At the heart of the automotive industry these days is the two-row, mid-size crossover. This is the new family sedan. It’s a category marked by room for five, ample storage, and a dizzying array of options. People complain about the monotony of design among these vehicles, but a few manage to stand out. One of those is the VW Atlas Cross Sport.
Sized To Take On The World
With a shorter wheelbase and lower roof than VW’s three-row Atlas, the Atlas Cross Sport has a sporty presence in its stance and design while offering plenty of room and comfort inside. From the upright grille to the flared fenders and chiseled side panels give the Atlas Cross Sport a muscular look, while the raked windshield and lowered greenhouse adds a sense of motion and agility. The upper spoiler on the tailgate, quad tipped exhaust, and horizontal lines emphasizing its width also communicate that this is an SUV that’s designed to be as satisfying for the driver as the passengers.
Power To Match
Under the hood of our test car is VW’s 3.6-liter VR6 engine. It’s a direct-injection engine delivering 276 horsepower at 6,200 rpm and 266 lb-ft of torque at 3,600 rpm. This venerable power plant has powered a number of sporty VWs over the years. It offers good responsiveness and a smooth power delivery thanks to a crossflow aluminum-alloy cylinder head design, twin overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, and variable valve timing. In a world dominated by small-displacement 4-cylinder turbocharged engines, there’s something satisfying about this set up.
Paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and VW’s 4Motion All-Wheel drive for improved traction in bad weather and handling on dry pavement. All VR6 equipped models come with a factory installed trailer hitch and can tow up to 5,000 pounds. You have a number of drive modes available with this system including Onroad with Normal, Eco, Sport, and Individual settings. Snow, Offroad, and Custom Offroad modes tune the engine, transmission, and all-wheel drive system for these varied conditions. For example in snow mode, the controls are adjusted to reduce wheel spin and the transmission upshifts earlier to help increase traction. The traction control system reduces engine power the moment it detects slippage. And, the adaptive cruise control is switched to a more defensive driving profile when in snow mode.
Confident Sophistication
Like all VWs, the interior of the Atlas Cross feature is clean, classic, and event with quilted stitching on the seats, just a bit understated. It’s tech forward, featuring the digital cockpit system, which is standard on all Atlas Cross Sport models. SE models feature an 8.0-inch display with two views and customizable widgets to show a variety of vehicle information. Our test vehicle had a 10.25-inch fully configurable screen with three views and 21 viewing options, including car status, navigation, driving data, phone information, driver assistance features, and more. It does have a bit of a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, it’s easy to find the information you’re looking for.
Materials, finishes, switches, and controls all have a premium feel especially in the higher trim levels. The seats are leather trimmed, heated and ventilated, with a wide range of adjustability. Thoughtful placement of the controls means you don’t have to go hunting to find the functions you use most often. We would, however, prefer volume and tuning knobs to the haptic slider and touch screen controls for the radio. the other nit we have with the interior is the use of gloss black trim on the dash and center console. It collects dust and shows fingerprints so you’re constantly cleaning it to keep the interior looking tidy.
Second row passengers don’t take a back seat to anyone with tons of leg room and the airy feel provided by the panoramic glass roof. There’s plenty of headroom, the two window seats are heating in this premium trim level and separate climate controls for the rear add another level of control over the environment. Cargo space is also exceptional considering the low roof and raked rear end. There’s over forty cubic feet of luggage space behind the second row which means nobody has to worry about where to put their bags even with all the seats filled.
It Drives Like A Volkswagen
On the road, there’s no disguising who makes the Atlas Cross Sport. It has that classic VW feel. It’s tight, controlled, and leans to the sporty side in both ride and handling. For a larger vehicle it manages its weight well and while it’s no GTI, it does acquit itself well on winding two-lane country roads. Acceleration isn’t breathtaking, but you won’t have to worry about getting up to speed on entrance ramps. Fuel economy is reasonable for a V6 powered vehicle of this size achieving 18 mpg city and 24 mpg highway according to the EPA.
A Parting Shot
The VW Atlas Cross Sport starts at $35,150 for a front wheel drive SE model with the 4-cylinder engine. Load it up like our Sport V6 SEL Premium R-Line 4MOTION (yes that’s a mouthful!) and the MSRP eclipses $50,000 which is not unusual for this category. Among the many options from Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Ford, and others in this class, the Atlas Cross Sport is one of the most satisfying to drive. It also has a sophisticated personality that’s communicated by the design and execution of features both inside and out. It’s one of our favorite in the category and should be on the shopping list of anyone who’s looking for a two-row SUV for their family.
