nysupraman

Well CL family.... after being loyal to Lexus for so long and running thru so much of the lineup over the last several years, I gave up my GX460 lease for another manufacturer. I remained loyal strictly to the brand due to their unparalleled service, reliability, and familiarity over the years....it just always felt right at home. My friends always tease me to try other manufacturers as Lexus may still hold the stigma of an "old mans car". I always stuck to my loyalty due to the factors I listed. I wanted to give you all my thought process on picking the Atlas and opinion and features on the car so far (only 3 weeks in).

Well, fast forward to current times and I don't know why.... but I am not at all interested or feel passionate enough to get any NEW Lexus vehicle. They kind of all feel the same, and even the outliers like the true F cars just don't stand out enough (also returned the RC-F lease). A huge factor is also technology, that is just not up to par with the others out there. Even many of the lower level brands and model lineups among those brands exceed far beyond what Lexus has to offer. Well today at age 33, my current responsibilities and priorities have shifted towards my family, and for that I am forever grateful and wouldn't change it for the world. Three years ago when I had gotten the Gx460, it was nice to "try" something different as I was probably going to go for the RX350. It might have severely lacked in tech, but still had the old world drive anywhere truck thing going for it. Also, at the time was the only decent option for an emergency third row (from Lexus). The LX was out of the question because of price point and size (for the wife). Also at the time I had just had my first born son. As we had our second child thru those 3 years and I moved in a grandparent permanently into our home, I immediately thought how inadequate the GX was becoming for our bigger family, hauling more people. As I said before besides the tech being way behind, the third row was really becoming a nuisance. We were using it more and more and there was absolutely no room behind the third row for luggage. Also getting into that back third row was a real pain.

I thought to myself, this time around my wife and I would test drive from all different manufacturers to see what vehicle would fit our needs best, without being Lexus biased! Keeping and open mind we narrowed it down and test drove the Dodge Durango, Ford Explorer, Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, Subaru Ascent and lastly the VW Atlas. These vehicles all had decent tech, a spacious third row, and some luggage room behind the third row with the seats up. Without going into the detail about every vehicle, we quickly realized how much we were missing by strictly sticking to Lexus, there was so much out there for a growing family, without having to go for a minivan. We almost leased a Subaru Ascent Touring, which is the top of the line model with lots of cool tech and the captains chair option. Regardless of how boring the vehicle looked, it checked off a lot of what we were looking for, we were very pleasantly surprised. Within a week of test driving the Subaru, we thought to try one more and give the Atlas a shot. We had a prior misconception that the VW Atlas would be "cheap" and that the Subaru felt more premium. Boy were we wrong, as soon as we test drove the base or middle trim Atlas we were beyond ecstatic, my wife and I both looked at each other and nodded that this had to be our next family hauler.

The dealership experience was also much more pleasant at VW (family owned), more than the others we listed, especially Subaru. After the test drive, I went home and did my homework and trim levels, price points, discounts etc. I was pleasantly surprised at how much tech the top trim V6 SEL Premium 4motion Atlas had. I never read about or saw any of these cool tech features on TV. I arranged the dealership to let us drive a loaded one a second time and that just sealed the deal, we couldn't have gone home without it! A base Atlas starts at around $35k and loaded comes in just under $50k. Yes, that's a pretty expensive VW, but relative to price and options for Lexus had so much more to offer. The one we drove was the last loaded 2018 model that they had, with the exact color options (White/Black) and captains chair we wanted..... so the stars seemed to have aligned. Well, I walked out of that dealership handing them the keys to my GX, not missing her one bit and drove off with the Atlas that very next day. I also feel as though I got a pretty good deal on it.

