Compare the2024 Volkswagen AtlasVS 2023 Subaru Ascent

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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The Atlas has a standard Automatic Post-Collision Braking System, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Ascent doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

The Atlas has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. Only the Ascent Premium/Limited/Touring offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Atlas has standard Rear Traffic Alert and automatically engage the brakes. Only the Ascent Premium/Limited/Touring offers Rear Cross Traffic Alert and the Ascent’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

Both the Atlas and the Ascent have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive 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 is safer than the Subaru Ascent:

	Atlas	Ascent
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.5 inches	.5 inches
Abdominal Force	48 lbs.	73 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	14 inches	18 inches
Spine Acceleration	51 G’s	52 G’s

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

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Atlas is 1.9% to 3.4% less likely to roll over than the Ascent.

Warranty

The Atlas comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Ascent’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The Atlas’ corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Ascent’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Volkswagen pays for scheduled maintenance on the Atlas for 2 years and 20,000 miles. Volkswagen will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Ascent.

Reliability

The Volkswagen Atlas’ engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the Ascent’s engine uses an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

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 Subaru With 9 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Volkswagen higher than Subaru.

Engine

The Atlas’ 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 9 more horsepower (269 vs. 260) than the Ascent’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Atlas gets better mileage than the Ascent:

			MPG
Atlas
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	20 city/27 hwy
	AWD	SE 2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	19 city/26 hwy
Ascent
	AWD	Limited/Touring/Onyx 2.4 turbo flat-4	19 city/25 hwy

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Atlas’ engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Ascent doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

Brakes and Stopping

The Atlas stops shorter than the Ascent:

	Atlas	Ascent
70 to 0 MPH	174 feet	178 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	121 feet	125 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Atlas SEL Premium R-Line’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Ascent (265/45R21 vs. 245/60R18).

The Atlas SEL Premium R-Line’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Ascent Onyx/Limited/Touring’s 50 series tires.

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

Suspension and Handling

The Atlas has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Ascent doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Atlas’ drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Ascent doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Atlas’ wheelbase is 3.5 inches longer than on the Ascent (117.3 inches vs. 113.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Atlas is 2.6 inches wider in the front and 3.4 inches wider in the rear than on the Ascent.

The Atlas 4Motion handles at .84 G’s, while the Ascent Limited pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

Passenger Space

The Atlas has .1 inches more front headroom, .7 inches more front hip room, .4 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear headroom, 1.1 inches more rear hip room, .2 inches more rear shoulder room, 2.1 inches more third row headroom and 2 inches more third row legroom than the Ascent.

Cargo Capacity

The Atlas’ cargo area provides more volume than the Ascent.

	Atlas	Ascent
Behind Third Seat	20.6 cubic feet	17.8 cubic feet
Third Seat Folded	55.5 cubic feet	43.5 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	96.6 cubic feet	75.6 cubic feet

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Atlas easier. The Atlas’ cargo hatch lift-over height is 29.7 inches, while the Ascent’s liftover is 32 inches.

The Atlas’ cargo area is larger than the Ascent’s in almost every dimension:

	Atlas	Ascent
Length to seat (3rd/2nd/1st)	23.8”/53”/85”	20.3”/48”/82.9”
Max Width	61.6”	50.5”
Min Width	45”	45.9”
Height	37.5”	34”

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Atlas’ liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Ascent doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Servicing Ease

The Atlas uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Ascent uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

The Atlas SEL has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, navigation instruction and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Ascent doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the Atlas and the Ascent have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Atlas is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Ascent prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Atlas’ front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Ascent’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

If the windows are left open on the Atlas the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Ascent can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Atlas’ rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Ascent’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the Atlas SEL to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Ascent doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

The Atlas’ standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Subaru only offers heated mirrors on the Ascent Premium/Limited/Touring.

When the Atlas SEL is put in reverse, the passenger rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The Ascent’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Atlas has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel is only available on the Ascent Onyx/Limited/Touring.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Volkswagen Atlas has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the Ascent.

The Atlas SEL Premium R-Line’s Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Ascent doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Model Availability

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

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Atlas is less expensive to operate than the Ascent because typical repairs cost less on the Atlas than the Ascent, including $67 less for front struts.

Recommendations

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

The Volkswagen Atlas outsold the Subaru Ascent by 29% during 2022.