Wanted to share results of lease that I just signed in MN last weekend. I found most dealers were unwilling to discount much and were marking up MF, but found one that did me right on my trade and was fair to work with on the lease details. This definitely isn’t the best vehicle to lease or truly LeaseHackr worthy, but it was the perfect size for us and the one my wife wanted and I thought I’d share the results.
Thank you to the forum moderators and contributors for all the good info to help.
2018 VW Atlas SEL AWD 4Motion with R-Line and Mats
You’re are correct, the Atlas doesn’t lease that well but it is a really nice SUV and surprisingly really large inside and all 3 rows are truly functional. Of my kids were older I would have gone that direction. Looks like you got a good deal from what the market is baring and from the deals I’ve seen other people got.
The interior is junk for a 50k vehicle. Hard, low quality plastics. The performance is so bad that even a prius can overtake. Took it to freeway and the merge was painful. I was very excited of possibly buying/leasing the Atlas it is the biggest disappointment i ever had. And for that lease, i would rather have a XC90 T5/T6.
To each his own, @vatakle. I really was excited about the Volvo, but these vehicles are not comparable at all in interior size and comfort for rear passengers. We took a look at it and the Volvo would never work for my family.
Family of 6 with a dog and needing some space for cargo/friends really limits options. We had a QX56 (now the QX80) and my wife didn’t like it because it felt too big. A Yukon XL would move us in the wrong direction and the Acadia/Traverse don’t have a middle bench seat with leather, which a requirement for us. The Atlas matches the interior space of the QX56 surprisingly well, but is a slightly smaller vehicle that drives significantly smaller.
If for no other reason this is why it was the right car to get (and people say you can’t but happiness ).
I ended up with the XC90 and I can tell you the interior size is not even comparable, the Atlas has so much more room. Of course they aren’t going to make luxurious, if you want that get its sibling the Q7 (and pay for it).
I am glad space wise your needs were fulfilled with Atlas and works great for you. My issue was more with the whole package. The engine, the interior, the price, FE and absolutely the vfm proposition.
Comparing with QX56 is completely different as that one is in a different category more along lines of Escalade, GLS450.
The discounts on Atlas are not much to be had, so their top of the line models are in low 50s where you can be with XC90 T6 Momentum after discounts.
I sat in the 3rd row of Atlas, Traverse and XC90 back to back and i fit just fine all of them once the 2nd row was adjusted for my size. I am 6 ft for reference. Cargo wise, at least size wise they were almost same but i am sure numbers would be different. I actually preferred the interior of Traverse more than Atlas not to mention the drive, engine and overall feel. But as you rightly put, to each their own.
BTW, i am not taking a dig at your purchase. Congrats on the lease. Just penning my opinion of Atlas, something which i was actively considering.
@Siejammy - Same residual and wife liked the look of the R-Line. I agree the wheels look much better and the trim does make it look a little sportier. Makes it a little unique. FYI, maybe you saw the 56% residual vs 58%, but that is because of the extra mileage for 15k per year.
@DNJA and @vatakle - Thanks for the comments. For sure the overall quality and luxury of the Volvo is desirable, but I fully agree regarding the interior space with DNJA - there really is no comparison if you look at them side by side. I’m a tall guy (6’5") and have a tall family too, so the space was very important. I felt somewhat cramped in the 2nd row of the XC90 and couldn’t consider putting my teenagers back in the 3rd row for longer drives. Plus, there is much more space behind the 3rd row in the VW. I worked hard to try to convince myself that we could make the XC90 work because they lease so well, but it just wasn’t meant to be. They are great options if you don’t have the space constraints! BTW - we also looked at the Audi Q7 and it was also considerably smaller than the Atlas.
The q7 and the atlas have nothing shared. The talk of a larger Audi could be based on the same but who knows. I’m waiting to see how the Subaru ascent is, I think they will make the vw look bad as it’s competing. The big Americans cost so much more.
I don’t think the Atlas needs any other vehicle to make it look bad. $550/month for a giant Tiguan. Unreal. Then again, people willingly part with their money for the X4/X6 and the MB equivalent, so nothing really surprises me anymore.
I agree for a 50k vehicle but at 40k it’s pretty good, especially when compared to other vehicles. Just went to look at a Grand Cherokee and it’s interior fell well below that of the atlas. That big piece of grey plastic around the infotainment center was just pathetic. I feel the same when it comes to Yukons and Tahoes. In their case it’s 60k vehicles with an average interior at best and a measly 3 year warranty.
Please take a look at Murano SL / Platinum which are $40k vehicles, it puts Grand Cherokee and Atlas to shame. Leather and soft plastics everywhere. I owned it for 2.5 years and the quality is exceptional. I have read Nissan’s statement that it is their premium offering even though Pathfinder is more expensive and thus lots of leather everywhere. Even the sales representative at VW Capitol agreed that interior is not that good compared to Murano. And the performance is very bad too having driven Traverse, Enclave, QX60 and Atlas back to back. All of these were 50k vehicles with MSRP wtihin 2k of each other.
I drove the v6 4motion SEL or SEL Premium with MSRP touching 48k or 50k IIRC. And it is slow. It took forever to merge on freeway not to mention it was coarse, loud and just about yawn inducing performance. It just wasn’t happy being pushed.
And at 50k, it is competing with regular segment involving Traverse, Explorer and entry level premium segment (MDX, QX60, Enclave).
is why it was the right car to get (and people say you can’t but happiness 
).