The refreshed Chattanooga-built 2021 Volkswagen Atlas SUV has received advanced features and a bolder front and rear styling, but its suggested retail price is unchanged at $31,545.
According to Volkswagen of America, the seven-seat SUV is receiving its first makeover since it debuted a couple of years ago.
Standard features include 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, full LED lighting, rain-sensing windshield wipers, Front Assist, Blind Spot, Monitor, Rear Traffic Alert, and next-generation Car-Net withWiFi capability, the company said.
Available features include Volkswagen Digital Cockpit, 20- and 21-inch wheels, heated rear seats, leather seating surfaces, Fender premium audio system, Lane Assist, Park Assist, Traffic Jam Assist, Dynamic Road Sign Display, remote start, and Easy Open rear hatch, according to the automaker that has a 3,800-employee assembly plant in Chattanooga.
The SUV's powerful VR6 engine is available on the Atlas SE with Technology package and starts at $38,295. The destination charge for all Atlas models is an additional $1,020, the company said.
Scott Keogh, Volkswagen Group of America's chief executive, said in Chattanooga late last year when it unveiled a five-seat version called the Atlas Cross Sport that SUVs are key for the German automaker.
"The name of the game is SUVs," he said.
Before the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, the Volkswagen Chattanooga plant was to assemble about 185,000 vehicles this year, up from about 107,000 vehicles in 2019.
"What we're effectively doing is increasing volume in the SUV market," said Tom du Plessis, who heads VW operations in Chattanooga. The plant builds an updated Passat sedan, the Atlas SUV and the Atlas Cross Sport SUV.
The refreshed Atlas is offered with a choice of two engines - the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder or the 3.6-liter VR6 engine, according to the automaker. Both units feature start/stop technology.
Atlas models equipped with the VR6 engine and a factory-installed trailer hitch offer a towing capacity of 5,000 lbs., the company said.
All Atlas models are outfitted with an 18.6-gallon fuel tank. EPA-estimated fuel economy for the 2021 Atlas when equipped with the 2.0-liter 4-cylinder is 21/24/22 mpg (city/hwy/combined).
EPA-estimated fuel economy for the V6 front-wheel-drive models is 17/23/19 mpg (city/hwy/combined).
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.