Compare the2024 Subaru OutbackVS 2023 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Outback have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear 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 Outback are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Subaru Outback has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Outback has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Outback. But it costs extra on the Atlas Cross Sport.

The Outback’s optional driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Outback and the Atlas Cross Sport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Subaru Outback is safer than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport:

	Outback	Atlas Cross Sport
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	158	307
Neck Injury Risk	26%	30%
Neck Stress	281 lbs.	412 lbs.
Neck Compression	57 lbs.	59 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	241	277
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.7 inches
Neck Compression	51 lbs.	117 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	161/137 lbs.	297/97 lbs.

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

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 Subaru Outback is safer than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport:

	Outback	Atlas Cross Sport
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	28	48
Chest Movement	.5 inches	.5 inches
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	116	208
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	146	309

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

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Outback its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 30 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Atlas Cross Sport is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick.”

Warranty

Subaru’s powertrain warranty covers the Outback 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Volkswagen covers the Atlas Cross Sport. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Atlas Cross Sport ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The Outback’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Atlas Cross Sport’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Subaru above average in initial quality. With 64 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Subaru 16 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

Engine

The Outback XT/Wilderness’ standard 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder produces 11 lbs.-ft. more torque (277 vs. 266) than the Atlas Cross Sport’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Outback XT/Wilderness 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport V6:

	Outback	Atlas Cross Sport
Zero to 60 MPH	5.9 sec	7.9 sec
Quarter Mile	14.6 sec	16 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	95.9 MPH	87.4 MPH

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Outback lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability (That’s why Porsche uses boxer engines.). The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Outback gets better mileage than the Atlas Cross Sport:

			MPG
Outback
	AWD	2.5 DOHC flat-4	26 city/32 hwy
		XT 2.4 turbo flat-4	22 city/29 hwy
		Wilderness 2.4 turbo flat-4	21 city/26 hwy
Atlas Cross Sport
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/25 hwy
		3.6 DOHC V6	18 city/24 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/24 hwy
		3.6 DOHC V6	18 city/24 hwy

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Subaru Outback uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Atlas Cross Sport with the 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder engine requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Subaru Outback higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport (3 to 5). This means the Outback produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Atlas Cross Sport every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

The Outback has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a CVT.

Brakes and Stopping

The Outback stops shorter than the Atlas Cross Sport:

	Outback	Atlas Cross Sport
60 to 0 MPH	125 feet	126 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

The Outback Wilderness/Onyx XT has a standard full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Atlas Cross Sport; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

Suspension and Handling

The Outback Limited handles at .79 G’s, while the Atlas Cross Sport 4Motion pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Outback Wilderness executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Atlas Cross Sport 4Motion (27.2 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 27.8 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Outback’s turning circle is 4.4 feet tighter than the Atlas Cross Sport’s (36.1 feet vs. 40.5 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Outback has a 1.6 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Atlas Cross Sport 2.0T (8.7 vs. 7.1 inches), allowing the Outback to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Outback Wilderness’ minimum ground clearance is 2 inches higher than on the Atlas Cross Sport V6 (9.5 vs. 7.5 inches).

Chassis

The Subaru Outback may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 450 to 500 pounds less than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport.

The Outback Wilderness is 4.2 inches shorter than the Atlas Cross Sport, making the Outback easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

To almost totally eliminate engine vibration in the passenger area, the Outback has liquid-filled engine mounts. The liquid helps further dampen engine harshness. The Atlas Cross Sport uses conventional solid rubber engine mounts.

The front grille of the Outback 2.5i 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 Cross Sport doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The Outback has .7 inches more front headroom, 1.1 inches more front legroom and 1.3 inches more rear headroom than the Atlas Cross Sport.

Towing

The Outback’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Atlas Cross Sport’s (2700 vs. 2000 pounds).

Servicing Ease

The engine in the Outback is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Atlas Cross Sport. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because there are no rear spark plugs and the accessory belts are in front.

Ergonomics

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Outback’s available exterior PIN entry system (not available on Outback Base). The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer an exterior PIN 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 Outback has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Atlas Cross Sport only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Outback’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Atlas Cross Sport has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Recommendations

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

The Subaru Outback outsold the Volkswagen Atlas by 80% during 2022.