# GTI to Atlas?



## child_in_time (Aug 9, 2006)

Obviously two very different cars, but anybody here made the jump? I have 2015 GTI (paid off), and lately I've been looking at Atlas due to need for a 3rd row seating and cargo space. Would love if 4Runner had just a bit more space behind 3rd row,that would be my first choice.
Love the GTI btw.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

child_in_time said:


> .....due to *need* for a 3rd row seating....


Please explain.


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## cgvalant (Nov 14, 2005)

child_in_time said:


> Obviously two very different cars, but anybody here made the jump? I have 2015 GTI (paid off), and lately I've been looking at Atlas due to need for a 3rd row seating and cargo space. Would love if 4Runner had just a bit more space behind 3rd row,that would be my first choice.
> Love the GTI btw.


I actually still own my MK7 GTI as well as have the atlas. So I am fortunate enough to get the best of both worlds. Technically the Atlas is my wife's car, but I have more seat time than she does at this point. We both love it.

Right now, I prefer the Atlas to the GTI. That reason is likely due to the fact that the atlas is so new and all the tech it has. It is also nice to have the space. In fact, it is just as spacious as the Armada we traded in for it.

You'll notice a big difference in the power, especially if you happened to have tuned the GTI like I have. However, the Atlas drives more like a car than a large SUV and is quite enjoyable to drive. 

50 to 100 more horsepower and a little firmer suspension (compared to sport setting on our sel p), and I would probably get rid of the GTI and have two of them. But for now, I plan to keep the GTI and use the Atlas for the family hauler. Next car after the GTI will be an R or CPO RS3 unless I finally cave to more space. Then it will be an SQ5 or Atlas sport back (or whatever it is called that's supposedly coming out soon) if it has a better engine option with AWD.

Hope that helps?


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## child_in_time (Aug 9, 2006)

Thanks for feedback - I realize I need to test drive one first, my big issue would be giving up manual hot hatch for a large SUV. This would be primarily my car as my wife is terrified of driving large vehicles (she has GSW).
My preferred choice would be V6 engine and 4motion, don't need top trim, probably S would be ok. See some good pricing on these in DC area...


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## tbgti (Oct 23, 2017)

Unless you feel that you’ll really need the traction, I’d go FWD vs 4Motion on an Atlas. With the money saved, get dedicated winter wheels/tires instead. 

I also have a MK7 GTI and the Atlas is the wife’s car. The atlas is big, no doubt, but has that VW/German ride and feel to it. Feels much more composed than the Ford Flex that it replaced, which is a bit surprising due to the ride height of the Atlas being so much higher. 

If you just need some more space and a 3rd row, why not look at the Tiguan?


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## child_in_time (Aug 9, 2006)

tbgti said:


> Unless you feel that you’ll really need the traction, I’d go FWD vs 4Motion on an Atlas. With the money saved, get dedicated winter wheels/tires instead.
> 
> I also have a MK7 GTI and the Atlas is the wife’s car. The atlas is big, no doubt, but has that VW/German ride and feel to it. Feels much more composed than the Ford Flex that it replaced, which is a bit surprising due to the ride height of the Atlas being so much higher.
> 
> ...


I'd have to check out the the 3rd row space in Tiguan, it was my understanding that it's really not that useful for adults, perhaps for kids only. I went yesterday and checked out Atlas, wow that is one big car, ton of space inside across all rows.
I also went and checked out the new Subaru Ascent, somewhat smaller than Atlas, not a big fan of CVT and turbo 4-banger in a large car does not excite me either. Atlas has way better interior than Ascent and VWs fit and finish is light years ahead of Subaru.
I'll have to check out Tiguan and 4Runner at some point.


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## Hedgehodge (Nov 7, 2008)

I'm VERY close to pulling the trigger on the Atlas SE w/ Tech *but *505 a month is rough, plus another 160 for insurance. the Tiguan with all the safety features is only 100 a month cheaper and same cost for insurance. I like the safety features because its going to be for the family and why not. Besides, those safety features may eventually give an auto insurance discount when they FINALLY decide to do it.

*I have a 2011 GTI and 2001 GTI *(along with a 300 buck 2006 cobalt beater), they are going to go storage for insurance so I can hopefully pay this down quicker or until the beater craps out lol.

