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.
