The mid-range three-row SUV segment may be the most competitive class of vehicles in the US right now. Companies are desperate to offer the ideal family vehicle at an accessible price point. Volkswagen’s 2027 Atlas is about to hit dealerships, and the vehicle is specced to stand out in this exact segment.
But is VW’s family focus enough to fend off the likes of the Toyota Highlander, Kia Telluride, and Ford Explorer? I recently traveled out to Alabama to get a preview of the German manufacturer’s upcoming three-row SUV. And overall, I was pretty impressed.
If you’ve recently driven a VW, you’ve driven the 2027 Atlas
Volkswagen may be the most consistent car company in the world these days. If you’re wondering what I mean by that, you could blindfold someone and stick them in the front seat of an Atlas, or a Tiguan, or possibly a Taos and the driving experience will feel exactly the same. The acceleration, the handling, the lot.
And it’s not bad either. With 282 horsepower the Atlas can go when it needs to, despite the relatively small two-liter inline four under the hood. The gearbox seems to shift smoothly most of the time (though it will “clunk” pretty heavily into drive from a standing start occasionally.” The brakes are effective, there’s a good amount of safety tech on board, and while the “self driving” software is far from world leading it is enough to take a load off on a longer road trip. Yes, you need to keep your hands on the wheel, but it will handle pretty much everything else. If you have a medical emergency, it will take total control and safely park the vehicle on the side of the road before contacting emergency services.
In terms of fuel economy, the Atlas gets a very respectable 25 MPG. It’s solid for an ICE-only three-row SUV.
The interior quality is superb for the price
The Atlas, like pretty much every other modern Volkswagen, has a wonderful interior. There’s a refreshing amount of wood, which you don’t always see in vehicles with a starting MSRP just north of $40,000. While the seats are artificial leather in all but the top two trims, the upholstery seems to be of good quality. The ambient lighting system, which is of course customizable, adds a wonderful touch of flair to the whole thing too.
If I have to nitpick, Volkswagen’s apparent hatred of physical buttons is the biggest issue with the interior. While some HVAC controls like temperature can be adjusted while tapping on the central screen’s frame, the only actual button is for the hazard lights. Dedicated buttons for the vehicle’s cameras along with front and rear window de-misters would be a huge improvement.
While I have praised the driving experience, most vehicles drive pretty well these days. I’m in a different new vehicle every week, and it’s rare I’m behind the wheel of something genuinely awful. So cabin quality is an area where OEMs have a chance to stand out in 2026. Plus, from a consumer perspective, people spend a lot of time in their cars. Commutes, school runs, road trips, you’re likely to spend hundreds if not thousands of hours in that vehicle’s cabin. So you should really pick something genuinely pleasant to sit in. The 2027 Volkswagen Atlas passes that test.
The new Atlas comes with an infotainment upgrade
Audio in the 2027 Volkswagen Atlas comes courtesy of Harman-Kardon with a nine speaker system fitted to the base model, and a premium 14-speaker system inside the top trim. The speaker system ties in with VW’s “atmospheres” feature. You select a mood on the “Driver Experience Dial” and the vehicle adjusts both the lighting and the audio settings to match it.
You can adjust the audio settings yourself too, if you have a particular preference in mind. It’s also possible to adjust the focus of the audio, so if whoever is in the second row would like things a little quieter but the folks in the front want to blast something, you only need to adjust a slider to keep everyone happy.
While the base model comes with a 12.9 inch central display, the “SE w/Tech” trim (the next one up) increases that display size to 15 inches.
AirConsole games now feature in the vehicle. The games include classics like Tetris, PAC-Man, Asteroids, and Breakout. Many more are also available for download via the AirConsole store. Many games are multiplayer, with smartphones taking the place of controllers.
There’s a family focus with the Atlas
During the first drive, Volkswagen packed out an Atlas with various objects a small family may cart around at any given time. This included a diaper bag, two child seats, some sports equipment, and various snacks. The Atlas took it all pretty comfortably. Behind the third row, there’s a shade over 21 cubic feet of space. With the third row down, which may be the default configuration for many people, you have just shy of 60 cubic feet available. If you’re happy to sacrifice the second row, you’ll have a generous 95.4 cubic feet of cargo space available.
What the Atlas can’t do is make fitting baby seats any easier. They do have ISOFIX attachments on the second row, but as always you need a mom of some kind to decipher the hieroglyphics stamped onto the side of said seat and actually fit it in there properly. It’s just an SUV, not a miracle on wheels. If you can crack the child seat code, you’ll be pleased to know you can fit three side by side in the Atlas’ second row. Which makes the Atlas a top choice for anyone with triplets (or three very young children).
Oddly enough, the family focus on the Atlas got me thinking about options. You can pay $695 extra for captain’s chairs, but that drops the capacity from seven to six. And the center seat on the second row is pretty generous. The third row itself is also big enough to cram an adult into. Which is impressive considering how compact the Atlas looks on the outside, and the amount of trunk space it offers with all three rows up. A fully grown man won’t be comfortable back there for an extended trip, but it’s the sort of space you could survive 20 to 30 minutes in without issue.
Should you buy the 2026 Volkswagen Atlas
There’s a lot of competition in the Atlas’ price bracket. But at the end of the day the interior is beautiful, the massage seats work well, the fuel economy is respectable, and the price is right. The one thing that may hold it back is the lack of a hybrid option, though hybrids have their own issues in the shape of an expensive battery replacement somewhere down the line.
While it’s tough to recommend the Atlas ahead of something like a Palisade or Telluride (even though the latter has increased in price this year) I can say this without issue. The Ford Explorer is the best selling vehicle in this segment and I have absolutely no idea why someone would pick an Explorer over the Volkswagen Atlas. Aside from the Explorer likely winning in a 0-60 sprint, Volkswagen beat Ford in pretty much every department when it comes to three-row SUVs. And while Ford is an “American” company, the Atlas is very much assembled by US workers in the US.
If you have a budding family and need a three-row SUV, take one of these for a test drive.
The 2027 VW Atlas starts at just $41,610. The top level trim comes in at $56,610, with the extra money getting you all-wheel drive, enhanced massage seats, a nappa leather interior, 21-inch wheels, “park assist plus” and more.