I really love the space. I have a 5 year old and a 1 year old. Currently, I can no longer drive *or I* *have *to drive. With the infant carseat behind either seat and being 6'1" I end up having no knee space or smashed and unable to use clutch.

I sat in the Atlas and corrected each seat for me. I could fit 7 of me in all seats comfortably. the 3rd row i had legs kind of spread but there isnt a 3rd seat on the 3rd row, so its possible to do this without taking away from someone elses seat.


By the way, I test drove this with EVERYONE... myself driving, my daughters infant seat behind me, my other half, my son in his toddler booster seat along with the VW rep and it still had some pickup once floored. Nothing like the pickup in the Dodge Durango Citadel 5.7L (DAMN THAT WAS FUN, but 14mpg/21, 68k miles @ carmax FULLY LOADED FROM DVD players, captains seats, ac cooled seats and heated steering wheels and blah blah blah). My mechanic buddy said to stay away from all Chrysler/Dodge etc, I'll trust him...sadly. That durango came to 455/month with Carmax extended warranty to 150k or 4 years....not sure about that extended. I had allstate extended and it paid out a new motor in my 2011 and LOTS more, only 15k on that motor so thats why im keeping it.


*I just really hope they come out with a supercharger for this or a tune thats more than 7 hp/torque increase lol, once off that nice warranty that you can transfer if private sell it later.*


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## Hedgehodge (Nov 7, 2008)

child_in_time said:


> I'd have to check out the the 3rd row space in Tiguan, it was my understanding that it's really not that useful for adults, perhaps for kids only.


Still havent found a dealer with a 3rd row seat for the tiguan but for 100 more for the atlas (since i want all safety features--would love leather and sunroof but gets to expensive for sel or sel prem atlas) and its boatloads more room.


*My research showed me that a Tiguan with 3rd row up, has LESS ROOM than the GTI truck.* I mean sure, only when we have guest sitting in the car you rearrange seats but who wants to do that, afterall thats why we are moving up in size.

The atlas collapsed easily with toddler seat in and could just keep it in the 3rd row if you wanted. 

I just wouldnt mine the Tiguan because i KNOW there will be a decent if not amazing tune for it , maybe even a supercharger upgrade with the turbo since its a miller cycle (sp). 3.6 will probably get nothing, which makes me sad. I also called APR and they said expect a tune for the atlas before the tiguan since new engine management system for it etc


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## knedrgr (Jun 6, 2011)

While not a complete direct comparison as your situation, but I did go from a MK6 Golf to the Atlas LE with 4Motion. 

Gotta love the size and cargo capacity of the Atlas. The added power of the VR6 over my Golf's 2.5L is nice for highway merges. 

We took the family - 3 adults and two small kids - from Ohio to DC, for a small vacation, and the Atlas was awesome. Plenty of power to pass other cars on the road, when needed, even with the back stack with luggage and baby stroller. When we got to DC, I have my parents hopped in the 3rd row and we'd trucked around the DC metro area. The car did great in DC traffic.


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## Hedgehodge (Nov 7, 2008)

Otw to the dealer, prob getting sell not premium, but damn that Auto park would help in the city since used to a tiny car, time to bust out the cones and practice at home. Downside is gas but 20 to say...16 mpg is 4(mpg different)x14(gallons when light turns on) is 56mile difference , say I get 15mpg that's 4 gallons rounded up at say 4/gallon. It's 16 bucks more every 14 gallons (fill up light for us) Did I do that right lol? 

Right now I use premium, I may go one grade lower but not regular, to save on fuel cost and break even ish lol


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## child_in_time (Aug 9, 2006)

If I have to give up GTI, I would really love to replace it with 4Runner but that 3rd row in the 4Runner is not as good as in Atlas and there is practically no trunk space left once the 3rd row is up. Also long term reliability, resale value is something that’s more important to me than some of the cool tech features that Atlas has.


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## smg64ct203 (Jan 26, 2003)

The third row in the 4 runner is in the higher trim lines, also there are never any deals on the 4 runner. It has a 5 speed auto and rated at 20 mpg on the highway. 

I have a 2018 Tiguan that I'm very unhappy with and I looked at the atlas and the 4 runner. I always wanted a 4 runner and when I looked at one I saw how outdated it was I wouldn't buy one. It's very tight in the cabin and narrow.


