the new vehicle over a series of curvy Texas roads, including one stretch of two-lane highway that featured a 70 mph speed limit! Yes, a road with driveways coming in at the edges and lots of yellow paint lines down the middle actually legally lets you hit what are usually interstate limits only with no fear of being introduced personally to a Texas lawman.

And the Atlas was easily up to the challenge.

My drive was spent in a top-of-the-line SEL Premium trim which features a 3.5-liter V6 engine (VR6 in VW vernacular) hooked up to an eight-speed automatic transmission and rated at 276 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque.

With all-wheel drive, this setup allows for up to 5,000 pounds of towing capacity when equipped with a factory-installed trailer hitch (only 2,000 with an aftermarket hitch). It seats up to seven passengers and gives those in the third row a decent amount of legroom for adults and fairly easy access thanks to second-row seats that slide forward even with baby carseats in place.

The Atlas has off-road capability as well — though you wouldn’t want to go challenge the Rubicon Trail with it —  and as evidenced by the number bicycles they loaded up on one of the display vehicles seems targeted not just for families but for active ones as well.  There are numerous driver assistance and safety features, many of them — like the Automatic Post-Collision Braking System that is designed to prevent a secondary collision, a segment first — coming as standard in all Atlas versions.

It comes in five trim levels, starting with the base S, which carries a base MSRP of $34,625 (including $925 destination and delivery) and will be available later. The SE starts at $37,715, the SE w/Tec $39,815, and the SEL $43,615. The SEL Premium tops the lists at $49,405 and that includes the V6 engine and VW’s 4Motion AWD system over the standard FWD.

A 2.0-liter, turbocharged 4-cylinder engine (235 hp, 258 lb.-ft. of torque) also is offered but wasn’t available at the preview. VW expects the V6 to be the far more popular choice among buyers. If you want AWD, it is available only on the V6. Mileage numbers for the V6 are 18 miles-per-gallon city, 25 highway, and 20 combined with FWD and 17/23/19 for AWD using regular fuel.

The SEL Premium model handled the bumpy Texas roads with assurance, and aside from the slightest bit of wind noise noticeable on the passenger side, was quiet as well. When pushed up grades or when revved up on a short stretch of interstate, the engine did not seem overly strained.

VW also seems to have hit the sweet spot as far as size — big enough to provide up to 96.8 cubic feet of cargo space with all seats folded (and 20.6 with all upright) but not so big it hogs the road. It was at home in both the tighter two-lane stretches for Hill Country roads and stretches of four-lane as well.

It has a nice exterior appearance about it as well with a nicely designed beltline that flows over the wheel wells and hits home at just the right level to keep the side from taking on a flat, bland appearance. The front grille is distinctive as well. Take away the VW logo in the center, however, and it has somewhat the look of a Land Rover Range Rover Sport. That’s not a knock. It’s just the impression I got. Not sure anybody else did, though.

How the Atlas fares in the very competitive midsize SUV market is going to be interesting to keep an eye on. Volkswagen has been working to regain the trust and confidence of the public since the diesel emissions scandal hit the company less than two years ago, and it seems to be succeeding.

Mike Lovati, Vice President of the Midsize/Full-size Product line, said VW sales for the first quarter of this year were at about 76,000 units, compared to less than 70,000 for the same period a year ago, and March numbers were up to 27,635 units, an increase of 2.68 percent over March 2016.

The Tiguan is enjoying its best sales ever, and the Golf sport wagon sales, including the new Alltrack, also are up significantly, Lovatti said.

The 10.3 percent increase in overall sales ranks VW fifth among carmakers in percentage growth, though you have to remember that with smaller overall numbers small increment increases result in bigger percentage jumps.

“Volkswagen becomes a full-line, family-focused auto manufacturer with the vehicles we are now bringing to the market,” Lovati said. “With the addition of the Atlas and the 2018 Tiguan we’ll be competitive in four of the five biggest segments of the U.S. market — compact sedan, midsize sedan, compact SUV, and, of course, the midsize SUV.

“So we’re really going at the core of the market at the sweet spot. The Atlas is helping us and the new Tiguan at the middle of this year is helping us as well.

“So our Atlas — built in America and designed for the American family. It’s built alongside the Passat at our Volkswagen assembly plan in Chattanooga, and it’s the result of an additional $900 million investment by Volkswagen over the past few years.

“We’re very proud about this.”

It will surprising if the Atlas doesn’t figure prominently in continuing that momentum.