[Ralph Walberg]

Hello Atlas forum. It's new car buying time and the Atlas 2.0t is top of my list right now. To be clear, I am buying this vehicle (potentially) as a minivan alternative. Family of 5, suburban life, no off roading, no towing and really want something that looks great, functional and FUEL EFFICIENT. No need for the V6, or AWD. Of course all the SE's with Tech have the larger rims. So I am concerned that using regular gas or opting for the larger rims will ding the pretty decent fuel economy. Does anyone have any experience with this? Assure me that they are getting low to mid 20's mpg with the big rims and while using regular unleaded. Would also be curious to know how the 2.0t's have been holding up. Lots of heavier vehicles nowdays have small displacement turbos, so I'm not scared of them, just slightly concerned as this would be my first 2 ton vehicle with something smaller than a v6. No worries about power, just the longevity as I would be purchasing.

Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[KarstGeo]

The 2.0 is slated to use 87 so no reason to think you won't achieve the stated mpgs with it. Using premium isn't going to do much if anything for you on that...if it could new VW more mpgs don't you think they would recommend it?

 

[Baxatlas]

We went from a 2007 Toyota Sienna to a 2016 Toyota Sienna, To a 2019 Atlas, granted I am only about 500 miles in on my 2019 Atlas SE with Tech and 4Motion.
I absolutely love my Atlas. We just did a 250 mile road trip to see how it would perform. Gas milage on the 4Motion (4 wheel drive) was 19.5 mpg. Around town we are getting a bit below that. but I find the gas milage at this early stage to be just a bit lower than our Sienna. (2016 Sienna was around 18 mpg around town) (I blame the 4Motion) However I am really enjoying the Atlas over the Minivan life thus far =)
We shopped the Highlander, Pilot and Atlas. Features for the money or "bang for the buck", we felt the Atlas was the one.
And it is the first car in a long time, I am actually excited to drive!

 

[DYTatlas]

The tiguan 2.0 feels so under powered that I can't imagine what the Atlas would be like with that engine. There's no way you're taking off quickly in any situation where it's warranted. Some might not mind but I personally can't stand it. I would test drive both the 3.6 and the 2.0 and see if you mind it or not.

 

[Ralph Walberg]

The tiguan 2.0 feels so under powered that I can't imagine what the Atlas would be like with that engine. There's no way you're taking off quickly in any situation where it's warranted. Some might not mind but I personally can't stand it. I would test drive both the 3.6 and the 2.0 and see if you mind it or not.

It's neither fast nor powerful I know. But the 2.0t is faster than the v6, at least 0-60. Also it doesn't have same engine specs as the Tiguan. Atlas 2.0 has better power to weight ratio than a 2.0 tiguan I believe, if only slightly.

 

[KarstGeo]

The tiguan 2.0 feels so under powered that I can't imagine what the Atlas would be like with that engine. There's no way you're taking off quickly in any situation where it's warranted. Some might not mind but I personally can't stand it. I would test drive both the 3.6 and the 2.0 and see if you mind it or not.

It is not the same engine - yes, same displacement but v. different (the Tiguan's 2.0 uses the Budak Cycle and only has ~185 hp or so from memory). The 2.0 in the Atlas is for all intensive purposes the GTI engine and is tuneable via APR Stage 1. I'd think it's just fine.

 

[Ricoscoro]

Hello Atlas forum. It's new car buying time and the Atlas 2.0t is top of my list right now. To be clear, I am buying this vehicle (potentially) as a minivan alternative. Family of 5, suburban life, no off roading, no towing and really want something that looks great, functional and FUEL EFFICIENT. No need for the V6, or AWD. Of course all the SE's with Tech have the larger rims. So I am concerned that using regular gas or opting for the larger rims will ding the pretty decent fuel economy. Does anyone have any experience with this? Assure me that they are getting low to mid 20's mpg with the big rims and while using regular unleaded. Would also be curious to know how the 2.0t's have been holding up. Lots of heavier vehicles nowdays have small displacement turbos, so I'm not scared of them, just slightly concerned as this would be my first 2 ton vehicle with something smaller than a v6. No worries about power, just the longevity as I would be purchasing.

Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks

We own a 2008 Chrysler town and country and now a 2018 Atlas S V6 4motion. I used to drive a Ford F150 for 18 years so adjusting to no truck is not fun for me. However, here are my observations on Atlas vs. minivan, and I am not a fan of the Chrysler at all but will talk about minivan in general vs. SUV. Minivan is wife's main vehicle and we have a family of 6, so the Atlas is the secondary family hauler.

1. Handling - Atlas drives like a smaller vehicle and handles well, much better than a minivan I think
2. Doors - With younger kids especially keep in mind SUV doors being opened into other vehicles in parking lot, sliding van doors are actually nice to not damage other cars and great for getting people or stuff in and out.
3. Second row - Our Atlas has the full bench so we could haul an extra person if necessary but it would be nice to have the second row captain chairs so getting to back row without having to lift the second row bench would be nice which is how our minivan is setup.
4. Loading height - I'm used to a truck so fitting stuff in back door of Atlas or minivan is restricting compared to what I am used to but the minivan has a huge advantage in this area as well, almost a 1.5 foot advantage

In general I like the Atlas and it rides nice but the minivan offers additional cargo space and easier for kids to move around the back.

For what it's worth, I get around 19-21.5 MPG driving like an idiot in mostly short range trips.