UPDATE 8/16/23: This evaluate has been up to date with take a look at outcomes for an all-wheel-drive SEL Premium R-Line mannequin.

When it first arrived for the 2018 mannequin yr, the VW Atlas simply met expectations for what consumers within the three-row SUV section had been searching for. It was an enormous field with a lot of room inside and sufficient family-friendly options to maintain each children and oldsters glad. However the arrival of the Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade only a few years later reset the bar, serving to those self same households understand they might get far nicer interiors and much more options for across the identical cash. For 2024, VW is giving the Atlas one more refresh—it already had one for 2021—and this newest replace is clearly centered on upping the SUV’s inside recreation to play catch-up with the Koreans.

The inside adjustments are efficient on a first-impression foundation. The supplies are far nicer than earlier than, with fewer onerous plastics and extra stitched leather-based bits and soft-touch supplies on the dashboard. VW additionally added quilted leather-based upholstery on higher trim ranges, and there are a number of trim choices out there comparable to wooden, brushed steel, and carbon-fiber-look supplies that add some much-needed texture to the door panels. And the Atlas stays one of many roomiest three-row SUVs you should buy, with a generously sized second row out there with both a three-person bench or captain’s chairs and a two-place third row that is liveable for adults.

Sadly, the cabin redux additionally signifies that Volkswagen’s irritating touch-sensitive controls and overly advanced infotainment system have made their manner into the Atlas. This makes the driving force interface far much less intuitive and removes lots of the bodily controls—such because the earlier mannequin’s tactile HVAC knobs and buttons—in favor of menus buried deep inside the touchscreen. Even the sunroof is managed by a contact slider, and whereas Volkswagen touts its expanded voice instructions and gesture controls, we did not discover these to be passable alternate options. The screens themselves are large—a ten.3-inch digital gauge cluster and a 12.0-inch central touchscreen are commonplace—however we’re not followers of this strategy. As in different fashions comparable to the GTI and Golf R, VW’s software program is solely not user-friendly.

The opposite important change for the 2024 Atlas is a revised turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four that is now the one engine alternative. The outdated 3.6-liter VR6 is gone, and this new engine is extra highly effective than the outgoing base turbo 4 because of a bigger turbocharger and revised tuning. Its 269 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque are ample if not class-leading, and it retains a 5000-pound towing capability and provides improved EPA-estimated gasoline economic system of between 20 mpg and 23 mpg mixed, relying on trim degree and whether or not you select front- or 4Motion all-wheel drive.

The brand new engine provides a helpful enchancment in acceleration in contrast with the outdated VR6, as we measured a 60-mph time of seven.3 seconds in our all-wheel-drive 2024 take a look at automobile. That is a half-second faster than a 98-pound-heavier 2018 Atlas VR6 AWD and is aggressive with many different three-row SUVs. We additionally achieved 25 mpg on our 75-mph freeway fuel-economy take a look at, matching the EPA ranking and marking a 1-mpg enchancment over the VR6 mannequin’s consequence. VW additionally appears to have improved throttle response, and the eight-speed automated transmission downshifts promptly to assist the brand new powertrain really feel peppier than earlier than.

Not a lot has modified with the SUV’s chassis—one side of the Atlas that did not want a lot enchancment anyway. This VW rides nicely even on 21-inch wheels, with good physique management and sufficient compliance to absorb bumpier sections of street with minimal harshness. The steering is obscure, and you are feeling the Atlas’s heft in the event you push it in corners, however it’s about as comfy and poised as you’d need a household bus to be. A skidpad results of 0.84 g is a stable quantity of grip for a three-row ute, and our take a look at automobile’s 170-foot stopping distance from 70 mph is barely higher than earlier Atlas fashions we have examined. So long as you are not anticipating the GTI of three-row SUVs, the tuning is totally applicable for any such automobile.

For a beginning worth of slightly below $40,000, the bottom 2024 Atlas SE provides a extra beneficiant set of normal options than earlier than. Ventilated entrance seats and a heated steering wheel are actually included within the base trim, as are all driver-assistance programs. There’s additionally a brand new Peak Version off-road trim with all-terrain tires and further cladding, as is changing into de rigueur for any SUV on this section. New headlights and taillights modernize the outside look considerably, however it’s nonetheless a slab-sided, boxy factor with out a lot design aptitude. That is high-quality for the bottom trim ranges, however on the worth factors of the Atlas’s greater trims—like our loaded, $54,895 SEL Premium R-Line 4Motion take a look at automobile—we might count on extra pizzazz.

VW’s constant upgrades to the Atlas over its mannequin run have stored it aggressive sufficient inside the crowded three-row SUV section, however it’s nonetheless not a standout. Whereas its new inside is considerably nicer than earlier than, VW’s insistence on touch-sensitive controls means the cabin now locations kind over operate. The beneficiant quantity of area for cargo and other people stays the Atlas’s high promoting level, however general the 2024 replace would not do a lot to vary this large VW’s standing as a midpack participant amongst household SUVs.

Senior Editor

Regardless of being raised on a gentle weight-reduction plan of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or maybe due to it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive trade all through his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He discovered a option to write about vehicles for the college newspaper throughout his school years at Rice College, which finally led him to maneuver to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first skilled auto-writing gig at Vehicle Journal. He has been a part of the Automotive and Driver crew since 2016 and now lives in New York Metropolis.