So had a halloween trip to New England planned for a few months now. We are both lighthouse fans as well as Hocus Pocus (and general witchery) fans so planned a little US 1 driving getaway to start in Bangor, ME and end in Boston, MA with overnights in Bar Harbor, Portland and Boston with the goal of visiting as many lighthouses as feasible and stop in Salem in the short 74 hours we had. Outside of the flight, car and hotels not a single bit else of the trip was planned - we just found a good jumping off point (Cadillac Mountain) and be-bopped our way down the coast - final visit was Provincetown for lunch then back to Boston Logan to fly home.
Rental: 2021 VW Atlas SE VR6 4Motion
Powertrain: 3.6L VR6 - 276 HP and 266 lb/ft. 4Motion AWD - operates FWD but can shift up to 50% of power to rear as needed. The VR6 is still one smooth operator and nary any hint of vibration was felt, the auto really liked to lug the engine around so there was a little bit of droning when we were basically high idling around New England (35-40 MPH @ 1100-1200 RPM). VR6 puts out good numbers on paper but it is not any kind of speed demon and you definitely need to get the revs up for good forward progress, fortunately the VR6 sounds very nice all across the rev range so I was not too upset when it was singing along 4-5k RPM. VW needs to do something about that ultra low 1st gear, it made it nearly impossible to start off from a stop smoothly and even towards the end of the rental after plenty of wheel time I was still getting some herky jerky acceleration and I could not figure out any way to get it to start in 2nd gear (I didn't try snow mode though).
Fuel economy and cost:
Per EPA - 16/22 - 18 combined.
Per trip computer - 25.3 MPG
Per hand calcs - 23.5 MPG (not sure fuel level when started @ "full")
Fuel cost to drive 702 miles - $114.29
- 15.181 gallons 87 @ 3.699/gal
- 14.685 gallons 87 @ 3.959/gal
Not too terrible but competitors (Pilot, Highlander, etc.) have much better EPA ratings. With the VR6 feeling overtaxed as is combined with middling fuel economy this is one area VW needs to step up their game.
Interior/Comfort:
Here is where the Atlas shines. Interior is very spacious and sitting behind myself in 2nd row I had limo like legroom. Comfort was excellent and not once did my body complain about sitting in a car so long, dare I say these seats are better than Volvo? Interior is not very exciting, very VW generic but was decently high quality short of some expanses of hard plastic and that terrible plastic wood. No notable squeaks or rattles in this near 30k mile example even on some of the roughest gravel roads we encountered.
Handling/Ride:
Competent and drives much lighter and smaller than it really is. Despite its curb weight being very close to that of my ID.4 I hate to admit the Atlas just had more confidence inspiring handling and felt like it was much lighter on its feet. Ride quality was quite good and it did an excellent job of filtering out some of the terrible Massachusetts roads we had to traverse and it did great on the few gravel roads we took it down as well.
Overall:
If I had to do another longish driving trip the Atlas would be near the very top of my list because of the comfort aspect and because it was so easy to operate and live with for a few days, I can see why these are so popular with families. I have always had a soft spot for Volkswagens and always craved the VR6 since the MKIV Jetta/Golf days so getting the Atlas for this trip was just icing on the cake to get to make the VR6 sing for a couple days and get an extended Atlas test drive. That fuel economy though - if I was doing a long cross country I don't know if I could stomach that gas bill.
Atlas taking a break on the drive up to Cadillac Mountain.
Atlas @ Lobster Point Lighthouse in Ogunquit, ME.
Atlas @ Niles Point Beach - Gloucester, MA. (Only parked long enough for pics - did not ignore the resident permit sign....well kind of did).
Rental: 2021 VW Atlas SE VR6 4Motion
Powertrain: 3.6L VR6 - 276 HP and 266 lb/ft. 4Motion AWD - operates FWD but can shift up to 50% of power to rear as needed. The VR6 is still one smooth operator and nary any hint of vibration was felt, the auto really liked to lug the engine around so there was a little bit of droning when we were basically high idling around New England (35-40 MPH @ 1100-1200 RPM). VR6 puts out good numbers on paper but it is not any kind of speed demon and you definitely need to get the revs up for good forward progress, fortunately the VR6 sounds very nice all across the rev range so I was not too upset when it was singing along 4-5k RPM. VW needs to do something about that ultra low 1st gear, it made it nearly impossible to start off from a stop smoothly and even towards the end of the rental after plenty of wheel time I was still getting some herky jerky acceleration and I could not figure out any way to get it to start in 2nd gear (I didn't try snow mode though).
Fuel economy and cost:
Per EPA - 16/22 - 18 combined.
Per trip computer - 25.3 MPG
Per hand calcs - 23.5 MPG (not sure fuel level when started @ "full")
Fuel cost to drive 702 miles - $114.29
- 15.181 gallons 87 @ 3.699/gal
- 14.685 gallons 87 @ 3.959/gal
Not too terrible but competitors (Pilot, Highlander, etc.) have much better EPA ratings. With the VR6 feeling overtaxed as is combined with middling fuel economy this is one area VW needs to step up their game.
Interior/Comfort:
Here is where the Atlas shines. Interior is very spacious and sitting behind myself in 2nd row I had limo like legroom. Comfort was excellent and not once did my body complain about sitting in a car so long, dare I say these seats are better than Volvo? Interior is not very exciting, very VW generic but was decently high quality short of some expanses of hard plastic and that terrible plastic wood. No notable squeaks or rattles in this near 30k mile example even on some of the roughest gravel roads we encountered.
Handling/Ride:
Competent and drives much lighter and smaller than it really is. Despite its curb weight being very close to that of my ID.4 I hate to admit the Atlas just had more confidence inspiring handling and felt like it was much lighter on its feet. Ride quality was quite good and it did an excellent job of filtering out some of the terrible Massachusetts roads we had to traverse and it did great on the few gravel roads we took it down as well.
Overall:
If I had to do another longish driving trip the Atlas would be near the very top of my list because of the comfort aspect and because it was so easy to operate and live with for a few days, I can see why these are so popular with families. I have always had a soft spot for Volkswagens and always craved the VR6 since the MKIV Jetta/Golf days so getting the Atlas for this trip was just icing on the cake to get to make the VR6 sing for a couple days and get an extended Atlas test drive. That fuel economy though - if I was doing a long cross country I don't know if I could stomach that gas bill.
Atlas taking a break on the drive up to Cadillac Mountain.
Atlas @ Lobster Point Lighthouse in Ogunquit, ME.
Atlas @ Niles Point Beach - Gloucester, MA. (Only parked long enough for pics - did not ignore the resident permit sign....well kind of did).
