2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport Reviews, Pricing & Specs

The 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport gets the same styling updates as the three-row Atlas, made up primarily of new lighting elements front and rear. The Volkswagen logos in the grille and on the tailgate now light up in white and red, respectively, a feature that debuted on the all-electric Volkswagen ID.4 in a recent update.

The illuminated logos are joined by more elaborate lighting elements in the front and rear. At the front, a light bar connects the daytime running lights, part of new standard LED headlights that help give the Cross Sport (and its three-row Atlas sibling) a more Americanized look. Which is fitting, as the standard Atlas and Cross Sport are both built in Chattanooga, Tennessee and were designed specifically for the U.S. market.

As in the standard 2024 Atlas, reshaped taillights blend into a rear light bar that also houses that second light-up VW logo. This was already the most distinctive area of the Cross Sport because, while the front end largely carries over from the standard Atlas, the rear features a lower roofline that gives the Cross Sport a silhouette more like the "crossover coupes" of German luxury brands than other two-row midsize crossovers. The Cross Sport is also 5.2 inches shorter than the standard Atlas, and sits a bit lower.

Like the standard Atlas, all Cross Sport trim levels get new wheel designs for 2024. The base Atlas Cross Sport SE gets 18-inch alloy wheels, while SE with Technology and SEL models get 20-inch wheels (a black wheel package is optional). The SEL R-Line gets a model-specific 20-inch wheel design, along with sportier styling elements like extended side skirts and different front and rear bumpers. The SEL Premium R-Line gets those features as well, but with 21-inch wheels. The Cross Sport doesn't get the more rugged Peak Edition package added to the three-row Atlas lineup for 2024.

The Cross Sport also gets the same interior revisions as the standard Atlas. The central touchscreen now stands up rather than melting into the dashboard, while the center console is raised, allowing for a small storage nook below. That's made possible by a new electronic shifter that's tiny and unencumbered by mechanical connections to the transmission.

Interior trim also carries over from three-row Atlas models. That means standard leatherette upholstery, leather seats on SEL and higher models, and quilted leather upholstery with a diamond pattern on the top SEL Premium R-Line trim level. That highest-level option looked good in our test car, which also sported blue seat inserts, but it was the only part of the cabin at that level. While VW tried to improve the simulated wood and carbon-fiber-facsimile trim, it's all still just different types of plastic.

For 2024, both the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport are available only with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission, standard front-wheel drive (FWD), or optional 4Motion all-wheel drive (AWD). That makes this the end of an era for VW, because the Atlas and Cross Sport were the last models using the automaker's 3.6-liter VR6 engine.

VW also claims better performance from the new turbo-four. It's rated at 269 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque on regular fuel in both the Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport. That's slightly less horsepower, but more torque than the 276 hp and 266 lb-ft generated by the VR6. Peak torque also arrives earlier, 1,550 rpm versus 3,600 rpm for the VR6. Volkswagen didn't have specific numbers to share, but the automaker does expect a 2024 Cross Sport to be quicker from zero to 60 mph than a 2023 model with the VR6.

The VR6 was always optional, anyway. A less-powerful 2.0-liter turbo-four, making 235 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque, was standard before. So this new engine will be an upgrade for many buyers. The new four-cylinder engine certainly isn't lacking in power, and it works well with the eight-speed automatic. However, the engine note isn't exactly sonorous, and the noise-to-power ratio is troubling. This engine always wants you to know how hard it's working.

The Cross Sport itself would rather not work hard at all. It may have "Sport" in the name, but this is one of the least-interesting new vehicles to drive. You can't justify the boringness by considering the Cross Sport to be a laid back cruiser, because the ride quality isn't very good either. That might be partly down to our test car's 21-inch wheels, granted.

The maximum towing capacity of 5,000 pounds is unchanged. That applies to all models except the base SE, which is rated at 2,000 pounds. The Cross Sport's maximum is pretty standard for a midsize crossover, but those with more serious towing in mind should check out the two-row Jeep Grand Cherokee, which can pull up to 6,200 pounds with its base V6.

Volkswagen added more standard equipment to the Cross Sport for 2024. The base Cross Sport SE gets heated side mirrors, two-zone automatic climate control, and a heated steering wheel. The front seats are also now ventilated as well as heated. The SE with Technology gets a standard power liftgate and tow hitch, and heated second-row seats and leather upholstery are now standard on the SEL, putting these features lower on the trim-level ladder than before.

