Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Space wise it’s hard to beat without getting full size (suburban type) car

It’s only a little bit bigger than a pilot cargo wise, yet only seats 7 passengers vs a pilots 8. I guess if you are carrying 6 kids and hockey gear that’s the priority?

Seven is with second row captain’s chairs.

No, that's 6 (with the captain's chair). The third row in the Atlas only seats two, but it's by far the most comfortable 3rd row in the segment. With the 2nd row bench it seats 7.

We have a 2018 Atlas and absolutely love it. Great car, and has 100k miles with no issues.

We test drove both the Highlander and Ascent, and it absolutely beats the pants off both in virtually every area. The main downsides are poor gas mileage and a small gas tank. Everything else is great.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s cheap

This is it — there’s a group of people out there who choose the Atlas:
A) Do no research on reliability
B) Want something big ‘n cheap
C) like that it’s an SUV and not a minivan
D) For some, they toss away their cars for low trade-in values every handful of years

I agree this is a good summary. You can get a higher trim with more features than comparable Toyota or Honda. But it won't hold its value or be as reliable down the road. But plenty of people don't care about that, see D above.

I got an Atlas and like it. Two deciding factors: The back seat (second row) have enough legroom for tall people. My DSs are 6-ft-plus. Being cramped in the backseat as a tall person is miserable. We tested almost every car in this SUV size class/price point, and the Atlas had the best legroom in the back.
The second factor was the cargo space. We do big road trips and the kids have a lot of sports equipment (think -- big hockey bags, baseball catcher gear, etc).

OP are you just jealous she got a new car and you didn't?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Space wise it’s hard to beat without getting full size (suburban type) car

It’s only a little bit bigger than a pilot cargo wise, yet only seats 7 passengers vs a pilots 8. I guess if you are carrying 6 kids and hockey gear that’s the priority?

Seven is with second row captain’s chairs.

Anonymous wrote:My SIL just got this car, and I am curious why someone would get this over a Highlander or Ascent (she has a Subaru now in fact). Consumer reports hates the car. Is it especially great to drive? Trendy?

They have tons of space. Much more than the other two.

I had one for a rental car and really liked it. I test drove the Highlander and really disliked it (especially the narrow window and poor sight lines when looking back). I bought a different car. But I don’t think it’s crazy to buy a VW - I’ve had VW and other German cars in the past and haven’t spent much more time in the repair shop.

Anonymous wrote:It’s cheap

This is it — there’s a group of people out there who choose the Atlas:
A) Do no research on reliability
B) Want something big ‘n cheap
C) like that it’s an SUV and not a minivan
D) For some, they toss away their cars for low trade-in values every handful of years

I don't understand the borderline cult-like following that VW has. I have known several people who have had major repair issues with VW's fairly soon after purchasing them, yet they will just replace the problem car with another VW only to then have problems with the new car.

I agree with the poster above who outlined the VW seems to have a large presence advertising on social media, so I'm sure that has something to do with it. Personally, I still to Honda/Toyota/Subaru for the safety and reliability.

Also, I've always found VW/Audi's advertising to be very pretentious, especially for cars that really aren't that great.

It’s cheap

VWs are cheap and have nice interiors.

A few years ago we looked at the Atlas, Highlander, and Ascent and ended up going with an Ascent, but the Atlas was the most spacious inside.

Anonymous wrote:So unreliable. Only good if you replace cars often which is a waste of money. I agree that Atlas has a weird social media following if you aren’t getting a Tahoe, which people are also obsessed with.

Then again I am a minivan loyalist so clearly vanity is not a concern of mine.

Any examples of the social media following?

So unreliable. Only good if you replace cars often which is a waste of money. I agree that Atlas has a weird social media following if you aren’t getting a Tahoe, which people are also obsessed with.

Then again I am a minivan loyalist so clearly vanity is not a concern of mine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My SIL just got this car, and I am curious why someone would get this over a Highlander or Ascent (she has a Subaru now in fact). Consumer reports hates the car. Is it especially great to drive? Trendy?

Consumer Reports hates Jeeps as well, but Jeep owners keep buying Jeeps.

Among the Highlander, the Ascent, and the VW Atlas, I find the Atlas most attractive--but, it is the only one that I didn't test drive.

Major market for jeeps are young women whose parents buy them a new car every couple years or young adult men cosplaying at adventure. Most families purchase cars with more grounded rationale.