MTGARAGE
2018 Volkswagen Atlas
Service life:
6 mo/11,852 mi • Avg. Fuel Econ: 17.6 mpg
“With average fuel economy hovering around 18 mpg, I spend so much time at the pump that I’m considering turning in a time card.”
William Walker
Avg CO2 1.10 lb/mi Energy cons 187 kW-hr/100 mi
Unresolved problems None Maintenance cost $80.40
(oil change, inspection) Normal-wear cost $0 Base price $36,165 As-tested $38,265 EPA City/Hwy/Comb Fuel Econ 18/25/20 mpg
Real MPG 19.9/27.5/22.7
Between my daily 45-minute commute and pulling support and transportation duties on out-of-town photo and video shoots, we have been putting some miles on the Atlas. With 11,087 miles on the odometer, it was finally time to visit our local Volkswagen dealership to get the oil changed.
In addition to changing the oil, the dealership completed a software update and inspected the seat belt latches as part of a recall. The latches must have appeared fine, as no update to them was needed at this time. With parts and labor, our final bill came to $80.40.
With all of that time behind the wheel, I feel like this is a good opportunity to address the poor fuel economy that we’ve been observing; 17.6 mpg is not only lower than the expected EPA (18/25/20 mpg city/highway/combined) and Real MPG (19.9/27.5/22.7) figures, but it’s also lower than our current long-term 2018 Subaru Ascent with all-wheel drive. It’s worse than the observed average of 20.6 mpg that I saw in my long-term Mazda CX-9, too. It does beat out our long-term Dodge Durango 4 R/T’s 16.9 mpg, but the Atlas is nowhere near as fun to accelerate.
On top of my normal transportation needs, driving is part of my job, and therefore the overall mpg rating is less important to me personally; thankfully, I’m not the one paying for the gas. But being able to pile up miles between trips to the gas station is a criterion I look for in a good car. The fuel-gulping Atlas rates very low in this department. A quick, unscientific glance at the Atlas’ fuel log shows that most fill-ups happened around the 250-mile mark. (A more scientific explanation suggests its 18.6-gallon tank should be good for 320 or so if I pushed it.) Compared to the CX-9, which made it well past the 350-mile mark comfortably, that’s pretty bad. Although that might not seem like a big deal, it means an additional couple of days between fill-ups during the workweek.
Given the poor mileage, I wish Volkswagen had fitted the Atlas with a larger fuel tank.
2018 Ford F-150
Service life:
10 mo/12,523 mi • Avg. Fuel Econ: 16.5 mpg
“The leather in our long-termer is holding up, but I’m curious about the vinyl in the work truck.”
Erick Ayapana
Avg CO2 1.18 lb/mi Energy cons 198 kW-hr/100 mi
Unresolved problems None Maintenance cost $70 (oil change, inspection, tire rotation) Normal-wear cost $0
Base price $44,835 $57,910 19/24/21 mpg 18.6/23.9/20.6 mpg
