# Atlas vs Minivan



## hiteke1 (Nov 9, 2017)

My wife needs to replace her Honda Odyssey. She was thinking another minivan, until I introduced her to the Atlas. She fell in love, but is concerned about the space. We have 3 boys 15,14,11. We do take some road trips from time to time.

She really loves the 2nd row captain chairs -- that is what we have now in the Odyssey. We would put the youngest in the back and split the third row for luggage.

Looking for feedback from Atlas owners with a similar setup.

Do not want to use a rooftop cargo carrier if possible.

Thanks for the feedback. We would like to give up the minivan experience, if possible.


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## robotx21 (Jul 24, 2017)

I would take "empty boxes" that would simulate the space taken by a standard road trip in your odyssey with the family, drive to a VW dealership, and load it into the Atlas and see how much fits in it. I had 3 people in the atlas and loaded the interior and hauled a lot more stuff than I thought I could inside, it was great! You might be able to fit more if you have all 3 kids in the 2nd row and 3rd row folded down. If you do decide to test this, let us know your results! Would love to see a space comparison to the odyssey. (we looked at that was well as the atlas. We didn't want a minivan and went with atlas instead)


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## 2001 Variant (May 27, 2007)

I don't have an Atlas but looked at it and really like it. Seems to have plenty of space. Things I would miss if it were to replace our Odyssey: sliding doors, good access to all seats, width of back seats (we have 4 kids in boosters and car seats), trunk space with 3rd row up. What I would not miss: poor fit and finish and somewhat cheap feel even in our top trim model, lack of traction, suspension noise, confusing and inconsistent entertainment system and screen setup, crappy dealer service department.


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## BsickPassat (May 10, 2010)

hiteke1 said:


> My wife needs to replace her Honda Odyssey. She was thinking another minivan, until I introduced her to the Atlas. She fell in love, but is concerned about the space. We have 3 boys 15,14,11. We do take some road trips from time to time.
> 
> She really loves the 2nd row captain chairs -- that is what we have now in the Odyssey. We would put the youngest in the back and split the third row for luggage.
> 
> ...


With all seats up, minivan has a lot more cargo space, as the seats flip up from a well. 

If you need AWD, then the only option is the toyota Sienna

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## TeamAtlas (Oct 17, 2017)

We were in a similar spot, though with 2 kids, it was an easier choice. I also have an old truck, so when I need to haul junk, that's what I use. 

3 kids might be the tipping point, but FWIW, the seat folding makes rear seat access BETTER than minivans in my opinion. In general, I still found the feeling of quality much better in the Atlas than in any minivan. They all felt like cheaply-constructed boxes. AWD was something I wanted too. An automatic fwd minivan is absolutely the worst performing vehicle in winter conditions, so I'm much happier with my wife driving our kids around in the Atlas. 

Everybody will value different specs higher or lower, but for me, the Atlas was a great choice.


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## edyvw (May 1, 2009)

TeamAtlas said:


> We were in a similar spot, though with 2 kids, it was an easier choice. I also have an old truck, so when I need to haul junk, that's what I use.
> 
> 3 kids might be the tipping point, but FWIW, the seat folding makes rear seat access BETTER than minivans in my opinion. In general, I still found the feeling of quality much better in the Atlas than in any minivan. They all felt like cheaply-constructed boxes. AWD was something I wanted too. An automatic fwd minivan is absolutely the worst performing vehicle in winter conditions, so I'm much happier with my wife driving our kids around in the Atlas.
> 
> Everybody will value different specs higher or lower, but for me, the Atlas was a great choice.


I think Sienna comes with RFT equipped with AWD. That means that if you drive in some remote area you are screwed if you get flat tire. 
As for snow driving, minivans are built with zero attention on distribution of weight etc. 


