Compare the2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross SportVS 2023 Porsche Cayenne Coupe

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 Atlas Cross Sport are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Cayenne Coupe doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

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

The Atlas Cross Sport’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Cayenne Coupe.

The Atlas Cross Sport 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. A system to reveal vehicles in the Cayenne Coupe’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Atlas Cross Sport’s standard Rear Traffic Alert uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and automatically engage the brakes. The Cayenne Coupe doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Atlas Cross Sport and the Cayenne Coupe 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, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

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 Atlas Cross Sport its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 50 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Cayenne Coupe has not been tested, yet.

Volkswagen pays for scheduled maintenance on the Atlas Cross Sport for 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Porsche pays for maintenance for the Cayenne Coupe (2/20,000 vs. 1/10,000).

There are over 3 times as many Volkswagen dealers as there are Porsche dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Atlas Cross Sport’s warranty.

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

On the EPA test cycle the Atlas Cross Sport gets better mileage than the Cayenne Coupe running its gasoline engine:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Cayenne Coupe requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

In an emergency stopping situation, many drivers don’t press the brakes with enough force to stop the vehicle in the shortest distance. The Atlas Cross Sport has a standard brake assist system to detect emergency braking situations (by how hard and how quickly the brake pedal is pressed) and then automatically apply maximum braking immediately in order to help prevent a collision. The Cayenne Coupe doesn’t offer a brake assist feature.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Atlas Cross Sport’s wheelbase is 3.3 inches longer than on the Cayenne Coupe (117.3 inches vs. 114 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Atlas Cross Sport is .8 inches wider in the front and 1.4 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Cayenne Coupe.

The Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 500 to 1300 pounds less than the Porsche Cayenne Coupe.

The Atlas Cross Sport has 1.2 inches more front headroom, .6 inches more front legroom, 2.4 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear legroom and 3.9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cayenne Coupe.

The Atlas Cross Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Cayenne Coupe with its rear seat up (40.3 vs. 22 cubic feet). The Atlas Cross Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Cayenne Coupe with its rear seat folded (77.6 vs. 54.3 cubic feet).

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 Cayenne Coupe doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

If the windows are left open on the Atlas Cross Sport 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 Cayenne Coupe can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Atlas Cross Sport’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Cayenne Coupe’s cruise control switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

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

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Atlas Cross Sport has a standard rear wiper. The Cayenne Coupe doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Atlas Cross Sport has standard extendable sun visors. The Cayenne Coupe doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The Atlas Cross Sport 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 costs extra on the Cayenne Coupe.

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

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 Cayenne Coupe 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 Cayenne Coupe doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport and the Porsche Cayenne Coupe, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Volkswagen Atlas outsold the Porsche Cayenne by almost six to one during 2022.