By Jim Prueter
MotorwayAmerica.com

(March 5, 2024) Three-row SUVs answer the needs and desires of families looking for comfortable room to transport the kids, dogs, purchases from Costco and IKEA and even when called upon for modest towing duty. One of the largest and generally affordable vehicles to fit the bill is the atlas-sized, Atlas with its massive interior that rivals a minivan for spacious interior volume.

It's thoughtfully designed, modern, with legroom for a basketball team. First introduced for the 2018 model year, the 2024 Atlas edition tested here brings much needed interior improvement and updates to stay competitive against excellent competitors like the Kia Telluride, Hyundai Palisade, Mazda CX-90 and others. Available in a choice of six trim levels we tested and recommend the SE with Technology with an MSRP of $43,015 including shipping charges.

In addition to the refreshed interior that features a more upscale look, Volkswagen revamped the exterior that incudes a new front fascia and headlights along with new wheel design across all trim levels including 21-inch wheels for the R-Line models. Also new is a 2.0-liter, 269-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the only one offered, that replaces the previously available 276-horsepower V6. An eight-speed automatic transmission that delivers power to the front-wheel drive is still standard. All-wheel drive is available for $1900 on SE and SE with Technology trims, and standard on all other models Maximum towing capacity remains 5000 pounds.  

We found the new four-cylinder to deliver adequate and sufficient power for most daily driving duties. We found a minor amount of turbo lag when accelerating from a stop but otherwise power remained strong even when overtaking another vehicle while passing. The transmission was smooth with quick shift points. Handling was predictable with minimal amount of body roll in curves and when cornering. Brakes were excellent and the cabin mostly free of wind and road noise at highway speeds.

Our Atlas was easy to drive with excellent seating positions to accommodate most size drivers along with good visibility. But know that sporty driving dynamics and acceleration is not part of the offering.

As pleasant and comfortable the Atlas is to drive, it's far from an efficient vehicle regarding fuel economy. Despite dropping to a 4-cylinder engine our test Atlas proved to be thirsty to the tune of just 20 MPG over our week of testing and 4 less than our recently tested Mazda CX-90 with a 3.3-liter turbocharged inline 6-cylinder engine.



While the new interior is a huge improvement quality and design-wise over the previous Atlas, we found significant issues and disappointment with some of the new operating controls and electronic technologies such as the audio controls. Gone is the simple-to-use traditional volume knob replaced by a touch sensitive sliding control especially since it is placed directly adjacent to the two individual HVAC air temp controllers also operated by a sliding motion.

These were easy to mix up by accidentally adjusting the audio volume to adjust the temperature and vice versa. Making matters worse, the slide-activated audio volume does not illuminate so when operating it at night necessitates turning on the overhead cabin map light to see what you need to do to operate the audio volume. Who thought this was a good idea? There is a clunky touch-slider for volume control that's buried a few screens deep into the touchscreen infotainment menu but that requires taking your eyes off the road which isn't a good idea. At least the touchscreen lights up.

All trim levels come with the aforementioned 12.0-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility and Amazon Alexa, a six speaker sound system, wireless phone charging and six USB-C ports with 45 watts of charging capacity. The infotainment system is new for 2024 and packed with desirable features. However, inputs aren't always recognized by the system and we found the user interface somewhat to navigate. There are physical buttons and knobs on the steering wheel but not sufficient enough to offset the myriad of the systems drawbacks.

Additional standard features are a 10.25-inch digital gauge cluster, tri-zone automatic climate control, keyless entry, push-button starting, voice recognition controls, satellite radio, Bluetooth, navigation, Wi-Fi hot spot, and remote start.

If you can live with the odd touch-sliding audio volume and meager fuel economy, then the Atlas could be a seriously good vehicle for you. Again, we recommend the SE with Technology trim and adding the 4Motion all-wheel drive option. You can also replace the second-row bench seat witsecond-row captain's chairs for $695 but it will reduce seating to six. A panoramic sunroof is optional for an additional $1,200.

Overall, the 2024 Atlas is a good SUV that address some of the deficiencies of the previous Atlas with much nicer interior, upgraded technology and adds new standard features that were previously unavailable or optional and made it second-rate to leaders in its competitive class. It still isn't a standout in the class. but its generous amount of cargo space and roomy, comfortable interior for up to 7 adults makes it a strong consideration for larger families.

Vital Stats

Base Price: $41,665
Price as Tested: $43,015
Engine/Transmission: 2.0-liter 269-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder with an 8-speed automatic transmission.
EPA Fuel Economy: 20/27/23 mpg City/Highway/Combined
Seating: 6 or 7

Where Built: Chattanooga, Tennessee

Crash Test Safety Ratings: Overall 5-Star from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Competes With:
Chevrolet Traverse
Ford Explorer
Honda Pilot
Hyundai Palisade
Hyundai Santa Fe
Jeep Grand Cherokee L
Kia Sorrento
Kia Telluride
Mazda CX-90
Nissan Pathfinder
Toyota Highlander

Likes:
Revamped interior and exterior styling
Extra roomy interior
Agreeable driving dynamics

Dislikes:
Fussy infotainment system/controls
Thirsty engine
No hybrid engine option