Compare the2025 Volkswagen Atlas Cross SportVS 2024 Ford Edge

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Model Availability

Safety

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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 Edge 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 Edge doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Atlas Cross Sport 4Motion’s standard Hill Descent Assist allows you to creep down safely. The Edge doesn’t offer Hill Descent Assist.

The Atlas Cross Sport SEL Premium R-Line has a standard Area View to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Edge only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Atlas Cross Sport and Edge have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Atlas Cross Sport has Rear Traffic Alert (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Edge’s Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the Atlas Cross Sport and the Edge 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, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.

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 Cross Sport is safer than the Ford Edge:

	Atlas Cross Sport	Edge
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	48	84
Chest Movement	.5 inches	1.1 inches
Abdominal Force	64 lbs.	190 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	35 G’s	41 G’s
Hip Force	529 lbs.	635 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	16 inches

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

The Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Edge is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.

Warranty

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

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

Volkswagen pays for scheduled maintenance on the Atlas Cross Sport 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. Ford doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Edge.

Reliability

The Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the Edge’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder engine uses an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

Engine

The Atlas Cross Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 19 more horsepower (269 vs. 250) than the Edge’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Atlas Cross Sport
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/26 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	19 city/26 hwy
Edge
	AWD	2.7 turbo V6	19 city/25 hwy

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Edge requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

The Atlas Cross Sport has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Edge. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

Brakes and Stopping

The Atlas Cross Sport’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs standard on the Edge AWD are solid, not vented.

The Atlas Cross Sport stops shorter than the Edge:

	Atlas Cross Sport	Edge
60 to 0 MPH	121 feet	129 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	134 feet	137 feet	Consumer Reports

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Atlas Cross Sport’s wheelbase is 5.1 inches longer than on the Edge (117.3 inches vs. 112.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Atlas Cross Sport is 2.2 inches wider in the front and 2.9 inches wider in the rear than on the Edge.

The Atlas Cross Sport’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (56% to 44%) than the Edge’s (57.8% to 42.2%). This gives the Atlas Cross Sport more stable handling and braking.

The Atlas Cross Sport SEL 4Motion handles at .81 G’s, while the Edge Titanium pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Atlas Cross Sport SEL 4Motion executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Edge Titanium (27.4 seconds @ .61 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

Passenger Space

The Atlas Cross Sport has 2.5 inches more front hip room, 1.2 inches more front shoulder room and 1.2 inches more rear hip room than the Edge.

Cargo Capacity

The Atlas Cross Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Edge with its rear seat up (40.3 vs. 39.2 cubic feet). The Atlas Cross Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Edge with its rear seat folded (77.6 vs. 73.4 cubic feet).

Towing

The Atlas Cross Sport’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Edge’s (5000 vs. 1500 pounds).

trailer stability control is standard on the Atlas Cross Sport, using the Electronic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. A trailer sway program costs extra on the Edge and isn’t available on the Edge SE.

Ergonomics

The Atlas Cross Sport 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 Edge doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Atlas Cross Sport’s 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 Edge’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 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 Edge can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Atlas Cross Sport’s standard KESSY Keyless Access allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, unlock the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Intelligent Access standard on the Edge doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear door.

The Atlas Cross Sport’s 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 Edge’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

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 Edge doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Atlas Cross Sport’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Edge’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Poor.”

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Atlas Cross Sport to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Edge doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The Atlas Cross Sport’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Ford only offers heated mirrors on the Edge SEL/ST-Line/ST/Titanium.

When the Atlas Cross Sport 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 Edge’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

Both the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport and Ford Edge offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The Atlas Cross Sport offers available power folding mirrors, which allow for easy, one-touch folding or unfolding at the driver’s discretion. This provides added convenience when maneuvering or parking, as well as when walking past the parked vehicle. In comparison, the Edge’s foldable mirrors are manual, requiring the driver to get out and physically fold them once parked and unfold them before getting in.

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 Edge.

The Atlas Cross Sport SEL Premium R Line has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Edge.

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 Edge and isn’t available on the Edge SE.

Model Availability

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