Some of the most common visitors to our dealership near Crown Point are parents of growing families that need a larger vehicle to deal with their expanding needs. These families are at an important junction as buying a new vehicle can have effects that stretch from your finances to the safety of your family. As with all our guests, we love to help these families that come from Cedar Lake to Chesterton and beyond with their search, and often we show them the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas.
The 2019 Volkswagen Atlas vs. 2019 Honda Pilot
Design and Capacities
Each of these SUVs has three rows for Hobart drivers to use, but you'll fit passengers or cargo more comfortably in the Volkswagen Atlas than the Honda Pilot. The Atlas has more cargo space behind the third row, and when the rear rows are down, it has 96.8 cubic feet of space for you to fill with whatever you need while the Honda Pilot has 83.9 cubic feet of cargo room max. Need all three of the rows for passengers? The Atlas has more third-row legroom than the Pilot, and the Volkswagen SUV also gives the driver more leg and headroom too.
Performance
The 2019 Honda Pilot uses a V6 engine in every model while the Volkswagen Atlas is available with either a V6 or a turbo-four. The turbo-four of the Atlas is a marvel as it still has impressive horsepower and torque specs while providing 24 mpg combined. The Honda Pilot tops out at 22 mpg combined, which can add up over your time owning it. If you do go for the V6 in the Atlas, you'll get an engine that makes towing up to 5,000 pounds easier than the Pilot as the one in the Atlas has more torque to help you accelerate and pull. Efficiency or power, either way, the Volkswagen Atlas has the better engine choice than the Honda Pilot.
Safety and Technology
While these mid-size SUVs share some standard features, like LED headlights, the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas provides more to Portage car shoppers than the new Pilot. The Atlas base model has features like Blind Spot Monitoring, heated side mirrors, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto, which the Honda Pilot saves for more expensive trims and packages. Struggle with parking? Parallel parking a three-row SUV isn't anyone's idea of a fun time, so the 2019 Atlas has an available Parking Steering Assistant to handle it for you while the Honda Pilot leaves it up to you. When you're looking for affordability or innovation, the Atlas remains a better choice than the 2019 Honda Pilot.
The 2019 Volkswagen Atlas vs. 2019 Ford Explorer
Design and Capacities
The 2019 Volkswagen Atlas has a sleeker exterior than the Ford Explorer, an SUV which can look quite bulky, but the cabin of the Atlas provides more room to car shoppers around Valparaiso. The new Atlas holds advantages over the Explorer in total passenger space and maximum cargo room (with the seats down), and this is especially noticeable when looking at head, leg, and shoulder room for the rear row.Â
Plus, the Atlas comes standard with roof rails for everything from canoes to furniture while the Ford Explorer asks you to pay more for the convenience of roof rails.
Performance
Both of the V6 engines that you can get in these mid-size SUVs handle weights up to 5,000 pounds, but the Atlas has an 8-speed automatic transmission and more torque than the standard V6 engine of the Explorer, which comes with a 6-speed transmission.Â
More gears and more power mean that rides are smoother in the Volkswagen Atlas, and it is the lighter and nimbler of the two large SUVs. In short, the driving feel of the 2019 Atlas is unlike any other three-row SUV, which includes the 2019 Ford Explorer.
Safety and Technology
A better ride and more room are vital aspects that put the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas ahead of the 2019 Ford Explorer, but the former really separates itself with its technology. The standard features of the new Atlas stretch from blind spot detection system to dual-zone climate control and more that is sure to help drivers in several important ways.g
Finding a 2019 Ford Explorer model standard with many of those features will cost car shoppers north of $40,000, which doesn't help families on a tight budget.
Test Drive a Volkswagen Atlas in Merrillville, IN
We hope you use this overview of how the Volkswagen Atlas compares to the Honda Pilot and Ford Explorer before making a decision. If you want to do some more research on the 2019 Atlas, you'll find it at our VW dealership in Northwest Indiana, and our staff knows all about it, so they'll have answers for your questions!
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