{"id":24652,"date":"2020-01-16T11:53:13","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T15:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=24652"},"modified":"2020-01-16T11:53:13","modified_gmt":"2020-01-16T15:53:13","slug":"payne-big-volkswagen-atlas-shrugs-off-the-snow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/payne-big-volkswagen-atlas-shrugs-off-the-snow","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Big Volkswagen Atlas shrugs off the snow"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">Once upon a time, Volkswagen (translation: people\u2019s car) lived up to its name in America making Bugs and Rabbits and Jettas and other fun fare that appealed to average Americans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">One of them was me. My first car was a\u00a0Rabbit GTI.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">But over the years VW\u00a0grew detached with odd menu-offerings like the pricey Touareg SUV and Phaeton luxury car.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Now that it\u2019s producing vehicles in America\u2019s Tennessee heartland, the German brand seems to have regained its footing with the Atlas and Tiguan SUVs \u2014 schnitzel-and-potatoes utes with a decidedly American accent. Which is good news, because the big, all-wheel drive Atlas arrived in my driveway just as Motown was being buried by a classic\u00a0middle-America blizzard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Driving Metro Detroit roads in a snowstorm is an adventure. There are four types of winter drivers: plodders, joggers, speeders\u00a0and crazies. I saw them all in the course of my winter blizzard adventures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Winter drivers are a lot easier to negotiate in the towering\u00a0all-wheel drive Atlas than in the ground-hugging, rear-wheel drive BMW M3 that I arrived in here 20 years ago \u2014 a Southern boy (West Virginia, not Tennessee) at the mercy of a Michigan winter.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-SaFk2VvXMdo\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/01\/13\/PDTN\/4bd50f14-ea4d-4487-8f76-40a3901ac767-atlas_fr3-4.JPG?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"With all-wheel-drive, good safety systems and loads of cargo space, the 2019 VW Atlas is an excellent family travel companion in all weather conditions.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/01\/13\/PDTN\/4bd50f14-ea4d-4487-8f76-40a3901ac767-atlas_fr3-4.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/01\/13\/PDTN\/4bd50f14-ea4d-4487-8f76-40a3901ac767-atlas_fr3-4.JPG\" \/>With all-wheel-drive, good safety systems and loads of cargo space, the 2019 VW Atlas is an excellent family travel companion in all weather conditions.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Where the M3 would beach itself on minor snowdrifts, the Atlas strode boldly out of my snow-socked neighborhood. Merging onto Inkster Road, a plodder inched across my bow at 15 mph \u2014 slow even for the snow-covered 45 mph zone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Flashers on (a sure plodder giveaway), he poked along like an icebreaker in the Arctic \u2014 then abruptly decided to stop in the middle of the road. Traveling a safe distance behind, I squeezed the Atlas brakes, felt a hint of ABS assist, then steered nimbly around him. Not bad for a 5,000-pound brute.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ad-position-64\" class=\"partner-placement partner-spike partner-placement-visible\" data-ad-placement=\"native-article_link\" data-ad-sizes=\"[&quot;fluid&quot;,[3,3], [2,6]]\" data-monetization-id=\"native-article_link\" data-monetization-sizes=\"fluid,3,3,2,6\">Starting at $31,000, my Atlas SEL Premium was nicely equipped with everything for a reasonable $50,320. That&#8217;s\u00a0welcome from a company that has often priced itself above its brand weight. Festooned with the latest safety systems, the Atlas felt confident in my hands.<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">In addition to ABS, its helpful safety systems included adaptive cruise-control,\u00a0blind-spot assist and multiple drive modes like Snow. Surrounded by the safety cocoon of the Atlas, I trailed a few\u00a0steady joggers\u00a0driving down Inkster while familiarizing myself with VW\u2019s mixed bag of infotainment options.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Mrs. Payne was pleased to learn the Atlas carries Apple CarPlay, because it is vastly superior to VW\u2019s own navigation system in ever-changing traffic conditions. When traffic clotted at an accident site, CarPlay \u2014 using its vast cloud resources \u2014 rerouted me to another road.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Though VW voice commands and navigation can be lacking, interior ergonomics are first-rate with buttons where they should be, making for minimal distraction in challenging conditions like, well, blizzards. Only VW\u2019s volume knob annoys \u2014 mute it and the whole screen goes black.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-SaFk2VvzjXY\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/01\/13\/PDTN\/552d5af8-89f6-4766-99fd-bbf9b2dfeea3-atlas_rr-3-4.JPG?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The Tennessee-made VW Atlas debuted with the 2018 model year and has re-established V-dub as a brand with American drivers in mind.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/01\/13\/PDTN\/552d5af8-89f6-4766-99fd-bbf9b2dfeea3-atlas_rr-3-4.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/01\/13\/PDTN\/552d5af8-89f6-4766-99fd-bbf9b2dfeea3-atlas_rr-3-4.JPG\" \/>The Tennessee-made VW Atlas debuted with the 2018 model year and has re-established V-dub as a brand with American drivers in mind.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Transitioning onto the Lodge\u00a0freeway, my blind-spot assist suddenly blinked. My first snow-speeder\u00a0of the day! \u2014 a hulking Ram pickup knifing in and out of traffic, eager to show off its\u00a0road-skiing abilities. I watched him fly past, hoping I didn\u2019t see him upside-down against a guardrail.