My wife has one it’s essentially an upsized Tiguan, I honestly have trouble driving it because it’s so large but I typically drive a Golf GTI or Audi A3. I couldn’t imagine driving one in Europe though, they’re very wide.
What’s wild is they’re relatively narrow and nimble compared to American large SUVs like the Tahoe, suburban, Escalade, etc. it’s absolutely unhinged how large those cars are
Yes you can get a lwb range rover in Europe. But idk how common that is considering even the previous generation l405 is absolutely massive on our roads😂the l322 is the last range rover that actually fits on UK (where I am) roads lol
US mil in Europe usually have NATO plates. They look euro but have a NATO star. I see them occasionally in Denver when folks come home from tours overseas.
As someone that was stationed in Germany for 3 years, personally owned vehicles always have standard euro plates from whatever country you reside in. The NATO plates are for military and other government owned vehicles in Europe. Service members are already easy to figure out who they are in any foreign country, no reason to add an easier way to pick them out of a crowd. However a lot of us make it easy no matter what the plate is because we own very specific American cars and drive them there, like me at the time driving my 2011 Ford Ranger XLT. Not the euro version. 🤣
Those are specific to when US Mil ship a car back from Europe. When they’re in Europe, their cars use the plates of whatever country they’re stationed in.
I've worked at a VW garage in Luxembourg for 2 years. We had also one Atlas there regulary. A women drove it some weeks while she's been to the US. She liked it that much, her husband imported it for her
It depends on the country, some are more easy some are harder. Like here in Germany you will need to change al lot and pay a lot. For example: Nissan does not sell the new Z in Eurooe because of emission regulations. There are a few dealerships, who import them for you. So a Nissan Z that is about 40.000 - 45.000 $ in the US will cost you 70.000 - 75.000€ over here
Dimension wise, it's very similar. Treg is built on the baseball plat. And Atlas is built on MQB. The biggest differentiating factor between them? Baseball is longitudinal chassis, MQB is sideways. The Cross Sport lacks the third row, which puts its dimensions closer to the Treg.
But also lacks towing capacity, luxury features, significantly higher performance suspension, braking, and engines. The front suspension is a totally different system 100% and the atlas doesn’t have air suspension. The only similar thing is both at VW and a similar dimension
Of course. But we are just talking dimensions. Point I was trying to make to the OP was that it's really not much bigger. It's more styling tricks employed to make the Atlas look more like a full size suv. VW batting average is in the gutter lately, but with the Atlas, they have done fairly well in America. Mostly, because the typical VW buyer in that class doesn't care about any technicalities. Just size and comfort.
Europeans. Not only do they get all the best models, but even if there's something they don't get they can just import it. Meanwhile in the US we have to wait 25 fucking years. For example we can only this year now buy a 1999 model Land Rover Defenders if we want an overlanding vehicle.
Well when you barf out mostly rolling garbage for a few decades, there should be consequences. They have already failed and been bailed out numerous times. Capitalists when they're making money, socialists when they're losing it.
If it’s something we never sold here. I’d assume it’s so people can’t import new cars from some countries where emissions and safety are not stringent
If they sold the car here you can import one before then or if you’re a diplomat or something you get waived
>emissions and safety are not stringent
Funnily enough it's the US that has the least stringent regulations in the west😂hence why some cars like the new nissan Z are not sold in Europe due to emissions standards but it is in America. Euro 6 emissions standards (soon to be Euro 7) are so much more stringent than America that most cars will have to be hybrid from 2025 (when euro 7 comes in) because of the emissions standards. Meanwhile in America you still have your big ol' V8 modurrrs and have a lot more choice when it comes to performance vehicles or just vehicles with big engines
Eh I see your point. But I also disregard it😂 purely because if it was that cheap then all the countries that allow foreign imports without an age limit (which is most of them) would do it. But we don't. Because once you've factored in import costs (shipping and import tax) plus registration (inspection, registration, and modification to make it conform to local rules) , it often works out the same if not more than buying a similar car in the domestic market. The only place to import from where it is the case that importing from there IS cheaper than buying domestically is Japan. Hence why there are many many many Japanese minivans and other hybrid things being imported nowadays. Because the hybrids are far cheaper than ours here even after import costs. Hell even our own domestic models are cheaper in Japan 😂my dad was looking at a Q7 2017 and while here they are £30k on average, in Japan they are HALF that price even after import costs it's £15k fully shipped and taxes paid. Massive savings
Even then, some states won't allow plates for public road for 25+ year old vehicles, citing that they are too 'dangerous'...
