Atlas Sport V6 4motion

[smbaran]

I traded my 2012 Jetta wagon TDI for a 2021 Atlas. I love the design and the drive...but, I miss my TDI.
Any thoughts out there? Almost killed myself pushing the ignition button instead of driving mode button by mistake while driving mountain road! All systems gone!
Who puts these buttons side by side? Any thoughts on new invention of killing the engine with a button while driving? If your fob goes out the window, entire system will go dark! Who thinks this stuff up? Yes, I miss my jetta and the milage. But, Atlas is a nice ride and safer too in the big truck world.

 

[oilhammer]

The Atlas drives nice for what it is, but the engines are short-lived and fragile.

The push button start/stop has safety measures, it won't shut the engine off when it shouldn't. While it does seem goofy and overcomplicated, know that all modern VAG products (including the '12 wagon you just had) use an electronic system anyway, regardless of if it has a key or not. The only thing "mechanical" with the key is the steering column lock. They don't technically even use an ignition switch, in the traditional sense. It is more of a "key position sensor" that uses low voltage communication signals to the Steering Column control module, which in turn sends low voltage communication signals to the other modules (Central Electronics, etc.) to tell everyone where the position of the key is (OFF/ON/CRANK).

 

[Zak99b5]

I heard (from an Atlas owner) that Consumer Reports gave the Atlas the lowest score for reliability in the history of the magazine.

 

[oilhammer]

They've had a lot of teething troubles. They (like the NMS Passat) are an 'American' Volkswagen, meaning they do not even sell them in Germany. So the 'at arm's reach' approach the Germans seem to take with these is wrought with slow reaction times to sort things out that may not take as long with "real" Volkswagens. The NMS had a few troubles, too. But the NMS was also a simpler car.

The Atlas has big (but perhaps stinky) shoes to fill in that the Touareg was its predecessor for us. The T'reg is still alive and well in Europe. And the Audi version (the Q7) and the Porsche version (the Caqyenne) are still at those respective showrooms for us. But like the Jetta [sedan] in the past, and the Passat a year later, Volkswagen has decided to take a "bigger, cheaper" approach for the US market. And the consumers here prove they are not wrong. I suspect the Atlas sales will dwarf the T'reg sales here in short order, just as NCS and NMS sales surpassed their former selves, even if they are clearly not as "good" of a car (cheaper, lighter, more attention given to lower costs).

I feel that going forward, every new VW-branded model will follow this suit. And if you still want a solid, German Volkswagen (regardless of where it is actually assembled) you'll be limited to shopping at an Audi dealer. Because the Golf is going away (for us).

It is a formula that works, though. It has worked for Honda, Nissan, Toyota, and others. So it should be of no surprise that VAG brass is following suit.

Keep in mind, the 2021 Atlas' base starting MSRP is around $32k. The base starting MSRP of a Touareg when they came out in 2004 was $36k. Now granted, all the T'regs imported are AWD, that is a $2k option on the Atlas... so even comparing THAT, the Atlas is STILL two grand less than its predecessor was 17 years ago. So yeah, I wouldn't expect a whole lot.

 

[greengeeker]

I personally don't care for the cheap feel of the "American Volkswagen". I hate that short-lived and fragile are accurate descriptions for a vw engine...

 

[oilhammer]

And now that Volkswagen has removed TDIs from our showrooms, evidently stopped any further gasoline development, so the only offerings we have are smoothed over versions of 10+ year (EA888) or 30+ year (VR6) engines, and gone all butt-hurt into EVs, there really isn't going to be anything going forward that will be able to boast about how many hundreds of thousands of miles they've lasted. The little 1.4t engine might be a contender, I really want to like that engine. But that will be limited to smaller stuff, and that is going away, too. Volkswagen's current US lineup is just awful.

 

[Zak99b5]

It's really kinda sad to see what became of the company that gave us the Beetle, the Bus, the Rabbit and GTI, Scirocco, and those lovely little ALH and 1.8T motors.

