Car_and_Driver_USA_July_2017

7.6 seconds, which is a little quicker than
the pricier and smaller Touareg but well
behind the Pilot.
Fortunately, the Atlas doesn’t feel as big
as it is. It drives small—although not quite
as small as a CX-9. Solid-mounted front
and rear subframes faithfully translate the
driver’s inputs into directional changes,
but the steering is aloof and all but mute.
The all-wheel-drive Atlas comes with a
dial selector for its driving modes: snow,
off-road, custom off-road, and on-road, the
last offering four sub-modes consisting of
eco, normal, sport, and individual. When
switching among them, the most noticeable
difference is the heavier steering in
sport mode. Still, we didn’t find the sport
steering too heavy on our drive through
Texas Hill Country’s winding two-lanes,
and there is no wandering on-center. The
brake feel, something often overlooked in
this class, is strong, too, with immediate
pedal response and an intuitive correlation
between effort and stopping force.
The ride flirts with buttery on the
standard 18-inch wheels. The top trim level
rolls on 20s, which don’t diminish the ride
quality but do contribute to a noticeable
increase in tire noise. The front seats are
built for long-haul comfort, with ample
thigh, lumbar, and shoulder support. Both sections of the 60/40
split-folding second row slide fore and aft and will also fold forward
to allow third-row access, even with child seats installed.
Once in the wayback, adults will find plenty of legroom and an
appropriate seat height; the rearmost row is lacking only in headroom,
so taller passengers must slouch a bit.
The base S model starts at $31,425 and comes with LED headlights,
18-inch wheels, and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
integration. Stepping up to SE trim brings faux-leather seats, blindspot
monitoring, proximity entry and push-button start, additional
USB ports, heated front seats, and an 8.0-inch touchscreen (up from
the S’s 6.5) with satellite radio. Add $1400 for the six-cylinder S.
V angle:
10.6°
2018 VOLKSWAGEN
ATL AS
VEHICLE TYPE: frontengine,
front- or allwheel-drive,
6- or
7-passenger, 4-door
hatchback
BASE PRICE:
$31,425–$49,415
ENGINES: turbocharged
and intercooled DOHC
16-valve 2.0-liter
inline-4, 235 hp, 258
lb-ft; DOHC 24-valve
3.6-liter V-6, 276 hp,
266 lb-ft
TRANSMISSION:
8-speed automatic with
manual shifting mode
DIMENSIONS
WHEELBASE: 117.3 in
LENGTH: 198.3 in
WIDTH: 78.3 in
HEIGHT: 70.0 in
PASSENGER VOLUME:
153 cu ft
CARGO VOLUME:
21 cu ft
CURB WEIGHT:
4300–4550 lb
PERFORMANCE
(C/D EST)
ZERO TO 60 MPH:
7.6–8.0 sec
ZERO TO 100 MPH:
20.4–21.0 sec
1/4-MILE: 15.7–16.1 sec
TOP SPEED: 115 mph
FUEL ECONOMY
EPA COMBINED/CITY/
HWY: 19–23/17–20/
23–29 mpg (C/D est)
tech highlight
NARROW-MINDED
Volkswagen wasn’t the first to build a narrow-angle, mono-head V engine
(Italy’s Lancia did it in the 1920s), but it has certainly stuck with it the
longest, even employing the principles on current Bentley and Bugatti
engines. Making its U.S. debut in the 1992 Passat, the so-called VR6 (a
marketing-department portmanteau of V and Reihe, the German word
for inline) displaced 2.8 liters, made 174 horsepower, and featured a
15.0-degree bank angle capped by a single 12-valve head. It used two camshafts,
each controlling the intake and exhaust valves for one bank of cylinders.
Shorter than an inline-six and only slightly wider than an inline-four,
the cleverly designed transverse-six—it also did longitudinal duties in the
Porsche Cayenne and others—supplied V-6 thrust in a smaller package. It
got a four-valve head and grew to 3.2 liters (remember the 250-hp Golf
R32?) by 2003. In 2006, displacement jumped to 3.6 liters, fuel delivery
changed from port to direct injection, and the bank angle tightened to 10.6
degrees, allowing the camshafts to be reassigned with one dedicated to
intake valves and the other acting on the exhaust valves. VW offers turbocharged
four-bangers that now surpass it in terms of power and torque, and
if a new six is to completely replace the veteran VR, as expected soon, we
suspect it’ll be a borrowed version of Audi’s new 90-degree 3.0-liter.
There is also a V-6 S Launch model, which
will be limited to a few thousand units; it
gets the upsized infotainment interface and
a panoramic sunroof otherwise reserved for
SEL trims. The SEL starts at $40,085, or
$41,815 for the V-6. Those looking to tow
more than 2000 pounds will need the SEL
There is nothing flashy
or frivolous about the
Atlas. It’s all sober
design, sensible power,
and ample space at a
reasonable price. That
might just work for VW.
V-6, which comes with a factory hitch and a 5000-pound towing
capacity. VW also ups the radiator fan’s motor from 600 to 850 watts
and ditches the lower grille shutters to ensure air is always passing
through the heat exchangers. All SELs include driver-assist features
such as adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, forward-collision
warning, and park assist (all but park
assist are available as options on the SE).
The SEL Premium (V-6, AWD only)
brings real leather, 20-inch wheels, a
12-speaker Fender audio system, cooled
front seats, and heated outboard secondrow
seats, along with a version of Audi’s
digital Virtual Cockpit, branded Virtual
Display in VWs. The digital cluster functions
much the same as its Audi counterpart
does, but the map view isn’t quite as striking
(read: large) and the controls are on the
right steering-wheel spoke, not the left.
The Atlas should be hitting dealerships
anytime now. We think it’s fully capable of
shouldering the responsibilities of protecting
families and their stuff as well as a big
chunk of Volkswagen’s future in America.
Like its namesake, this VW is made to handle
heavy lifting.
096 . CAR AND DRIVER . JUL/2017