Compare the2024 Mercedes GLCVS 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes GLC 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.

The GLC’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

The Mercedes GLC 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 GLC has standard NECK-PRO front head restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the NECK-PRO front head restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

With its available Active Distance Assist Distronic, the Mercedes GLC is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The GLC offers optional Car-to-X Communication, a system that seamlessly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure or other vehicles.

The GLC’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 GLC 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive, lane departure warning systems and around view monitors.

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

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Mercedes vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. With 48 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Mercedes higher than Volkswagen.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Mercedes vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen With 22 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Mercedes higher than Volkswagen.

The GLC’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 22 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 273) than the Atlas Cross Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Mercedes GLC is faster than the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport:

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

Regenerative brakes improve the GLC’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

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

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Mercedes GLC, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Atlas Cross Sport.

For better stopping power the GLC’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Atlas Cross Sport:

The GLC stops much shorter than the Atlas Cross Sport:

The GLC’s optional 285/40R20 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Atlas Cross Sport SEL Premium R-Line’s 45 series tires.

The GLC has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Atlas Cross Sport’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The GLC’s 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 Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

The GLC 300 4MATIC handles at .87 G’s, while the Atlas Cross Sport 4Motion pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The GLC 300 4MATIC executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Atlas Cross Sport 4Motion (27.3 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 27.8 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the GLC’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Atlas Cross Sport’s (38.7 feet vs. 40 feet).

The GLC is 9.8 inches shorter than the Atlas Cross Sport 4Motion, making the GLC easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The GLC has 1.9 inches more front headroom, .6 inches more front hip room and 1.9 inches more rear headroom than the Atlas Cross Sport.

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

The GLC’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Atlas Cross Sport’s (5291 vs. 2000 pounds).

The engine in the GLC 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.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Atlas Cross Sport SEL, the GLC has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The GLC’s standard easy entry and exit feature raises the steering wheel and glides the driver’s seat back, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The GLC offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Atlas Cross Sport doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The GLC’s standard 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.

The GLC’s Active Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting and stopping automatically, with the driver only responsible for switching from reverse to drive. The Atlas Cross Sport SEL Premium R-Line’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park.

Motor Trend selected the GLC as their 2017 Sport Utility of the Year. The Atlas Cross Sport has never been chosen.