Compare the2023 Volkswagen Atlas Cross SportVS 2023 Audi Q5

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Atlas Cross Sport offers optional Maneuver Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Q5 doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

Both the Atlas Cross Sport and the Q5 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive, lane departure warning systems and around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport is safer than the Audi Q5:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Volkswagen pays for scheduled maintenance on the Atlas Cross Sport for 2 years and 20,000 miles. Volkswagen will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Audi only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Q5.

There are over 2 times as many Volkswagen dealers as there are Audi dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Atlas Cross Sport’s warranty.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Atlas Cross Sport has a standard 680-amp battery. The Q5’s 420-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Volkswagen vehicles are better in initial quality than Audi vehicles. With 9 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Volkswagen higher than Audi.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Volkswagen vehicles are more reliable than Audi With 15 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Volkswagen higher than Audi.

The Atlas Cross Sport has 4.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Q5 Hybrid’s standard fuel tank (18.6 vs. 14.3 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

An eight-speed automatic is standard on the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a seven-speed automatic is available for the Q5.

The Atlas Cross Sport stops much shorter than the Q5:

For better traction, the Atlas Cross Sport has larger standard tires than the Q5 (245/60R18 vs. 235/60R18). The Atlas Cross Sport SEL Premium R-Line’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Q5 (265/45R21 vs. 255/45R20).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Atlas Cross Sport SEL Premium R-Line has standard 21-inch wheels. The Q5’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Atlas Cross Sport’s wheelbase is 6.3 inches longer than on the Q5 (117.3 inches vs. 111 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Atlas Cross Sport is 3.4 inches wider in the front and 4.3 inches wider in the rear than on the Q5.

The Atlas Cross Sport SEL 4Motion handles at .81 G’s, while the Q5 45 TFSI Prestige pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Atlas Cross Sport has .8 inches more front legroom, 3.8 inches more front shoulder room, 2.4 inches more rear legroom and 4.1 inches more rear shoulder room than the Q5.

The Atlas Cross Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Q5 with its rear seat up (40.3 vs. 25.8 cubic feet). The Atlas Cross Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Q5 with its rear seat folded (77.8 vs. 54 cubic feet).

Maximum trailer towing in the Audi Q5 is limited to 4400 pounds. The Atlas Cross Sport offers up to a 5000 lbs. towing capacity.

The Atlas Cross Sport offers a remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Q5 doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

Consumer Reports rated the Atlas Cross Sport’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the Q5’s headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Atlas Cross Sport offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Q5 doesn’t offer cornering lights. The Atlas Cross Sport SEL Premium R-Line also has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

The Atlas Cross Sport offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Q5 doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Atlas Cross Sport is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Q5 doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport and the Audi Q5, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Volkswagen Atlas outsold the Audi Q5/SQ5 by 66% during the 2022 model year.