Now on to the actual car. The loaded Atlas has so much to offer, it really was a lot for me to digest. It was also very easy and intuitive, being used to a Lexus interface had not fazed me at all to get used to it. The VW touchscreen is so quick and easy to use, don't miss not having a Lexus touch/mouse pad at all. Also VW was thoughtful and adds a number of physical buttons that makes using the interface that much more easier, instead of going without any buttons. There is actually a power/ volume **** and tune **** as well that also functions as a scroll ****. Our vehicle also has the digital dash, kind of like a dumb down Audi interface. The map clarity isn't as clear, and certainly has no google earth, but there is loads of information on that dash that can be customized. You can also throw the map from the main screen on the dash, much like the Audi... cool stuff. We also have the upgraded Fender audio system that really sounds stellar to my untrained ears. I am comparing it to the Mark Levinson systems of Lexus, which don't sound that much better than the Fender to be honest. Apply carplay is also standard on the car, which now with the Waze added to the new iOS system is fantastic! The vehicle also has manual rear shades, huge pano sunroof with shade, several USB ports, 3 points plug, and heated rear seats. All of the seats are perforated with contrast stitching and very supple yet supportive. The steering wheel is smaller and sporty for such a huge vehicle (heated at that) but the artificial steering is so smooth and precise, once again was so pleasantly surprised. The vehicle drives small for it's size. The car is also equipped with a slew of cameras and sensors for all sorts of views while parking. You can change the options to 360 view, each particular side of the vehicle, wide angle front or rear, tow view etc.... The only downside is that the clarity of the screen could be a bit better. The lane keep assist in combination with the adaptive cruise control works so well! It drives a lot more natural in assistance compared to the aggressive adjustments from Lexus. The lane keep shows up on the digital dash and you can see it working live in action, and it drives itself on the highway scarily too well. You can leave your hands off the wheel for quite a bit before it buzzes for you to place hands back on the wheel. The last bit of "gimmicky" tech is the self park feature on the top trim. Once again, I was unaware VW even offered this. It will scan and not only parallel park, but also park into a spot at a parking lot. It will also park itself out if you need to do so. The parallel works flawlessly, but the parking lot parking isn't as flawless, gets very close to the near cars. The vehicle also comes with emergency auto braking front and rear to prevent accidents. The boxy exterior shape does wonders for looks and the space inside. I prefer the masculine exterior with full LED front and rear lights. Our's also rides on the optional 20" wheels, which rides pretty well for larger wheels, very taught yet soft and forgiving for the occupants inside. The seat options for second and third row is stellar! The second row bench or captains follow tilt forward with car seat in place to have a huge space to enter into the third row. Second row sliding legroom is very spacious. Fellow parents understand the struggle of removing a car seat to allow seat access, and the value of a such a tilt feature! A cavernous third row isn't even the word for it... I would argue that it would be hard to find any larger of a third row space with headroom and legroom without opting for a minivan. Again, a solid reason we chose this car. Also, behind the third row there is actual space for luggage or a small stroller. With the third row down there is a ridiculous amount of cargo space, too much almost! The icing on the cake is that as I write this and it's 35 degrees out, is it's auto start feature that is old school on the key fob, instead of a smartphone subscription option (like Lexus). Speaking of temperature, the car also has "rest mode" so when you stop and turn off your vehicle, and you press the "rest" button, it will run the HVAC for upto 30 minutes until you return and restart the car, another pretty cool useful feature! Drive options are controlled on a **** and you can select snow, normal, off road, or make a custom setting. I was able to test out the snow mode on our first snow storm the other day, and it performed very well on uncleaned roads. The options to customize almost everything inside the car is endless. I apologize for rambling on and on about this car, but if any of you are on my boat, do yourself a favor and at least test drive and checkout the features of this car, you will not be disappointed.

Just a couple of pictures from day of delivery:

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

congrats! i'd say the atlas represents the best value/utility in the segment along with traverse and ascent. i found the durango's second row too cramped (it's the same as the jeep grand cherokee i had).

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

All I think of is the 'Luv Bug' commercial when I think of the Atlas. Enjoy the hanky panky

ABC

Congrats! We test drove one and i really liked the atlas and all the room and warranty you get for the $$. My wife wasn't thrilled about the driving position and the huge hood unfortunately.

pbm317

Congrats! The Atlas, especially in the SEL Premium trim is quite compelling, with lots of great features and technology, as you've found, and plenty of discounts to be had now.

The VW Vortex forums have been pretty active with Atlas owners.

mmarshall

Congratulations. Enjoy it. Looks good. It is, IMO, one of the relatively few vehicles today that is sensibly-styled and not overdone on the aero-swoop department, large/garish grilles, overly-large pillars, or humpback-whale rooflines.

How was the experience at the dealership? Since the well-noted scandals and publicity of a couple of years ago (though those scandals were with corporate management, not individual dealers), my guess is that VW dealers are bending over backwards today to try and present a better image of the company...which, in the American market, has been poor for a number of years.

nysupraman

Agreed! VALUE is the word I was looking for!

Haha... yes they barely play that commercial though?

That is true, hood is huge. Changing the seating position allowed my wife to float above the hood line

Thank you! Probably less and less 2018's leftover, they are being pretty aggressive to get rid of the last few. Thanks for the forum recommendation!

Yes, totally agree on the looks department! Comparing the three nearest dealerships around me.... the one I purchased from is the smallest one of them all, however the only family owned dealership. The other two are owned by big guys that own multiple/ multi-brand dealerships, and they could give a damn when I reached out to them. Also my dealership has the highest volume/ month sold even though they are the smallest- proves something I guess? I put all the crap aside over the last couple of years with the scandals and drama and walked in with an open mind hoping for a pleasant experience, which it was. Happy customer, would recommend or buy from them again!