Front headroom is within fractions of an inch of most rivals, but the Cross Sport's fashion-statement roofline eats into rear-seat headroom. You don't have to be very tall to notice a more cramped feeling in the back seats than you would in other vehicles of this size. Legroom is more competitive with rivals, however, and the Cross Sport offers a decent amount of first-row legroom as well.

The styling doesn't seem to affect cargo space as much as second-row headroom. The Cross Sport has 40.3 cubic feet of cargo space with its 60/40 split-folding rear bench seat in place. That's about 10 cubic feet more than a Chevy Blazer, but slightly less than a Honda Passport. Folding the rear seats opens up 77.6 cubic feet of storage space, substantially more than most rivals, but nearly identical to the Passport.

The Cross Sport cabin is also fairly functional, due in part to some of the changes VW made for 2024. The new center console has lots of storage space—including generously sized cupholders—and the storage area underneath isn't so obscured that you'll forget that you placed an item there. The door pockets can also hold multiple drink bottles without constant rattling.

The additional standard equipment for 2024 also extends to tech features. The Cross Sport now comes standard with a 12-inch touchscreen, 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and wireless phone charging.

The infotainment setup is the same as the three-row 2024 Atlas, and so is the user experience. The screens were nice to use, with intuitive layouts and well-designed graphics, but were let down by the haptic touchpads VW opted for in place of conventional buttons. Using them to, for example, control audio volume was trickier than pressing a button or turning a knob because of the lack of physical feedback. You have to press a specific spot and then look to the screen to see if that actually did anything.

As before, four USB-C ports are standard, but the Cross Sport can be equipped with up to six. For 2024, VW added a USB-C dash cam port on SE with Technology and above models, which makes installing a dash cam a bit easier. The SEL trim now gets a head-up display as standard equipment, and the optional premium audio system is now from Harman Kardon instead of Fender. Standard on the SEL Premium R-Line model, the 12-speaker system is the upgrade from the standard unbranded six-speaker system.

Like the three-row model, the 2024 Atlas Cross Sport earned a five-star overall safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), with five stars in side-impact crash testing and four stars in frontal and rollover tests.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) hadn't released ratings for the 2024 Cross Sport at the time of publication. The structurally similar 2023 model earned top "Good" scores in most IIHS crash tests, but wasn't subjected to the updated moderate overlap front test, where its three-row sibling earned a "Marginal" rating.

The IQ.Drive package of driver aids that was previously limited to higher trim levels is now standard on all 2024 Atlas Cross Sport models. It includes forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, and Travel Assist, which combines adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist for a higher level of assist in highway driving.

In addition to those standard features, SEL and SEL R-Line models get predictive adaptive cruise control, while the Premium R-Line gets park assist and a surround-view camera system. All Cross Sport models are also equipped with post-collision braking, VW's crash response system, and an emergency assist feature designed to allow the car to pull over automatically if the driver is incapacitated.

EPA fuel-economy ratings for the 2024 Atlas Cross Sport are 23 mpg combined (20 mpg city, 27 mpg highway) with FWD and 22 mpg combined (19 mpg city, 26 mpg highway) with AWD. That's the same as most standard Atlas models, and a slight boost over the old VR6 engine. The new turbo-four engine also has about the same fuel economy as its predecessor, so the added power doesn't come with a penalty.

Volkswagen offers a four-year, 50,000-mile, new vehicle warranty, plus two years or 20,000 miles (whichever comes first) of scheduled maintenance and three years or 36,000 miles (whichever comes first) of roadside assistance.

Like the three-row Atlas, the cheapest Cross Sport is the SE model with FWD. It starts at $38,065, which is $1,010 less than the three-row 2024 Atlas. It's also $1,620 more than a 2023 Atlas Cross Sport SE with FWD, but the price bump can be accounted for by the added standard equipment of the 2024 model and an increase in the mandatory destination charge from $1,295 to $1,350. Our range-topping Atlas Cross Sport SEL Premium R-Line test car, with no options, had a $52,795 MSRP.

For customers who want space but don't need a third row of seats, the Cross Sport makes sense—but only within the confines of a Volkswagen showroom. With all of the same features as the standard Atlas at a slightly lower price, the Cross Sport is a good value for VW brand loyalists. But its interior and ride quality could still use more polish, and VW sacrificed rear-seat headroom in the name of style. These mixed results aren't enough to declare the Cross Sport a leader in a crowded market segment, but VW at least now has generous standard equipment as an added differentiator.