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The 330-horsepower V-6 in the Atlas\u00a0is nicely mated to its eight-speed transmission. Not overly sensitive on throttle, it smoothly did its job of distributing power to all four wheels. In a family-hauler class where some automakers offer only turbo-4s (the base Atlas offering), the V-6\u2019s low-end torque is welcome, sacrificing fuel economy for confidence-inducing grunt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Chugging along on adaptive cruise-control at 10 miles per hour under the speed limit, I kept the Atlas in the left lane, avoiding schools of plodders and joggers in the right lanes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Then I passed crazy,\u00a0which appeared to wake the SUV driver from his slumber. Crazy sped up to keep pace with me. Was there a finish line he wanted us to cross together? Inspired by the Ford GT40s in \u201cFord v Ferrari\u201d?<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Traffic loomed in the right lane ahead, but crazy barreled ahead until &#8230; it was too late. I canceled adaptive cruise-control and dropped back just in time for him to swerve across my grille and into my lane to pass the jogger-drivers ahead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Atta boy, Atlas, you modern brute.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">While safety systems and a capable chassis allow the driver to deal with the idiosyncrasies of winter drivers outside, occupants can carry on in oblivious bliss. VW has done everything right inside,\u00a0from comfortable captain\u2019s chairs to tasteful brown leather\u00a0to easy-access third-row seats.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">With its chiseled exterior looks and digital instrumentation, it begs the question: Why would anyone would pay another $20,000\u00a0for a similar Audi Q7?<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The Atlas isn\u2019t the only looker in the three-row mainstream world. And\u00a0despite aiming to please,\u00a0it comes up short on value relative to the Kia Telluride or Hyundai Palisade (two transplants also made in America).<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">My biggest complaint is the Atlas \u2014 like little-brother Tiguan \u2014 begs for an injection of performance character from its sibling Golf GTI and Golf R hatchbacks to separate it in the dog-eat-SUV pack. Not that I want to be a winter speeder. But when the roads dried\u00a0out, I yearned for the athleticism I felt in my old\u00a0Rabbit GTI.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The three-row Mazda CX-9 has the DNA of its Mazda Miata sports-car sibling. The Atlas could use a GTI infusion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">We\u2019ll hear a lot more about the\u00a0Atlas. VW has smartly kept the smaller, more expensive Touraeg model at home in Europe. Americans want big, roomy, affordable three-row utes and the people\u2019s car \u2014 er, people\u2019s SUV \u2014 fits the bill.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">New for 2020 also comes the Atlas Cross Sport, a two-row version of the Atlas with a more elegant\u00a0horizontal grille and taillights complementing a coupe-like roof. You get the idea \u2014 Cross Sport plugs the hole between the Tiguan and Atlas to appeal to empty-nesters coveting the room of an Atlas \u2014 but with the smaller feel of a Tiguan. Priced competitively at $33,000\u00a0to start, the Cross Sport should\u00a0match up well\u00a0against competitors like the Honda Passport and Chevy Trailblazer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">But what I like best about it is the Atlas Cross Tour R. \u201cR\u201d as in a real, rough \u2018n\u2019 ready Baja racer. Dude, it looks rad. And maybe, just maybe, its racing DNA will rub off on the Atlas to give it a little more speed. For summertime, of course.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"presto-h3\"><strong>2019 Volkswagen Atlas<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Vehicle type: Front-engine, front- and all-wheel drive, 5-passenger SUV<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Price: $32,565 including $995 destination charge($50,320 AWD SEL as tested)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Powerplant: 2.0-liter turbo-4 cylinder, 3.6-liter V-6<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Power: 235 horsepower, 258 pound-feet torque (turbo-4); 276 horsepower, 266 pound-feet\u00a0torque (V-6)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Transmission: 8-speed automatic<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Performance: 0-60 mph, 7.9 seconds (V-6, Car and Driver); towing, 2,000-5,000 pounds<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Weight: 4,759 (as tested)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Fuel economy: EPA\u00a018 city\/ 23 highway\/ 20 combined (AWD turbo-4); 17 city\/ 23 highway\/ 19 combined (AWD V-6)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Report card<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Highs: Good value in competitive segment; handsome package<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Lows: Lacks VW character; so-so voice commands<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Overall: 3\u00a0stars<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Once upon a time, Volkswagen (translation: people\u2019s car) lived up to its name in America making Bugs and Rabbits and Jettas and other fun fare that appealed to average Americans. One of them was me. My first car was a\u00a0Rabbit GTI. But over the years VW\u00a0grew detached with odd menu-offerings like the pricey Touareg SUV [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24652"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24652"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24653,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24652\/revisions\/24653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}