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## BsickPassat (May 10, 2010)

edyvw said:


> I think Sienna comes with RFT equipped with AWD. That means that if you drive in some remote area you are screwed if you get flat tire.
> As for snow driving, minivans are built with zero attention on distribution of weight etc.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


It's the same screwed as your x5 

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## fotchpd (Feb 19, 2004)

In the same boat as you. We have 4 kids (4-14) but we wanted out the minivan bad. We just bit the bullet today and bought an SE /tech R-line that should be arriving from the factory next week.

Things we are going to miss; the sliding doors and the entertainment system (tvs and such). But i think thats it, everything else is a plus for moving to the Atlas. We were worried about the space also and i didnt like the roof rack stuff.. but for the maybe 2-3 times a year we go on trips that would need it we are going to buy a Roof-Bag, not that big of a deal. 

Also just wanted to 2nd what TeamAtlas said "the seat folding makes rear seat access BETTER than minivans in my opinion" I agree with that, even more so for the bigger kids not having to try and walk down the middle of the car to get to the back.


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## edyvw (May 1, 2009)

BsickPassat said:


> It's the same screwed as your x5
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk


I don’t think so. 

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## TeamAtlas (Oct 17, 2017)

edyvw said:


> I think Sienna comes with RFT equipped with AWD. That means that if you drive in some remote area you are screwed if you get flat tire.
> As for snow driving, minivans are built with zero attention on distribution of weight etc.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I honestly have zero idea what this had to do with my comment. Did not say a word about Siennas...


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## edyvw (May 1, 2009)

TeamAtlas said:


> I honestly have zero idea what this had to do with my comment. Did not say a word about Siennas...


I quoted you instead of another post. 


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## snobrdrdan (Sep 10, 2008)

fotchpd said:


> We just bit the bullet today and bought an SE /tech R-line that should be arriving from the factory next week.


Nice choice

V6 or 2.0T?
Color?


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## richardmayo (Nov 12, 2017)

We were in a similar situation, and had narrowed our choices down to the Atlas and AWD Sienna.

You can't beat the interior space and airy feel of a minivan.

However, the Sienna is really showing it's age, with its lack if interior quality and dated tech. (Toyota salesman said he was recently told the '19 Sienna will be completely new mode, after the '18 receives a minor update to the exterior and TSS). I also though it rode rough, possibly due to the run flats?

We decided our family of 4 (and dog) could do without the extra space, and we ended up pulling the trigger on a Tourmaline Blue / Shetland and Black SEL V6 4Motion yesterday.

I think the Atlas' engine could use a bit more power, but the safety features, tech, useable interior space, panoramic roof, and six year warranty were enough for us to decide the Atlas was the one for us.


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## fotchpd (Feb 19, 2004)

snobrdrdan said:


> Nice choice
> 
> V6 or 2.0T?
> Color?


Thanks! We first were waiting for a White with black interior. But my wife really wanted the Deep Black Pearl with Black interior, so we waited till the dealer was getting one and gave us a called. Had to wait another month or so but i think it will be worth it.

We are in the north east US so with snow we had to go with the vr6. (not even sure you can get the R-Line in 2.0T yet). But being in the VW world i know the power that can come out of the 2.0T with just a tune, so it would have been nice if they offered the 2.0T in AWD. But i think they will over time.


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## hiteke1 (Nov 9, 2017)

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Agree with all that has been said. Kids do not use DVD anymore -- have their own tablets. The sliding doors will be missed -- but we have to grow up sometime. 

We will take some luggage we currently have and give it a try. But, as someone else stated, we do not take that many long distance trips (2-3 a year). The Atlas will mainly be the around the town shuttle.

Thanks again.


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## snobrdrdan (Sep 10, 2008)

fotchpd said:


> (not even sure you can get the R-Line in 2.0T yet)


You can get the R-line package on the SE w/Tech or SEL, V6 or 2.0T.....a R-line *2.0T* would definitely have to be factory/special ordered though (unless a dealer happened to configure one already), since I believe they're sold order only


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