Truth is, I haven't really been much interested in new VWs since the MkV GTi.

 

[oilhammer]

It really is sad. But, I have plenty of the older ones to brighten my day. I am now in the same place I was some time ago, when I was still daily driving my '91 Jetta. Cruising along and thinking "man, I am driving the oldest car on the road right now". While I still have the old girl, I can't say the increased power and somehow better fuel economy of the ALH I now daily drive isn't a welcome change. But I do often look around at the cars I share the road with every day (I am now passing them, not the other way around ), and once again find it hard to spot something older. People just don't take care of things, I guess. Well, some people do. I have a 2005 Passat here today with 327k miles on the clock.

 

[greengeeker]

I'm in the same boat driving my ALH Jetta or my OBS Ford.

I look around at all of these fools WASTING $ on depreciating vehicles.

 

[TurboABA]

We have to all be realistic kids..... VAG wants to make $$$.... if everyone wants looks and zero emissions, that's what they will bring us... just be thankful that we lived in a time when real vehicles\engines were a thing.... can't recall the last time I heard (in person) a VR6 with intake\exhaust, a Rotary, a BOV..... (yeah yeah, all gassers... I know...)

These days, when I actually see a MKI, I almost bust my neck doing a double take, and anyone who's with me in the vehicle starts asking W.T.F is wrong with me....

 

[Zak99b5]

We have to all be realistic kids..... VAG wants to make $$$.... if everyone wants looks and zero emissions, that's what they will bring us... just be thankful that we lived in a time when real vehicles\engines were a thing.... can't recall the last time I heard (in person) a VR6 with intake\exhaust, a Rotary, a BOV..... (yeah yeah, all gassers... I know...)

These days, when I actually see a MKI, I almost bust my neck doing a double take, and anyone who's with me in the vehicle starts asking W.T.F is wrong with me....

Haha I saw a MkI GTi driving on the Northway last weekend coming home from camping in the Adirondacks. I got next to it and spent a couple miles admiring it.

 

[oilhammer]

The salt belt wasn't friendly to those cars, that's for sure. I wish I still had my round headlight '79. I only sold it because it was a 4sp with no A/C, and we moved 50 miles away into the country. It was a fantastic short trip city car, but cruising down the highway with it wound up at 70 with the windows open was not pleasant. Sad part is, I sold it to my brother who just trashed it unmerciful. But it was a great little car. Roomy inside, despite its diminutive size, the 48hp 1.5L diesel was actually pretty peppy around town, from a stand still to about 45 it was plenty adequate. No power anything, and it didn't need it. 13" tires were cheap and lasted a long time, the most electrically complex thing in the entire car was the AM/FM Sapphire radio, which still worked perfectly. No hood cable, just a simple lever outside. Not a single wire going into any of its 4 doors, and the only wire to the hatch was for the rear window defogger (which also worked great). It even still had the slow-glow system.... cold winter (for Missouri, so ~5F) starts were a lengthy event.... but it always started.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

I remember driving to Philadelphia to my own wedding in 1980 with two of my brothers and my best man in my '78 Rabbit. We all fit fine, tuxes and luggage in the trunk.

Good friend of mine has an Arteon. He just bent one of his 19" wheels on a pothole, destroyed the tire. It occurred to me the other day that my B4 (which I was driving at the time) is a 25 year previous rendition of VW's top model. I'd prefer the B4. I can't remember when I last saw another one of those on the street.

I visited a friend in Maine last weekend and when I was leaving he looked at IBW and mentioned that when my kids were in high school (they're all in their 30s now) I had a blue wagon that I used for snowboarding trips. He was more than a little amazed that I'm driving the same car 15+ years later.

There isn't much in VW's current product line I'd want. I seriously considered getting a '21 Golf 1.4TSI with a manual since it's the last of its kind, but it was hard for me to justify with a '15 GSW TDI sitting in my garage.