Volkswagen may be a European automaker, but not much is European about the Atlas Cross Sport. From the location where it’s manufactured down to the number of cup holders, the mid-size crossover utility vehicle is American through and through.
Priced at $30,545 excluding destination charge and featuring a raked roofline, the cooler sibling of the three-row Atlas has two cup holders in the center console, two bottle holders in each front door, two in the middle rear armrest, a can/juicebox holder in the armrest, as well as two cup holders and two bottle holders in the rear door panels.
Volkswagen also boasts generous second-row legroom. 40.4 inches is marginally more than the Chevrolet Equinox and Honda Passport and a lot more than the Jeep Grand Cherokee. For the sake of perspective, the typical airline legroom is 31 to 33 inches.
Cargo capacity? Well, the Atlas Cross Sport does pretty well in this department too at 77.8 cubic feet with the seats folded down and 40.3 cubic feet with them upright. In other words, you’re looking at 9.8 cubic feet more than the Camaro-styled Chevrolet Blazer, 4.0 more than the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and 1.1 cubic feet more than the Ford Edge.
If you’re planning on towing with the Atlas Cross Sport, don’t go for the 2.0-liter turbo. That’s not the kind of engine you want in a mid-size utility vehicle, let alone a crossover you intend to use for towing. The narrow-angle V6 is better suited for the job, promising up to 5,000 pounds of towing capacity (think utility trailers for boats or canoes).
On an ending note, did you know that Volkswagen is much obliged to sell you something called Base Rails designed to match the existing roof rails? If you do buy into this ludicrous offer, then the Atlas Cross Sport can be further outfitted with original accessories from Vee-Dub.
These include three types of roof boxes, a basket for camping, bike attachments, winter sports carriers (think skis and snowboards), as well as boat and surfboard racks.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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