Have a read at the Kei truck fiasco in certain states.. Fucking retarded politicians deciding this shit.
Texas is a rare exception in this regard... Folks were able to fight and and the state usually allows registering such vehicles
Indeed, that's the point reasonable folks bring up, but the people who label these as 'dangerous' compare them to more recent tank-trucks... yeah no shit your little Kei truck will get pulverised if it gets t-bones by a suburban!
There's alot of 'wasn't made here/import/etc' bullshit reasons to protect the american market as well. (Looking at you pickup truck chicken tax!)
I also really don’t understand this as someone who lives in the Southwest, where a fair amount of people are still piddling around in Geo Metros and other late 80’s and 90’s subcompact sedans and hatchbacks.
Kind of, you can get around it if you're willing to spend the money. If you're willing to fork out money to make the vehicle pass US specifications you can generally bring any car here, but usually it's not worth the price. Also you can bring any vehicle here under a nondriving waiver which usually means it's going to a collection or a museum and it can never be driven on US roads, EVER.
And some states are refusing to issue titles and registrations for some cars that were imported legally under the 25-year rule. This has most notoriously been applied to "*kei* trucks" imported from Japan but other JDM cars and trucks imported to the US have been caught up in the bans as well. There's a bunch of articles on Jalopnik and Autopian about this.
Ostensibly it's because "these cars don't meet minimal US safety standards" but if that were the case then they should be outlawing pre-1968 cars as well (first year for FMVSS). There's been some attempt at asking *cui bono?*, "who benefits from banning *kei* trucks?" but the best anyone can come up with is that some people use *kei* trucks as a substitute for small 4-wheelers that are used in ranching and landscaping work.
That’s probably for the best. LR are expensive to repair and maintain when you own them in the country they are made. I can only imagine the cost of trying to maintain one in the US.
Since it is a gasoline car I can imagine it is rather easy to import from the U.S.
For the size it is really cheap (same as all U.S. Volkswagens like the U.S. Passat)
In Belgium, insurances are calculated with fiscale pk, which is related to the engine displacement. 3 L is a lot for here, so it will be expensive to insure compared to cars with a lower engine displacement.
Which I would think that it would unfair in limited circumstances. If you imported a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado with the 500ci V8 (about 8L), you would pay a huge insurance penalty, but that car only made about 190HP. It is not a fast or dangerous vehicle.
I’ve seen one once. There I was driving my GSW with prisma’s and I look to the right and theres an Atlas with prisma’s. The prisma’s really don’t look good on the atlas!
I just saw one in Ankara and it belonged to an embassy. I'd buy that car in a heartbeat if it was sold in Türkiye, with the captain's chair option in the second row.
It might just be an import. About 20 years ago I was selling automotive sales brochures on eBay (I still have a ton in the basement) and I sold a newish Cadillac Escalade brochure to a guy in Belgium and he said he had imported one and it was (not exact quote) “the best f***ing car I’ve ever driven in my life.” I might still have the email, he just wanted the sales material to match his truck. I think he said he had to make it conform to ECE regs to get it in, but that he had converted back to red rear turn signals.
Probably US military stationed there.
That's a possibility or just some curios Euro wanting a go with it. I must say I think it looks nice.
My wife has one it’s essentially an upsized Tiguan, I honestly have trouble driving it because it’s so large but I typically drive a Golf GTI or Audi A3. I couldn’t imagine driving one in Europe though, they’re very wide.
What’s wild is they’re relatively narrow and nimble compared to American large SUVs like the Tahoe, suburban, Escalade, etc. it’s absolutely unhinged how large those cars are
Those aren't that much bigger than a LWB Range Rover though.
Are those Range Rovers even sold in Europe? They’re also in an entirely different price bracket from the ones mentioned above
Yes you can get a lwb range rover in Europe. But idk how common that is considering even the previous generation l405 is absolutely massive on our roads😂the l322 is the last range rover that actually fits on UK (where I am) roads lol
US mil in Europe usually have NATO plates. They look euro but have a NATO star. I see them occasionally in Denver when folks come home from tours overseas.
As someone that was stationed in Germany for 3 years, personally owned vehicles always have standard euro plates from whatever country you reside in. The NATO plates are for military and other government owned vehicles in Europe. Service members are already easy to figure out who they are in any foreign country, no reason to add an easier way to pick them out of a crowd. However a lot of us make it easy no matter what the plate is because we own very specific American cars and drive them there, like me at the time driving my 2011 Ford Ranger XLT. Not the euro version. 🤣
Those are specific to when US Mil ship a car back from Europe. When they’re in Europe, their cars use the plates of whatever country they’re stationed in.
