2024 Volkswagen Atlas

SAUGERTIES, N.Y. – We’re often being sold on the benefits of being better listeners. Yet in this polarized, service-averse nation, the Art of Listening — to each other, or to business customers — may be at a low ebb. For Volkswagen, a stubborn unwillingness to really hear what American customers were saying helped trigger a decades-long decline in sales and market share. They’re listening now. And the 2024 Volkswagen Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport are happy results, with more evidence to come via the electric ID. Buzz van. More than most mid-cycle refreshes, the three-row Atlas and two-row Cross Sport show what happens when automakers truly listen to every customer complaint and media gripe, and choose comprehensive improvement over window dressing or excuse-making. For these good-value, big-box family SUVs — two areas that didn’t need fixing — decisive upgrades to a formerly Walmart interior, a reworked body, a stronger and more-efficient powertrain, and a big jump in standard features, give the Atlas siblings a healthy lift versus its multitude of two- and three-row rivals. As a VW designed and engineered specifically for Americans, the Atlas already opened VW’s ears, like it or not, to screaming demand for roomier SUVs. Just a decade ago, passenger cars made up 91% of VW’s U.S. sales. Today, SUVs are capturing 83% of VW sales. That’s led by the Tennessee-built Atlas, which (including the slope-roofed Cross Sport) has found nearly 500,000 buyers since its introduction as a 2018 model, and generates the most brand profits. True to family-SUV form, we set off from a glamping site of Airstream trailers in New York’s rustic-chic Catskills Mountains at the thick-gripped wheel of an Atlas SEL Premium R-Line, which runs $53,085 (including $1,350 destination). That’s top dog in a lineup that starts from $38,065 for a Cross Sport SE, or $38,965 with 4Motion AWD. Right away, these Atlases felt more deserving of a monthly payment, ditching groan-worthy pebbled plastic for handsome soft-touch materials and new color palettes, seat trims and decors that flow from the doors through the dash: “Precious Walnut,” ash-like “Nord Mystery,” or a coppery faux carbon fiber. Quilted, diamond-pattern leather is offered on seats, including bigger-bolstered chairs up front, and is no less welcome despite being a design cliché. (The front seatbacks could still use more cushioning and support). For a touch of added value, leather and heated rear seats are now standard on SEL models starting from $48,785, one trim level lower than before. Optional 30-color ambient lighting provides a literal glow-up. The new cabin won’t be confused with a Kia Telluride in edge-of-luxury terms, but it does meet longtime expectations that VW interiors should uphold the brand’s German heritage and punch above their weight. Pictured below left, the new Atlas Peak Edition brings two exclusive colors (Avocado Green and Pure Gray), and outdoor adventure-looking add-ons, including blacked-out 18-inch alloy wheels, all-terrain tires and black-and-silver body cladding. All 2024 Atlas versions get a brawnier mug, with a tasteful, black-scalloped grille digging deeper into a …
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