The Atlas transmission doesn't shift down to appropriate gears as it should at certain speeds and that is due to its design for "fuel savings," per a very reliable source! I have driven in my 45 years driving career many types of vehicles mostly Mercedes and BMW, and raced Rally cars as well in Europe, and I have to say the Atlas Premium SEL, which I own, and perhaps all of the Atlas models, have the issue with the gear shift in Drive (automatic) mode. Now you can test this, slow down to 15 mi/hr and shift over to Sport mode (manual) and see what gear you're in on the dash. It will show 99% of the time gear # 3. The gear at that speed should be in 2 not 3!!!!! I don't care what anybody says! I use my vehicle 90% of the time in Sport mode (manual shifting), and this problem with the gears goes bye-bye. The 8 speed transmission is a long way downshifting from 8 to 2 in Sport mode, that's the only problem. This is not a Ferrari, it's a VW SUV, but it's okay. Also, if you drive at 40mi/hr and shift over to Sport mode you can check what gear the transmission is in, and I can tell you, most of the time the gear will be already in 7 or 8 already. Again, "fuel savings," which is not true! I tested mine driving in Sport mode (shifting manually), and my fuel economy is better than in Drive (automatic) mode and as soon as I start the vehicle I turn off the start-stop mode feature. I don't like it and I don't think it's good for the engine stopping and starting in traffic 30x in 5 min. Also, in South Florida is 100F so we need the A/C going at all times! In the city I like to drive in manual (Sport mode) and never shift above the 6th gear unless drive over 60mi/hr. This vehicle was made to go 130mi/hr no problems and the high gear ratio was designed to reduce tear and wear on the engine running smoothly at low RPM.