2023 Volkswagen Atlas

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2023 Volkswagen Atlas

/10

Original MSRP

$35,150 - $51,790

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Features We Love

Best in Class Carseat Capability: The second row is extremely car seat friendly. There are three sets of lower anchors across the bench and tether anchors on all five rear seats. The car-seat-friendly tilt feature is a game changer because you can access the third row without uninstalling a car seat
Comfortable Third Row & Cargo: The third row is surprisingly usable for a midsize SUV. I had actual legroom back there, and it comes with side vents, cup holders, and lighting. Even with the third row up, you still get about 18 cubic feet of cargo space, which is enough to fit a full-size stroller plus a little extra.
Big, Spacious SUV in the Mid-Size Class: The Atlas is one of the largest mid-size SUVs on the market, great for families who want more space without jumping to full-size or a minivan.

Car Mom Review

The Exterior

Volkswagen keeps the Atlas simple — and I mean that in the best way.

The front end is bold with a prominent VW badge, subtle chrome accents, and cohesive hood lines that make it look strong without being overdesigned. The 20-inch rims give it a sporty stance, and I love how the beltline follows the curve of the wheel well. Around back, you get wraparound taillights and a clean chrome bar with ATLAS embossed into it.

It’s sleek. It’s athletic. It’s not trying too hard.

The Atlas comes with two engine choices:

4-cylinder
3.6L V6

I’ve driven both, and I personally prefer the V6. It offers stronger performance and better towing capacity, which matters for families hauling boats, trailers, or campers. Yes, it comes with a higher price tag but the added power feels worth it to me

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First Row

The Atlas interior has always been one of my favorites for pure functionality.

It doesn’t feel flashy. It doesn’t feel overly intricate. It just works.

What Stands Out:

Simple, intuitive infotainment system
Apple CarPlay & Android Auto
Physical climate controls
Huge center console
Massive door cubbies (40oz water bottle approved)

The screen is smaller than many competitors, but it’s functional. I’d mostly use CarPlay anyway.

I especially appreciate how easy it is to adjust rear climate from the front. If you’re a parent, you know how important that is when a kid starts yelling that they’re hot.

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The center console is deep and wide, with additional USB-C ports inside. Volkswagen has fully moved to USB-C, so that’s what you’ll find throughout.

Cup holders? Elite. Volkswagen consistently nails cup holder design.

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Second Row

Second Row: Bench or Captain’s Chairs

The Atlas offers both configurations:

Bench = 7 passengers
Captain’s chairs = 6 passengers

And I will say it loud and clear:
The Atlas bench is amazing.

It’s wide enough for legitimate three-across setups. Even with captain’s chairs, though, the space is impressive.

Car Seat Setup:

Lower anchors in outboard seats
Tether anchors in all four rear seating positions
Built-in sunshades
Excellent side cubbies

Only downside, no ceiling vents!!

Third Row Access:

One of my favorite features in the Atlas is the car-seat-friendly tilt.

If your car seat is installed with lower anchors, you can tilt and slide the entire seat forward to access the third row — without uninstalling the seat.

This works great for:

Infant seat bases
Forward-facing seats with LATCH
Boosters with lower anchor connectors

That feature alone makes the Atlas incredibly practical for growing families.

Third Row

Third Row: Shockingly Spacious

Here’s the thing about the Atlas — the third row is actually usable.

At six feet tall, I still have:

Solid headroom
Good knee clearance
Wide seating
Pillar-mounted vents
Cup holders and cubbies

The third-row ventilation is actually better positioned than the second row vents.

And because it’s only two seats back there, you get actual elbow room.

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Trunk

With the third row up, you get 20.6 cubic feet of cargo space, which is strong for a midsize seven-passenger SUV.

My UPPAbaby Vista fits back there — and that’s saying something.

There are also:

Side storage compartments
Illuminated cargo areas
Easy fold-flat third row seats

When the third row is down, the trunk becomes impressively spacious.

