The aptly named Volkswagen Atlas is here, and it’s the seven-seater SUV that we’ve been expecting, right down to the engine options (no diesels).
You can have the Atlas with either the 2.0-liter turbocharged engine or the 3.6-liter VR6 engine. Both come equipped with the eight-speed automatic gearbox and front-wheel-drive is standard. You can option out the VR6 version with all-wheel-drive, also, if snowy parking lots loom in your future.
The SUV is also chock full o’driver assistance tech like:
Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC); Forward Collision Warning and Autonomous Emergency Braking (Front Assist); Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Traffic Alert; Lane Departure Warning (Lane Assist), which actively helps the driver steer the car back into its lane; and Parking Steering Assistant (Park Assist).
Though Volkswagen hasn’t yet announced pricing on the Atlas, it adamantly repeats that the car will be affordable and competitively priced. No surprises there: given all the diesel-scandal and settlement issues as of late, Volkswagen needs this SUV to do well here in the U.S.
The Atlas will launch in the spring. Expect to hear a price around then.