What's the news?
Volkswagen has lifted the veil of secrecy over its new US-built, US-specific SUV and has revealed the seven-seat machine will indeed be called the Atlas. It had its world premiere on Santa Monica Pier, the end of historic Route 66, ahead of its launch in the States in Spring 2017.
Exterior
The Atlas is based on the modular transverse matrix (MQB) platform used widely by the Volkswagen Group, with the SUV boasting LED headlights, LED daytime running lights and optional LED tail lights. It's a physically big machine, at 5,037mm long, 1,979mm wide and 1,768mm tall, although despite Volkswagen admitting it is the largest machine it sells in the US, the company still maintains that this fits between the existing Tiguan and the Touareg, rather than replacing or superseding the latter.
Interior
Volkswagen's first seven-seat SUV, the Atlas is said to have enough space for seven adults and their luggage. Access to the rear-most two chairs is via an 'innovative' folding seat solution for the middle row. Up front, the Volkswagen Digital Cockpit TFT instrument cluster is employed, as are 'clear, driver-centric' displays.
The Atlas will come with a wide range of online services courtesy of Volkswagen Car-Net, including standard App-Connected technology that offers integration with the three major smartphone platforms: Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MirrorLink. Also on the equipment list will be a Fender Premium Audio System, with 12 speakers and a 480-watt amp, plus a whole host of driver assistance systems such as Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning and Autonomous Emergency Braking, Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Traffic Alert, Lane Departure Warning, Park Assist and Automatic Post-Collision Braking System.
Mechanicals
Two powertrains are offered for the Volkswagen Atlas, a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder TSI with 238hp and a 3.6-litre VR6 petrol developing 280hp. Both are mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and the SUV can either have front-wheel drive or - for the VR6 model - 4Motion all-wheel drive. Volkswagen will release US Environmental Protection Agency economy stats nearer the car's 2017 launch.
Anything else?
Built at Volkswagen's Chattanooga assembly plant in Tennessee - which has received €900 million of investment as a result of the decision to build the Atlas there - this is a key model for the German company. Around one in ten new registrations in the USA in 2015 were for mid-sized SUVs in this class and so Volkswagen needed to fill the gap.
Interestingly, while it is a US-only model for now, Volkswagen has said it will be offered in Russia and the Middle East from the end of 2017, so there's every possibility it could eventually come to western Europe - especially as Wolfsburg badly needs a seven-seat SUV in this region, given the Touareg's lack of such a seating option.