Compare the2024 Subaru ForesterVS 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport

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

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Forester 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 Forester 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 Forester 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 Forester 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 Forester. But it costs extra on the Atlas Cross Sport.

The Forester Touring’s 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 Forester 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, lane departure warning systems, 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 Forester is safer than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport:

	Forester	Atlas Cross Sport
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	186	307
Neck Injury Risk	23%	30%
Neck Stress	326 lbs.	412 lbs.
Neck Compression	22 lbs.	59 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.7 inches	.7 inches
Neck Injury Risk	31%	39%
Neck Compression	103 lbs.	117 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	105/93 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 post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Subaru Forester is safer than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport:

	Forester	Atlas Cross Sport
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	121	309
Spine Acceleration	40 G’s	41 G’s

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, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Forester the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 54 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Atlas Cross Sport does not qualify as a “Top Safety Pick.”

Warranty

Subaru’s powertrain warranty covers the Forester 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 Forester’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Atlas Cross Sport’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

Reliability

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Forester’s reliability 25 points higher than the Atlas Cross Sport.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Forester third among compact suvs in their 2023 Initial Quality Study. The Atlas Cross Sport isn’t in the top three in its category.

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 flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Forester lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability without compromising ground clearance. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Forester
	AWD	2.5 DOHC flat-4	26 city/33 hwy
		Wilderness 2.5 DOHC flat-4	25 city/28 hwy
Atlas Cross Sport
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/27 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	19 city/26 hwy

Transmission

The Forester 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 Forester stops shorter than the Atlas Cross Sport:

	Forester	Atlas Cross Sport
60 to 0 MPH	117 feet	126 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

The Forester Wilderness 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 Forester Limited handles at .82 G’s, while the Atlas Cross Sport 4Motion pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Forester Limited executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Atlas Cross Sport 4Motion (27.3 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 27.8 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Forester’s turning circle is 4.6 feet tighter than the Atlas Cross Sport’s (35.4 feet vs. 40 feet).

Chassis

The Subaru Forester may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 700 to 750 pounds less than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport.

The Forester is 1 foot shorter than the Atlas Cross Sport 4Motion, making the Forester easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Forester is 6.6 inches narrower on average than the Atlas Cross Sport, making the Forester easier to handle and maneuver in traffic.

To almost totally eliminate engine vibration in the passenger area, the Forester 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 Forester 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 Forester has 1.8 inches more front headroom, 1.6 inches more front legroom and 1.8 inches more rear headroom than the Atlas Cross Sport.

Cargo Capacity

A control in the cargo area automatically lowers the Forester Wilderness/Limited/Touring’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Towing

Standard Trailer Stability Assist on the Forester uses the Vehicle Dynamics Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

Servicing Ease

The engine in the Forester is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Atlas Cross Sport. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

Ergonomics

The Forester Touring’s standard easy entry system 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 Cross Sport doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Forester Premium/Sport/Wilderness/Limited/Touring’s exterior PIN entry system. 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 Forester 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 Forester’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

Both are recommended, but Consumer Reports® chose the Subaru Forester as its “Top Pick,” the highest scoring vehicle in its category, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Subaru Forester outsold the Volkswagen Atlas by 39% during 2022.

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