The 2025 VW Atlas Is Spacious And Priced Right, But It's Missing Something

There's something charmingly straightforward about the 2025 Volkswagen Atlas. You could argue — as I have before — that this is entirely by design. While one half of VW's line-up has galloped down the electrification route, complete with eye-catching (if not plain outlandish) styling, the other half plays things far safer along with their internal combustion engines.

Little illustrates that dichotomy better than in VW's options for moving large families. On the one side of the showroom, the ID. Buzz is a playful reinvention of the classic Microbus, now with an all-electric platform underpinning its seven seats. Turn 180-degrees, though, and you find the Atlas. Still with seating for seven, but employing a far more recognizable SUV aesthetic and VW Group's familiar 2.0-liter turbo-four under the hood.

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Certainly, the electric bus gets more attention, but it also starts more than $20k north of the Atlas' $38,200 (plus $1,425 destination) opening price. That's a vast delta for the average family on a budget.

To be fair, this particular 2025 Atlas in gleaming Aurora Red isn't that base-spec SUV. In fact it's the SEL Premium R-Line trim, which starts at $53,205, and then rises to $55,780 all-in with the metallic paint and second row captain's chairs. Not quite the same bargain, no, but this flagship-spec Atlas is still almost $6k less than the cheapest ID. Buzz.

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All Atlas trims get the same 2.0-liter TSI turbocharged inline-four gas engine, with 269 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque. It's paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive is standard on the midpoint Peak Edition trim and up, and a $1,900 option on the SE and SE with Technology (from $43,305 plus destination) trims below it. 

With the right trailer hitch — standard on all but the base trim — the Atlas AWD is rated to tow up to 5,000 pounds.

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Nobody will confuse the Atlas for a sports SUV, but the turbo-four is certainly sufficient. Power delivery is smooth, if not outlandish in quantity, and the big SUV is an easy thing to pilot around town with well-assisted steering and firm (but not rigid) suspension. There's a Sport mode — along with Eco, Comfort, Custom, Offroad, and Snow on AWD-equipped versions — and a separate "S" mode for the transmission, but the end result is definitely more warm than hot. That seems just right for the audience.

It's a handsome SUV, in a chunky, somewhat old-school way. Like what a kid might draw, challenged to scrawl out a car silhouette in crayon. Wheels range from 18- to 21-inches, while all but the base trim get an illuminated light bar across the front grille, and glowing VW badges front and rear.

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A power tailgate — with hands-free and remote operation — is standard on SE with Technology trim and up. So, too, are front and rear parking sensors, remote start, and a useful 115V AC outlet. Peak Edition (from $46,655 plus destination) and above trims get a power tilt/slide panoramic sunroof.

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Inside, the first two rows are spacious and airy — that sunroof helping there — and, though a little more snug, the third row still manages to feel just about adult-scale. New for 2025 are front massage seats, albeit only on the top trim, but all trims get a 15W wireless phone charger now. 

Unusually, heated and ventilated front seats are standard across the board; SEL trim and above have heated outboard second row seats. Second row captain's chairs are available on all but the base trim; standard leatherette is replaced by real leather from SEL up.

Three-zone climate control is standard across all trims, along with a heated steering wheel, and a 12-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Six USB-C ports are standard, with eight from the SE with Technology up, while the flagship SEL Premium R-Line trim gets a 400W Harmon Kardon audio system.

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Sadly, the Atlas' dashboard predates VW's recognition that people still love physical controls. The steering wheel is a true button-fest, but the climate control and media volume are adjusted by infuriating touch-sensitive sliders. A further cluster of touch-sensitive shortcuts further down leaps between the drive modes, the climate control, and other areas, but I found myself frustrated at times with the responsiveness of things like tapping the on-screen seat heating buttons.

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VW is, at least, generous with cubbies and storage; the Atlas has big door bins, and a decent-sized 20.6 cu-ft trunk with all three rows of seats up. Drop the fold-flat third-row bench — absent in the SUV's Atlas Cross Sport sibling — and that expands to 55 cu-ft. With just the two front seats in play, there's 96.6 cu-ft. That's enough to out-stow the Honda Pilot, Kia Telluride, and Hyundai Palisade, and about the same as the capacious Toyota Grand Highlander.

The Grand Highlander comes in a hybrid form, however, but even the non-hybrid bests the Atlas when it comes to fuel economy. The good news is that I didn't struggle to meet the Volkswagen's EPA numbers; the bad news is that, at 18 mpg city, 25 mpg highway, and 21 mpg combined for most AWD trims, the SUV falls short of the competition.

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A non-hybrid Grand Highlander is rated for 24 mpg combined (the hybrid takes that up to 34 mpg); Mazda's CX-90 is slightly more powerful, and yet its 3.3-liter turbo inline-six is rated for 25 mpg. VW does at least match the Palisade AWD (and beat by a single point the Telluride AWD) on the combined rating.

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There's no hybrid or plug-in hybrid Atlas, and given VW's apparent strategy for electrification — which is basically "all or nothing" at this point — I'm not holding my breath for that to change any time soon.

In the context of Volkswagen's line-up, the 2025 Atlas makes a lot of sense. Spacious and practical, it may not be particularly exciting to drive, but it has three very usable rows of seats, a solid — and in some cases surprising — level of standard equipment, and handsome styling. Pick of the bunch would likely be the SE with Technology trim, which keeps the affordability but still layers on some creature comforts.

More broadly, though, the Atlas faces some strong competition. Some rivals beat it on economy; others are markedly more engaging from behind the wheel. The VW's fairly old-school ethos will presumably appeal to certain drivers, while leaving others wanting more excitement.

I like the Atlas, though not as much as I enjoyed the ID. Buzz, and I can't help but wish that some of the imagination shown in the electric microbus had been shared with its SUV cousin. And, for that matter, a least a little electrification to help make the Atlas perkier and more frugal. Clearly, inside Volkswagen there are two wolves, but they could do with a hybrid third to balance them.