Battle of the midsize, three-row SUVs
2018 Volkswagen Atlas V-6 SEL Premium with 4Motion versus 2018 Toyota Highlander Hybrid V-6 AWD: Battle of the midsize, three-row SUVs.
Price: $50,275 for the Atlas as tested (but it starts at $30,750), versus $37,479 for the Highlander (starting at $31,030).
Marketer’s pitch: Volkswagen tells buyers, “Life’s as big as you make it,” while Toyota says, “Let’s explore every possibility.”
Conventional wisdom: Motor Trend says the Highlander offers “lots of cargo space, efficient hybrid variant” and is “capable in mild off-road situations,” but also the “interior has a lot of cheap plastics, SE model doesn’t really improve handling, eight-speed automatic always wants to be in the highest gear.”
About the Atlas, Car and Driver says you’ll like “gobs of space inside, refined powertrain, plush ride” but not that it’s “thirsty and not a sprinter, some cheap interior plastics, cartoonish front end.”
Reality: One is bigger than I thought, and the other is smaller, but they’re the same size.
To the test: It’s been a long time since I’ve written head-to-head columns, as they can be fairly complicated for Mr. Driver’s Seat’s lone functioning brain cell.
But I could hardly avoid the opportunity with the Atlas and the Highlander, as they were parked in front of Chez Sturgis for the exact same week.
Andit was serendipity — I neverexpected they’d be so closein size. Advertising and mediareports had pegged theAtlas as the first threerowSUV for full-size adults, soI was expecting something largerthan a Highlander, but seeingthem in a row made merealize just what had befallenme.
This week we’ll get to know them and dig around inside, while next week we take them out for a weeklong spin.
What they are: The Toyota Highlander is a gray mare in Toyota’s stable, a 20-something-year-old name that — like most American vehicles, and most of us Americans — has grown bulkier over the years.
The Atlas is a fresh face for 2018, Volkswagen’s attempt to get serious about selling vehicles to an audience that values elbow room.
How they look: The Highlander looks like it has for several years. It’s missed the scowling Toyota “refreshening” of late, which is a good thing.
When I posted a picture of the Atlas on social media, looking like a hipster school bus in its Kurkuma yellow coat, friends guessed it to be a Cherokee. So even despite the wild color scheme, no one is calling it groundbreaking in the design department.
Driver’s Seat: Inside, both SUVs do a fantastic job of accurately representing their respective brands.
TheAtlas steering wheel controlshave Volkswagen’s standardsetup for cruise andstereo controls. The Highlanderhas Toyota’s cruisestalk — my favorite —and other controls similarto Toyota models as well.
The Highlander came with Toyota’s cloth seats, and felt quite like the Sturgis Family Sienna in SUV form, albeit more comfortable and with snugger seats. The Atlas had the leather upgrade, and, man, those Germans are tough. What a hard perch from which to drive.
Friends and stuff: Or from which to ride. Secondand third-row passengers will also feel the stiffness of the Atlas leather seat. The vehicle only had 600 miles on it, so the seats may need some breaking in.
Cargo space is 83.7 cubic feet behind the Highlander front row, while the Atlas boasts 96.7, which is quite a lot, especially considering the Atlas is just 6 inches longer than the Toyota.
Next week: The Atlas and the Highlander take to the road.