New Volkswagen Atlas looks towards China
Volkswagen has unveiled the second generation Atlas, known as the Teramont in several markets. On the surface, the big family SUV sticks with the familiar square shouldered formula, but underneath it moves on far more decisively. Larger screens arrive in the cabin, the digital architecture is new, the driver assistance package is richer and the 2.0 litre turbo engine is more powerful. The result is a car trying to please two kinds of buyer at once, the family customer and the one who measures modernity in screen size.
Volkswagen replaced almost every body panel apart from the roof, moved the car closer to the MQB Evo architecture and pushed the Atlas more firmly into the next generation of family SUV territory. It wisely avoided tearing up a design that already worked. The Atlas remains square, large and easy to recognise from a distance, but the nose is sharper, the lights are more aggressive and the illuminated badge is now fully in step with the premium pop culture of the moment.
The more revealing point lies elsewhere. The new Atlas is closely related to the Chinese market Teramont Pro. That tells you a good deal about Volkswagen’s thinking. It is using the same recipe to nudge its American family SUV towards Chinese digital tastes, adding a stronger sense of modernity without sacrificing space or practicality. In other words, the Atlas is no longer just a large Volkswagen. It is a large Volkswagen that wants to look like it has read the room.
The biggest shift happens inside. The entry model gets a 12.9 inch central display, while the rest of the range uses a 15 inch screen, and every version comes with a 10.3 inch digital instrument cluster. The gear selector moves to the steering column, freeing up space in the centre console for wireless charging pads. The dashboard gains wood trim, new ambient lighting and a rotary controller with added functions for volume, drive modes and the so called atmospheres. Volkswagen is clearly trying to lift the Atlas one step higher in perceived quality, because in a large three row SUV, space alone no longer closes the sale. Buyers also want the reassuring sense that the car belongs to 2026, not 2018.
Under the bonnet, the picture becomes more interesting and slightly more sober. The Atlas uses an updated EA888 2.0 litre turbo engine producing 282 bhp. That is 13 bhp more than before, but torque drops from 370 Nm to 350 Nm. Volkswagen keeps the eight speed automatic, offers front wheel drive or all wheel drive and preserves a towing capacity of up to 2.27 tonnes. So yes, the Atlas looks a little livelier on paper, but not necessarily stronger in the low rev, easy pulling way a big family SUV often needs.
On the driver assistance front, Volkswagen is raising the bar because the market no longer gives it much choice. Travel Assist can now carry out lane changes when the driver initiates them, Emergency Assist can slow the car and guide it to the roadside if it suspects a medical problem, and Park Assist Plus joins the options list. Volkswagen also adds a front centre airbag, bringing the Atlas more closely into line with what the segment now treats as standard good behaviour.
That, really, is the essence of the new Atlas. It is still the same broad shouldered family workhorse, but now with a stronger digital sheen and a cabin designed to feel less like a practical tool and more like a contemporary product. The influence from China is not accidental. It is the point. Volkswagen knows that even in a big family SUV, practicality is no longer enough on its own. The car also has to look connected, clever and current, even if what most owners will still appreciate most is the simple fact that it swallows children, luggage and a week’s worth of domestic chaos without complaint.
