Volkswagen Atlas SUV revealed

Volkswagen's attempt to win back confidence among US car buyers following the financially crippling emission manipulation dieselgate scandal has begun with the introduction its newest and largest SUV to date, the all-new Atlas.

The big seven-seater arrives after a drawn out development program spanning almost four years and sets its sights on muscling its way into North American's lucrative SUV market against competition from the Toyota Highlander/Kluger, Ford Edge and Honda Pilot among other high riding offerings.

The Atlas gets an American friendly name chosen by Volkswagen's US operations as well as a muscular appearance that draws inspiration from the earlier CrossBlue concept originally revealed in 2013.

A sister version of the new SUV called the Terramont will also be sold in China as part of Volkswagen's efforts to further increase its market share in the world's largest car market.

Volkswagen has already ruled out sales of the Atlas in other key global car markets, including Australia, where it will launch a long wheelbase version of the second-generation Tiguan with a seven seat layout to fill a similar segment of the market instead.

This comes despite a recent call by Volkswagen Australia for its German based parent to consider right-hand drive production of the new SUV.

"We're fighting hard to try and get right-hand drive development, and we're balancing that with demand from other right-hand drive markets such as South Africa and the UK," VW Australia's general manager of marketing Ben Wilkes told Drive at the recent Paris motor show.

"It's a valuable product for us and we'd definitely like to have it in our line up."

The production version of the Atlas, pictured here for the first time, features a more brawny and distinctive appearance than any existing Volkswagen model as part of its brief to attract US car buyers. Key styling elements include a prominent grille, square headlamp assemblies housing distinguishing LED graphics for the day time running lights and a heavily sculptured bonnet.

Further back, there are muscular wheel arches, a defined side feature line through the doors, roof rails and a tall eight window glass house. The rear, meanwhile, is distinguished by sharp looking tail lamps featuring LED graphics, a large top hinged tailgate and trapezoidal shaped tail pipes integrated within the lower section of the rear bumper.    

The Atlas is offered with the choice of two petrol engines: a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder TSI delivering 175kW and a larger naturally aspirated 3.6-litre six-cylinder V6 with 280kW. Both units send drive exclusively through an eight-speed automatic transmission, though the four-cylinder sends drive to the front wheels while the V6 can be specified with a specially adapted version of Volkswagen's four-wheel drive 4Motion system offering various drive modes to boost performance and traction in off-road conditions.

The Atlas is based on Volkswagen's versatile MQB (modularen quer baukasten – modular transverse architecture) platform that also underpins the Tiguan. However, the new SUV is significantly larger than its stablemate, stretching to 4922mm in length. This makes it considerable 121mm longer than the largest of Volkswagen's existing SUV models, the Touareg.

It is also 1979mm wide and 1767mm high, making it 38mm wider and 35mm taller than the Touareg.

The cabin features familiar looking Volkswagen switchgear and dials shared with the rest of its range. Included is a touchscreen infotainment system mounted in the centre console and an optional digital screen behind the steering wheel, the display of which can be customised according to driver preference.

The car's infotainment can be specified with Volkswagen Car-Net, which brings Apple Carplay, Android Auto and Mirror Link, while an optional Fender Premium audio system, complete with 12 speakers and a 480-watt amplifier, is claimed to be the most advanced ever fitted to a Volkswagen.

Driver assistance programs include adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, autonomous emergency brake, blind spot monitoring with a rear traffic alert system, lane departure warning and park assist technology. Volkswagen claims the Atlas is also the only car in its class to come with an automatic post collision braking system, which keeps the brakes applied in the second phase of an accident to prevent further impacts.

Along with this new safety system, the Atlas sets itself apart from the rest of Volkswagen's SUV range with the biggest seating capacity. Three rows of seats make the Atlas a proper seven-seater that Volkswagen says can swallow seven fully-grown adults and their luggage.

Special attention has been made to easing access to the rear with a unique seat folding mechanism specifically for the second row to maximise space into the back.

The Atlas will be built alongside the US market Passat in Chattanooga, Tennessee with the Chinese market Terramont planned for production in Shanghai.

A more sporting variant of the big SUV featuring a more heavily angled rear window and other styling cues aired on Volkswagen's earlier CrossBlue Coupe concept is expected to be launched in 2018. 

Visit Drive's Volkswagen showroom for more details