2018 Volkswagen Atlas Has A Tough Task Ahead of It

Another vehicle with the appeal of the Routan to sit for 180 days unsold on dealer lots.  VW needs to existentially ask itself if it is serious about the US market.

Perhaps it will look better in person, but the reaction I can currently muster up is a big 'meh'. There isn't really anything to sway someone away from a Pilot, Highlander, etc. I am glad that they kept the VR6, yet disappointed they didn't advance it in any way possible. I know its days are probably numbered, but this could have been an opportunity to make it relevant again. 

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Another vehicle with the appeal of the Routan to sit for 180 days unsold on dealer lots.  VW needs to existentially ask itself if it is serious about the US market.

Why? This vehicle has all the makings one needs to sell well in this segment- clean, albeit conservative, styling, a long list of features, a 3rd row spacious enough for actual adults, and multiple engine choices on top of it. Not to mention it's being built on a great platform.

It is a shame that the 2.0T won't be offered with AWD. That's a lost opportunity there. On a side note, I think we are looking at the next GTI's engine specs in the base model.

Failure, as stated by others, has all the potential, if they really had done market research here they would not have this dated, conservative Blah look.

Plus the Engines, Really? Are you trying to compete with the D3 or Honda? Anemic at best.

This is not going to win market share or fix their image.

I think it looks "okay". Nothing flashy or special but that's how VW does things. I'm fine with that simplicity. I'm just not sure how I feel about the engine choices. I know Ford tried to use a 2.0T 4cyl in the Explorer and it was a failure and this seems to be the same thing. It was 240hp/270tq. I can't see this being significantly lighter than the Explorer to benefit from that same power ratings. The jump to the 2.3T and 280hp/310tq is more what's necessary for a 3 row SUV. A n/a V6(nearly an inline6) can't be all that much better... I think it's safe to assume it will be the same as in the Touareg = 280hp/266tq and in that it get's an outstanding 1mpg better combined than an Explorer w/ the 3.5EB.

57 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Failure, as stated by others, has all the potential, if they really had done market research here they would not have this dated, conservative Blah look.

Plus the Engines, Really? Are you trying to compete with the D3 or Honda? Anemic at best.

This is not going to win market share or fix their image.

Not to mention Quality control out of the Chattanooga plant is abysmal. The people With TDI Passats in my TDI circles have come to pretty much rue the day they bought the damned thing. One of the guys in my local TDI club actually had so many issues with his that he bought a Ford C Max Hybrid and parked his Passat until the day he takes it back to the dealer.

Hell, I have talked to numerous people who are going to use the TDI Goodwill free towing to take their Passat back so they literally don't ever have to drive it again.  In all reality, it seems that there are more legitimate mechanical faults, from squeaks and rattles to sunroof issues and everything in between with the 2012-2016 Passats.

Even the professors I have talked to with Passat gassers here at work seem to despise them.

The outside looks boring and bland, but crossover buyers may not care.  The inside looks nice, it is a simple design interior but looks appealing.  The engines are fine, the Acadia has 197 hp base, this beats that by 40 hp, and I doubt Pilot or Highlander buyers know the horsepower rating of their vehicle.  The 280 hp V6 is adequate for the segment, especially with how VW/Audi gear that 8-speed transmission.

bleh looks, proportion problems in the rear overhang.  Interior seems cheap from pictures.  This is almost Chinese looking, or looks like what a large 3 row CUV from Suzuki might look like on the flanks.

still though i believe this is the sort of vehicle VW needed to bring in new shoppers.

The LOL here is that the Toaureg was a highly desirable and expensive vehicle when it came out.  It was a status symbol due to its robustness, performance, and luxury interior.  

This is a huge 180 from that.

For VW right now, anything like this is a big shot in the arm.  As far as the bleh thing, the new Acadia is sort of a dud too.  So we can't be pot calling kettle black here.

best thing VW can do here is price it CHEAP!!!!

If VW really wanted to drop a bomb in this segment, they should offer a small displacement turbo-V6, and make AWD available on the 2.0T. 

I suspect they limited the 2.0T to FWD to give a compelling reason to step up to the V6. Otherwise, the 2.0T's torque and powerband could make it hard to justify the V6. In reality, I think they just limited themselves to potential customers. VW seems to do this a lot. They could have been doing decent sales numbers on the Touareg this whole time if they just offered a V8 or a FI V6. Aside from the underwhelming powertrain, it's still a great vehicle with exemplary refinement and build quality, and great road manners. If nothing else, they needed to eliminate the heavy incentives and just drop the price 10 grand. 

^^^^^ turbo v6 would have given them a really nice edge here.  No pun intended.

The Touareg is really expensive, that was always the problem with it.  It cots as much as a Mercedes GLE and is the same size.  Which one are people going to buy?  The Touareg is smaller than the Acadia, it is actually closer in size to the Equinox and starts at $50k.  It is just too much money for a VW mid-size crossover.  If they price the Atlas competitive with Ford and Chevy, they might sell some.

9 hours ago, smk4565 said:

The Touareg is really expensive, that was always the problem with it.  It cots as much as a Mercedes GLE and is the same size.  Which one are people going to buy?  The Touareg is smaller than the Acadia, it is actually closer in size to the Equinox and starts at $50k.  It is just too much money for a VW mid-size crossover.  If they price the Atlas competitive with Ford and Chevy, they might sell some.

It will be awhile before they recover from diesel gate.  And the world of automobile buyers is not going to be set on fire by a not particularly attractive or technically competent SUV styled like a Passat.

Hmmm, seems the part. Seems to be the right size, and looks like something that can and will sell. But with the crossover boom, having a vehicle that fills the 3-row niche is good enough one its own to make lots of dough.

Well done VW, you finally have something for someone looking for something like that!

8 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

It will be awhile before they recover from diesel gate.  And the world of automobile buyers is not going to be set on fire by a not particularly attractive or technically competent SUV styled like a Passat.

Buyers have short memories.  Toyota had unintended acceleration and GM had intention switches that were actually causing accidents and killing people, yet people kept buying GM and Toyota product because they had a $249 a month deal on it.  

2 hours ago, smk4565 said:

Buyers have short memories.  Toyota had unintended acceleration and GM had intention switches that were actually causing accidents and killing people, yet people kept buying GM and Toyota product because they had a $249 a month deal on it.  

2 hours ago, smk4565 said:

Buyers have short memories.  Toyota had unintended acceleration and GM had intention switches that were actually causing accidents and killing people, yet people kept buying GM and Toyota product because they had a $249 a month deal on it.  

2 hours ago, smk4565 said:

Buyers have short memories.  Toyota had unintended acceleration and GM had intention switches that were actually causing accidents and killing people, yet people kept buying GM and Toyota product because they had a $249 a month deal on it.  

They have long memories when it comes to list resale, and the gassers took a major hit when this whole thing broke.

The real leader in sub prime car loan right now is Nissan, I would imagine that VW will be joining them in that endeavor.

the memories are long when the press keeps bringing up GM diesels

7 hours ago, regfootball said:

the memories are long when the press keeps bringing up GM diesels

Indeed...methinks with the reliability issues of the gasser models, they really, realy have their work cut out for them.