For reference, only vehicles like the Chevy Traverse and Buick Enclave offer more cargo room in this category.

Safety

The 2023 Atlas received a 5-Star overall safety rating from NHTSA but was not a Top Safety pick from the IIHS.

I want to call out the lack of second and third-row seat belt pre-tensioners. Pretensioners remove slack from the seat belt in the nanoseconds before a crash, dramatically reducing injury in frontal and near-frontal collisions. This feature has been standard in front seats for nearly two decades, but not in the back seats. While this doesn’t affect children in harnessed car seats, it does affect other passengers.

Safety Features:

Forward Collision Warning with Automatic Emergency Braking
Blind Spot Monitoring
Rear Cross-Traffic Alert
Electronic Stability Control and traction control
Lane Keep Assist (available)
Adapative Cruise Control (available)

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Car Seat Setup

Don't want a full size SUV, but still need to fit 4-5 kids in car seats? The Atlas is the car that can fit everyone practically and comfortably. The second row offers a bench or captain's chairs and both feature car-seat-friendly-tilt. The Atlas bench is arguably the best mid-size SUV to accommodatethree-across. More on that later! Every seating position in the second and third rows has a removable head restraint and a top tether anchor. Every second-row seating position also has lower anchors. Lower anchors are notably missing from the third row. While not necessary for a safe car seat installation, they are helpful for booster seats. Many boosters offer lower anchor connectors to keep the seat secure when unoccupied. Otherwise the booster seat should be buckled in with a seat belt to keep it from becoming a projectile in a crash. The second row center lower anchors are unfortunately overlapped by the outboard behind-the-driver seat belt. That means if you want to use the center seat's lower anchors, you cannot use the outboard driver's seat belt at the same time. Additionally the space between the seat belt buckle for the center position and the buckle for the adjacent position is very small. This means most car seats are too wide to install in the middle seat without resting on the belt buckle. This can damage the buckle. Refer to your owner's manual for specific guidance, but you can contact VW for a buckle cover if you wish to install a larger car seat in the center position.The buckle cover renders the outboard passenger buckle useless. Translation: If you want to install the outboard seat with the seat belt (usually needed for three-across installs), your center car seat must be very narrow and installed using the seat belt. Enter the Graco SlimFit3 LX! While some other narrow car seats work here too, nothing is as versatile as this seat. Back to the second row: the wide outboard seats can accommodatejust about any car seat. There's plenty of legroom to fit large seats front-to-back as well. If you plan to use the second and third rows for passengers simultaneously, I recommend using a compact car seat in the second row to preserve third-row legroom. Examples of compact seats include the Graco Extend2Fit 3 in 1, Nuna Rava, and the Britax Poplar. The third row has two full size seats and can comfortably fit adults, children in boosters or car seats. Rear-facing seats fit, but they must be compact. To access the third row, use the car-seat-tilt feature, which moves the seat up and forward without compromising a car seat installed with LATCH. This of course works with no car seat installed as well. A rotating car seat is a great option here so even a rear-facing seat can take advantage of car seat tilt. Car seats that rotate and have higher lower anchor weight limits in rear-facing mode include the Evenflo Revolve360 Slim and the Graco EasyTurn360. These seats are also compatible in a three-across configuration next to a narrow, low-profile, forward-facing car seat in the center, like the Graco SlimFit3 LX. What car seats are incompatible? Any forward-facing harnessed seat or booster seat that 1) requires a head restraint and 2) doesn't permit a gap caused by a head restraint. This is less of a problem in the second row since the head restraints are relatively flush to the seat, particularly in the center position. However, the third row head restraints are extremely bulky when not removed for a car or booster seat installation. Another common question is whether the lower anchors and seat belt may be used together if the car seat permits it? Yes, if the car seat permits using both lower anchors and the seat belt then VW also permits it. That list is short and at the time of this writing the only car seats that permit this are the Nuna Pipa, Clek Foonf (forward-facing), babyark, and the Axkid One3.