Compare the2019 Chevrolet TraverseVS 2018 Volkswagen Atlas

For enhanced safety, the Chevrolet Traverse’s middle seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Volkswagen Atlas doesn’t offer comfort guides on its middle seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Traverse are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Atlas doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Traverse has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Atlas doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Both the Traverse and the Atlas have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front-wheel drive, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all-wheel drive, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The Traverse comes with free roadside assistance for 5 years 60,000 miles. Chevrolet will send help if you run out of gas, need a jump-start, lock your keys in or need any assistance on the road. Volkswagen doesn’t give free roadside assistance for the Atlas.

Chevrolet pays for the first scheduled maintenance on the Traverse. Chevrolet will pay for the first oil change, lubrication and any other required maintenance in the first year. Volkswagen doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Atlas.

There are almost 5 times as many Chevrolet dealers as there are Volkswagen dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Traverse’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2018 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet 6th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 21 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is ranked 24th, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2018 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet 6th in reliability, above the industry average. With 33 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is ranked 19th.

The Traverse RS’ standard 2.0 turbo 4 cyl. produces 20 more horsepower (255 vs. 235) and 37 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 258) than the Atlas’ standard 2.0 turbo 4 cyl. The Traverse RS’ 2.0 turbo 4 cyl. produces 29 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 266) than the Atlas’ optional 3.6 DOHC V6. The Traverse’s standard 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 34 more horsepower (310 vs. 276) than the Atlas’ optional 3.6 DOHC V6.

As tested in Car and Driver the Chevrolet Traverse V6 is faster than the Volkswagen Atlas V6:

On the EPA test cycle the Traverse gets better fuel mileage than the Atlas:

The Traverse AWD’s standard fuel tank has 3.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Atlas (21.7 vs. 18.6 gallons).

The Traverse has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Atlas doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Chevrolet Traverse, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Atlas.

The Traverse stops shorter than the Atlas:

For better traction, the Traverse has larger tires than the Atlas (255/65R18 vs. 245/60R18).

The Chevrolet Traverse’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Volkswagen Atlas only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Traverse has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Atlas doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Traverse has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Traverse flat and controlled during cornering. The Atlas’ suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Traverse’s wheelbase is 3.6 inches longer than on the Atlas (120.9 inches vs. 117.3 inches).

The front grille of the Traverse uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Atlas doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Traverse uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Atlas doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

As tested by Car and Driver while cruising at 70 MPH, the interior of the Traverse High Country AWD is quieter than the Atlas SEL Premium 4Motion (67 vs. 68 dB).

The Traverse has standard seating for 8 passengers; the Atlas can only carry 7.

The Traverse has .6 inches more front shoulder room, .8 inches more rear legroom, 1.4 inches more rear shoulder room, 3.4 inches more third row hip room and 2.6 inches more third row shoulder room than the Atlas.

The Traverse’s cargo area provides more volume than the Atlas.

Pressing a switch automatically lowers or raises the Traverse High Country’s third row seats, to make changing between cargo and passengers easier. The Atlas doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Traverse Premier/High Country’s standard easy entry system raises the steering wheel and glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Atlas doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

On a hot day the Traverse’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Atlas can’t use the remote to operate the windows.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Traverse LS/LT/RS/Premier/High Country’s available exterior keypad. The Atlas doesn’t offer an exterior keypad entry system, and its Car-Net can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Traverse has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Atlas only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Traverse has a standard automatic headlight on/off feature. When the ignition is on, the headlights automatically turn on at dusk and off after dawn. The Atlas has an automatic headlight on/off feature standard only on the SE/SEL/SEL Premium.

The Traverse’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Volkswagen only offers heated mirrors on the Atlas SE/SEL/SEL Premium.

The Traverse Premier/High Country has standard automatic dimming rear and side view mirrors which automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Atlas offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Traverse has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning costs extra on the Atlas and isn’t available on the Atlas S.

The Traverse’s standard automatic temperature control maintains the temperature you set, automatically controlling fan speed, vents and temperature to maintain a consistent, comfortable environment. The Atlas S doesn’t offer automatic air conditioning.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Traverse is less expensive to operate than the Atlas because typical repairs cost much less on the Traverse than the Atlas, including $190 less for a water pump, $384 less for a muffler, $320 less for a starter, $80 less for fuel injection, $327 less for front struts, $168 less for a timing belt/chain and $597 less for a power steering pump.

The Chevrolet Traverse outsold the Volkswagen Atlas by almost five to one during 2017.