2024 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport Debut at the Chicago Auto Show

Yawn.   

On 2/11/2023 at 9:11 PM, smk4565 said:

Yawn.   

Why Yawn, these are on par with what the Germans have been selling for the last few decades here. If they truly have adjusted the interior for us bigger Americans, these should do well in selling to the mass.

The interiors are nice.

Everything looks pretty dang good outside of dropping the V6. One of my best friends recently bought one of these and they originally went to drive the 4 cylinder and he said it just wasn't enough. For spending ~40k, the 4 cylinder didn't impress enough, especially because they anticipate towing small things eventually. 

I know this new 4 cylinder has more power and torque, but I'm not sure if it'll be enough for the asking price of these things. 

Yeah, I just couldn't see spending that much and getting a 4cyl...I'd rather have at least a V6.   Nice interior, but I'm biased, for a midsize 2 row SUV I'd be looking only at a WL GC.

The Highlander is 4 cylinder only and the best seller in the segment.  

9 hours ago, David said:

Why Yawn, these are on par with what the Germans have been selling for the last few decades here. If they truly have adjusted the interior for us bigger Americans, these should do well in selling to the mass.

The interiors are nice.

It looks like all the other interiors.  Fake wood, touch screen on top of the dash, bland exterior, kind of wimpy engine.  Better off with a Palisade, Telluride, Highlander or Pilot.

48 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

The Highlander is 4 cylinder only and the best seller in the segment.  

It looks like all the other interiors.  Fake wood, touch screen on top of the dash, bland exterior, kind of wimpy engine.  Better off with a Palisade, Telluride, Highlander or Pilot.

Other than luxury or high-end models of full line products have real wood. It seems on par with everyone else selling in this category. 

Turbo 4 banger motor

Fake wood dash or the metal dash with colored interior lighting to taste.

VW seems to have delivered a People's SUV, not luxury level, but not entry level. Somewhere in the middle and yes, I agree with you there are a few better options as you pointed out more to each individual's taste.

I think VW fans will like this.

9 hours ago, smk4565 said:

The Highlander is 4 cylinder only and the best seller in the segment.

True but the 4 cylinder only Highlander has been in existence for all of one year. It had a V6 option until the 2023 model came out.

BTW, the Jeep Grand Cherokee outsold the Highlander in 2022, while the Toyota was the top seller in 2021.

12 hours ago, smk4565 said:

The Highlander is 4 cylinder only and the best seller in the segment.

Highlander also has a hybrid version for more power, and the Highlander Turbo 4 has almost half a liter on the VW.  It may not sound like a lot, but there is a significant power delivery difference between a 2.0T and a 2.4T, even if max output is similar.

The problem for the Atlas is that drivers will constantly be in the boost to keep this thing moving.  This is a refresh of the model on the existing platform, and the current Atlas is a heavy crossover.  It will likely post an EPA increase over the V6, but I'm betting real-world fuel economy will be poor, just like the Kia SUVs with the 4-cylinder turbo and the older Acura RDX.

57 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Highlander also has a hybrid version for more power, and the Highlander Turbo 4 has almost half a liter on the VW.  It may not sound like a lot, but there is a significant power delivery difference between a 2.0T and a 2.4T, even if max output is similar.

The problem for the Atlas is that drivers will constantly be in the boost to keep this thing moving.  This is a refresh of the model on the existing platform, and the current Atlas is a heavy crossover.  It will likely post an EPA increase over the V6, but I'm betting real-world fuel economy will be poor, just like the Kia SUVs with the 4-cylinder turbo and the older Acura RDX.

Kind of random but I feel it's relevant here (and also a pretty spot on comparison). Did you ever get to drive the Explorer with the 2.0T and then when they ditched that for the 2.3T? If you did get to drive them both, how was the difference there? 

Agree with all about the Highlander and the VW 2.0T.  But VW could have got more power from that engine or done a hybrid or mild hybrid or something.   Obviously they must see how well the Highlander and Pilot sell and there wasn’t a 3 row Grand Cherokee until last year, there is a Grand Highlander coming too.  Mazda CX-90 is another.  Loads of choices in this segment.

4 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Kind of random but I feel it's relevant here (and also a pretty spot on comparison). Did you ever get to drive the Explorer with the 2.0T and then when they ditched that for the 2.3T? If you did get to drive them both, how was the difference there? 

 I've done an Edge 2.0T v an Explorer 2.3T... so pretty close.  And yes, there was a difference. I felt like I was spinning the hell out of the 2.0T to keep up with Texas traffic.  The 2.0T is a lot smoother though, so Ford could get away with it.

6 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

Agree with all about the Highlander and the VW 2.0T.  But VW could have got more power from that engine or done a hybrid or mild hybrid or something.   Obviously they must see how well the Highlander and Pilot sell and there wasn’t a 3 row Grand Cherokee until last year, there is a Grand Highlander coming too.  Mazda CX-90 is another.  Loads of choices in this segment.

They are upping the 2.0T's output from 235hp/258tq to 269hp/273tq. I think it'll just have to work harder to move this big things. 

3 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

They are upping the 2.0T's output from 235hp/258tq to 269hp/273tq. I think it'll just have to work harder to move this big things. 

They already have a 280hp/258lb-ft version of this engine in the Arteon.  They're just fiddling with the peak numbers from that for the Atlas; giving it more torque at a lower RPM is good for a heavy vehicle like this, but moving the peak torque down the curve cuts off the max horsepower number.

I think both of these will sell based on a nicer interior and the price. VW current prices are likely to rise but they are cheap for the 2023 model year. The 2024 model year should be higher.

2023 Atlas starting price - $35,150

2023Atlas Crossover starting price - $34,460