A more delicately styled grille, beveled headlights, and nearly horizontal hood help the Atlas look more German – to this author’s eyes, the front end somehow recalls the lauded Golf Mk4 sold in the early 2000s.
The 2021 Volkswagen Atlas is an okay-looking machine, particularly since its facelift did away with the blocky front end that made it look heavy and ungainly. Nevertheless, the seven-seat Atlas is VW’s number-three vehicle in terms of sales, and we appreciated its overall competence during a test of an SEL V6 4Motion model with the Basecamp accessory kit. But former Volkswagen owners will find themselves let down by the SUV’s disappointingly plasticky interior and forgettable (if inoffensive) styling.
Perfectly average styling and driving behavior draw no ire, and we applaud the Atlas’ available advanced technology features and spacious interior. Unfortunately, it meets those consumer needs with none of the elan and poise that was once a hallmark of every Volkswagen product. A few styling and interior updates for 2021 bring the Atlas more in line with its funky, Teutonic forebears, but it’s still a distinctly American product, reflecting the changing values of VW and its buyers. The 2021 Volkswagen Atlas is the largest vehicle the company has ever sold in the US, a curious offering from a company that once extolled the virtues of buying the compact Beetle over a comparatively huge Chevy Biscayne.
0 kommentar(er)