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## child_in_time (Aug 9, 2006)

smg64ct203 said:


> The third row in the 4 runner is in the higher trim lines, also there are never any deals on the 4 runner. It has a 5 speed auto and rated at 20 mpg on the highway.
> 
> I have a 2018 Tiguan that I'm very unhappy with and I looked at the atlas and the 4 runner. I always wanted a 4 runner and when I looked at one I saw how outdated it was I wouldn't buy one. It's very tight in the cabin and narrow.


Well I tested Tiguan (2.0T), Atlas (V6) and 4Runner (V6), all with 3rd row seat.
Right off the bat I knew Tiguan was a no-go, aside from disliking it in general, 3rd row seat is kind of useless.
Atlas has ton of space, really well laid interior, good space in the 3rd row and behind it. But driving it, it felt like I was driving minivan (no offense to Atlas or minivan owners). It was kind of sluggish and felt heavy, and after test drive I walked away kind of not really excited about it. Did I say it was really big...
I jumpedd into 4Runner and I sort of knew what to expect, old style body-on-frame construction, no modern safety gizmos, somewhat outdated...but that’s what I liked about it, this sort of utilitarian vehicles with not a lot of gizmos. Third row was ok for smaller sizes people and kids, I actually tried it and I am 6’1”, and with little adjustment of the second seat I fit just fine. Trunk space is really small with the seat up...and yeah it’s amazing wih what Toyota can get away just because they have that reputation of being untouchable in reliability.
The trim I was looking at was SR5 premimum, and the best this dealer could do is $36250 (msrp ia ~$40k). I’d be trading in my GTI and they’ offering me $15500 (2015 GTI S with LP, 4-door, manual, 20500 miles, silver). So, now I am in a conundrum...I can maybe squeeze $16k out of mu car, that’s about it...I really did like this “outdated” old school suv.


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## smg64ct203 (Jan 26, 2003)

child_in_time said:


> Well I tested Tiguan (2.0T), Atlas (V6) and 4Runner (V6), all with 3rd row seat.
> Right off the bat I knew Tiguan was a no-go, aside from disliking it in general, 3rd row seat is kind of useless.
> Atlas has ton of space, really well laid interior, good space in the 3rd row and behind it. But driving it, it felt like I was driving minivan (no offense to Atlas or minivan owners). It was kind of sluggish and felt heavy, and after test drive I walked away kind of not really excited about it. Did I say it was really big...
> I jumpedd into 4Runner and I sort of knew what to expect, old style body-on-frame construction, no modern safety gizmos, somewhat outdated...but that’s what I liked about it, this sort of utilitarian vehicles with not a lot of gizmos. Third row was ok for smaller sizes people and kids, I actually tried it and I am 6’1”, and with little adjustment of the second seat I fit just fine. Trunk space is really small with the seat up...and yeah it’s amazing wih what Toyota can get away just because they have that reputation of being untouchable in reliability.
> The trim I was looking at was SR5 premimum, and the best this dealer could do is $36250 (msrp ia ~$40k). I’d be trading in my GTI and they’ offering me $15500 (2015 GTI S with LP, 4-door, manual, 20500 miles, silver). So, now I am in a conundrum...I can maybe squeeze $16k out of mu car, that’s about it...I really did like this “outdated” old school suv.


The 4 Runners are nice and will last a long time. The gas mileage would scare me off, I drive a lot and if and when gas goes up that thing would get expensive fast.


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## child_in_time (Aug 9, 2006)

smg64ct203 said:


> The 4 Runners are nice and will last a long time. The gas mileage would scare me off, I drive a lot and if and when gas goes up that thing would get expensive fast.


Since I drive like 6-7k miles/year, and cost of 87 is $0.50 less than 93 which I use now, it wouldn't make lot of difference in yearly fuel $$ spending.


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## sayemthree (Mar 2, 2006)

The atlas drives like a large GTI. NOT LIKE A TRUCK


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## child_in_time (Aug 9, 2006)

Well I am back into the dilemma again. Started to look into 2018 SE 4motion Atlas (without tech package - I really don't want it), they are coming down in price as 2019 are around corner...how is the reliability of the VR6 comparing to 2.0T? 2.0T in my GTI has been problem free for the past 3.5 years of ownership.
Any feedback on the auto gearbox?


