The 2027 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport is now live as the smaller and nimbler sibling of the hulking three-row Atlas, but the competition isn’t idle and will put up a massive fight against it.
Last month, Volkswagen of America revealed the sales figures for the second quarter across the US automotive market, happily revealing that its deliveries jumped almost 25% year over year. Wait, wait, wait, as not everything is roses and daffodils, because the German automaker didn’t have a massive base to begin with.
So, the sales actually only increased from a little over 71k units during the second quarter of 2025 to 89k during Q2 of 2026. Overall, though, the perspectives are great, as only the ID. 4 dropped slightly and the Taos was the only big loser, with a minus 44% performance. Meanwhile, the new Tiguan jumped 152.5%, and even the old Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport trended positively, by 18.6% and 7.3% respectively, although everyone knew they are about to change generations.
In fact, later in July 2026, Volkswagen even announced the pricing details for the all-new 2027 VW Atlas three-row mid-size crossover SUV, which arrived officially during the spring show season. The second-generation 7-seater midsize SUV builds on the success of the original Atlas and brings a more rugged design, additional smart technology, and even some premium features, all starting from an MSRP of $41,610 (sans destination of $1,525) for the SE with front-wheel drive and $43,610 when equipped with 4Motion all-wheel drive.
Photo: Volkswagen
But wait, as there is more on the Atlas subject. Just before everyone turned their attention toward the 2026 Monterey Car Week, Volkswagen attempted to steal the red carpet’s spotlight for their five minutes of Internet fame with the all-new 2027 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport, which combines the all-new styling of the larger Atlas with a shorter and sportier body style with seating for five.
The second-generation Atlas Cross Sport, naturally, also “builds on the success of its predecessor,” though we have to say that the popularity of the larger Atlas is much higher than that of the shorter version, according to Volkswagen of America’s Q2 figures: 21,549 units for the three-row model and just 8,567 examples for the five-seat model.
For the new iteration, the Atlas Cross Sport retains Volkswagen’s MQB Evo architecture shared with the larger Atlas, and it’s 5.4 inches shorter and 2.1 inches lower than the three-row model. The steeply raked roofline also adds to the dramatic proportions, with the design also including new stacked LED headlights and an illuminated VW badge on all higher trims, plus available double light lines.
Photo: Volkswagen
The profile gives it a muscular stance due to the sharply rising beltline, and around the back there’s a full-width taillight design. New alloy wheels are also on the menu list, with up to 21 inches, and so are fresh colors: Dark Sage Metallic, Blackberry Metallic, and Sandstone. Inside, Volkswagen seeks to make the Atlas Cross Sport look posher than before with soft-touch materials, wood trim, contrasting stitching, and ambient lighting, and three color schemes: Pebble Grey, Black, and Medium Brown.
All models feature a 10.3-inch Digital Cockpit Pro instrument cluster, a new Driver Experience Dial on the center console, a Qi2 wireless charging system, and the entry-level model has a 12.9-inch infotainment display, while all other models get upgraded to 15 inches. Finally, under the hood there’s more power now. The 2027 model gets Volkswagen’s turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with 282 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, up 13 hp from its predecessor.
Volkswagen’s 4Motion all-wheel-drive system will be available alongside FWD and an eight-speed automatic transmission with Tiptronic manual shifting, and the towing capacity is 5,000 pounds when featuring the factory-installed trailer hitch. The only thing that has remained a mystery is pricing, but the new Cross Sport will remain alongside the three-row Atlas as a mainstay of the VW Chattanooga, Tennessee factory lineup.
Photo: Volkswagen
Of course, that doesn’t mean it won’t have stiff competition in the segment from players like the Mazda CX-70, Honda Passport, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevrolet Blazer, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, Ford Explorer, and more. The Japanese model has a more elegant 3.3-liter turbo inline-six with two power levels, 280 or 340 hp, for example. Meanwhile, the Honda Passport has a classic naturally-aspirated 3.5-liter V6 with 285 hp and a decidedly rugged look aimed at adventure and thrill seekers.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a staple of the mid-size sector, exuding the American lifestyle through every pore; it was recently refreshed, and customers can choose between the enduring 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 or the all-new 2.0-liter turbocharged Hurricane inline-four, which is even more powerful than the larger NA engine. The Chevy Blazer is a very mainstream option, and the Hyundai Santa Fe plus Kia Sorento and Ford Explorer shouldn’t be ignored just because they have three rows of seating…
