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Read more2020 Atlas Family Car of the year Cars.com
Family car of the year
2020 Family Car of the Year
What’s eligible: Any 2020 model vehicle regardless of when it was introduced or last updated.
Criteria: Along with crash tests, safety features and accommodation of family members and their gear, we consider family-friendly features and overall excellence.
There are two types of parents out there: those who realize the inevitability of a minivan and embrace the living room on wheels and all its inherent uncoolness with open (and likely exhausted) arms, and those who cringe at the thought and search for something … different. For you rebels, there’s an SUV that comes close to offering a minivan’s level of comfort, room and utility: the 2020 Volkswagen Atlas, Cars.com’s Family Car of the Year.
It’s no secret we’re fans of this three-row SUV. The Atlas is a large family hauler that debuted for 2018 and quickly won us over with its cavernous interior, long list of creature comforts and long-trip-worthy road manners. The SUV took top honors in the 2017 Three-Row SUV Challenge and later won Cars.com’s Best of 2018 award.
Inside, there’s ample room for seven occupants in three rows of seats, and there isn’t a bad one in the house. Even the third row is roomy enough for adults, and what’s more, getting back there is easier than in most SUVs thanks to a tilt-and-slide second row in either bench or captain’s chair versions that allows you to keep a child-safety seat installed while moving those second-row seats. The second-row bench also has ample room to fit three car seats across, something some competitors can’t do. The Atlas earned straight-A grades in our Car Seat Check, a rarity. As confirmed in our more recent 2020 3-Row SUV Challenge between seven current models, the Atlas combined the best third row with the highest measured cargo volume behind those seats — meaning you can carry all of your kin and a good amount of stuff at the same time.
The Atlas also has a full complement of standard and available advanced safety features, including forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning and prevention, blind spot warning, a 360-degree camera system, rear cross-traffic detection, reverse automatic braking, front parking sensors and automatic high-beam headlights.
And although it’s big, the Atlas doesn’t drive like it. Power comes from either a standard turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder or an optional 3.6-liter V-6. Even when the Atlas is fully loaded, the torquey little four-cylinder holds its own in traffic. It may not be the most athletic-handling SUV out there, but that’s not its mission. It’s a comfortable, quiet and capable people hauler, and — depending on whom you ask — it might even make you look cool.
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