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## Hedgehodge (Nov 7, 2008)

child_in_time said:


> Well I am back into the dilemma again. Started to look into 2018 SE 4motion Atlas (without tech package - I really don't want it), they are coming down in price as 2019 are around corner...how is the reliability of the VR6 comparing to 2.0T? 2.0T in my GTI has been problem free for the past 3.5 years of ownership.
> Any feedback on the auto gearbox?


[HR][/HR]

2k miles on my vr6 sel 4 motion atlas...love it, we have lots of idle time sadly and lots of short trips and it gets around 16-18 city for us in CT roads. On our trip to The Big E which was 80 miles one way we ended up getting 27.9 mpg with ACC set at 70ish mph. I even used ACC for stop and go traffic with me just hitting Res button once the car in front moved (little jerky sometimes but hey, i just hit a button). Im also not paying for 93 octane anymore at like 3.5/gallon vs 2.90/gallon for regular and same size gas tank pretty much (only downside, however with a family you have to stop for someone to pee lots anyway). I still havent went in for any of the recall updates lots have posted. It has 7 year/unlimited for me since i got extended warranty with purchase, otherwise it wouldnt have been unlimited. I had 2011 gti with extended and it paid itself off 3 times over when it cost 4k (was through allstate vsc though). replaced that gti motor at 89k, so i didnt trade it in  GL in your choice


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## sayemthree (Mar 2, 2006)

The transmission shifts nicely. The vr6 design has been around for decades, I can imagine it having issues plus you don’t have a turbo, the extra heat it causes and all that extra plumbing. We still have a 2008 and 2011 gti in the family, both 6 MT. Daughters are driving them now, both over 100 k. If you like German cars you won’t be disappointed in the atlas. And it has tons of cargo space


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## Phil37 (Jul 5, 2015)

Not Going from a GTI to an Atlas but my family and I closely checked one out recently. We currently own a 2017 Golf Sportwagen and find it to be the perfect car for our family with 2 children (4 & 13). Thinking of adding another child led us into looking at both the Tiguan with 3rd row and the Atlas. The dealer had an Atlas SEL Premium V6 4Motion for $50k and a Tiguan SE for $25k. 

First I just checked the seating. The Atlas can comfortably fit 7 of me (6ft 215 lbs) . The Tiguan can’t. But the Tiguan can fit 5 of me plus 2 kids under 10 well. 

My impressions of the Atlas were that it is an awesome family hauler for those wanting to stick to VW.
If only it were within $5k of the Tiguan, that would be the one to get. We initially gravitated towards the Tiguan based on price but now we are seeing base 2.0 Turbo S fwd examples selling within that $5k margin. I really wished that I could have test drove a base 2.0 Turbo instead of the V6. I will have to find another dealer that has one soon. 

So yeah for us the $25k Tiguan vs $50k Atlas wins. But I definitely want to give a base 2.0 T model for like $26k- $$28k a shot. I think that we would really love the Atlas then. 

We will keep the Golf Sportwagen as my daily driver. It’s not like manual wagons are here to stay in the US market.


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## child_in_time (Aug 9, 2006)

I kind of like the R-Line trim, but it comes only on SE and SEL. I am looking into SE, V6, 4motion only at this point but without the tech package.
Does R-Line comes on SE trim without tech package? What's included in the tech package?


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## sayemthree (Mar 2, 2006)

Phil37 said:


> We will keep the Golf Sportwagen as my daily driver. It’s not like manual wagons are here to stay in the US market.


Yes that is sad.... manual wagons that we have owned include 

1999 bmw 528
2004 S4 Avant v8
2008 bmw 535

I may have gone after a sportwagon in AWD if it had gti power, Ended up with a preowned X1 2.8 xdrive which is really a small wagon, built on the three series wagon chassis, but of course it has no MT option


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## Phil37 (Jul 5, 2015)

sayemthree said:


> Yes that is sad.... manual wagons that we have owned include
> 
> 1999 bmw 528
> 2004 S4 Avant v8
> ...


I’m on my third manual Wagon myself. Now looking to add an Atlas S 2.0T. Too bad the Atlas is not available with a 6MT. That would be my ultimate driving machine.


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## snobrdrdan (Sep 10, 2008)

sayemthree said:


> I may have gone after a sportwagon in AWD if it had gti power


Bolt a OEM GTI (IS20) turbo or Golf R (IS38) turbo onto the 1.8t and it would, with even MORE power....just sayin'


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