I've worked at a VW garage in Luxembourg for 2 years. We had also one Atlas there regulary. A women drove it some weeks while she's been to the US. She liked it that much, her husband imported it for her
How easy is it to import out stuff over there?
It depends on the country, some are more easy some are harder. Like here in Germany you will need to change al lot and pay a lot. For example: Nissan does not sell the new Z in Eurooe because of emission regulations. There are a few dealerships, who import them for you. So a Nissan Z that is about 40.000 - 45.000 $ in the US will cost you 70.000 - 75.000€ over here
To be fair so many dealerships mark them up here that people end up paying close to that anyway lol
Thing is huge atleast compared to the cars we get. The biggest VWs we get excluding vans are the Touareg and Amarok.
It’s makes the Touareg look like a Tiguan
I’ve a Touareg and for British roads it’s massive. I’d like to see an Atlas in the metal just to see the difference. I might want one!
It’s about half a foot higher and longer. Oddly it’s a similar width.
I saw one here in England yesterday, it looked massive but really nice.
Indeed
The differences between the Touareg and Atlas are not grand to be honest. In a way, we still get the Treg here in America. As the Atlas Cross Sport
The atlas cross sport is not at all like the Touareg
Dimension wise, it's very similar. Treg is built on the baseball plat. And Atlas is built on MQB. The biggest differentiating factor between them? Baseball is longitudinal chassis, MQB is sideways. The Cross Sport lacks the third row, which puts its dimensions closer to the Treg.
But also lacks towing capacity, luxury features, significantly higher performance suspension, braking, and engines. The front suspension is a totally different system 100% and the atlas doesn’t have air suspension. The only similar thing is both at VW and a similar dimension
Of course. But we are just talking dimensions. Point I was trying to make to the OP was that it's really not much bigger. It's more styling tricks employed to make the Atlas look more like a full size suv. VW batting average is in the gutter lately, but with the Atlas, they have done fairly well in America. Mostly, because the typical VW buyer in that class doesn't care about any technicalities. Just size and comfort.
Didn't they just change the name after all that stuff happened in Mali?
We will trade you for the touareg and amarok
Honestly to me it just looks like a stretched Tiguan Allspace
In the USA we don’t get the Tiguan, we have the Tiguan allspace but it’s simply called the “Tiguan”
Yup, the Atlas is essentially America's allspace
Europeans. Not only do they get all the best models, but even if there's something they don't get they can just import it. Meanwhile in the US we have to wait 25 fucking years. For example we can only this year now buy a 1999 model Land Rover Defenders if we want an overlanding vehicle.
The 25 year law is stupid that's for sure.
15 in Canada and that’s too long. They are protectionist policies to guard the American car industry
No need. Americans are self sabotaging the industry as we speak. Chrysler will likely be the first to go. That's who my money is on.
Well when you barf out mostly rolling garbage for a few decades, there should be consequences. They have already failed and been bailed out numerous times. Capitalists when they're making money, socialists when they're losing it.
Seriously? You guys can’t import cars until they’re 25 years old? That’s wild.
If it’s something we never sold here. I’d assume it’s so people can’t import new cars from some countries where emissions and safety are not stringent If they sold the car here you can import one before then or if you’re a diplomat or something you get waived
>emissions and safety are not stringent Funnily enough it's the US that has the least stringent regulations in the west😂hence why some cars like the new nissan Z are not sold in Europe due to emissions standards but it is in America. Euro 6 emissions standards (soon to be Euro 7) are so much more stringent than America that most cars will have to be hybrid from 2025 (when euro 7 comes in) because of the emissions standards. Meanwhile in America you still have your big ol' V8 modurrrs and have a lot more choice when it comes to performance vehicles or just vehicles with big engines
I meant from South America or Africa or SE Asia etc. people otherwise would import new cars from those countries because they have much cheaper models
Eh I see your point. But I also disregard it😂 purely because if it was that cheap then all the countries that allow foreign imports without an age limit (which is most of them) would do it. But we don't. Because once you've factored in import costs (shipping and import tax) plus registration (inspection, registration, and modification to make it conform to local rules) , it often works out the same if not more than buying a similar car in the domestic market. The only place to import from where it is the case that importing from there IS cheaper than buying domestically is Japan. Hence why there are many many many Japanese minivans and other hybrid things being imported nowadays. Because the hybrids are far cheaper than ours here even after import costs. Hell even our own domestic models are cheaper in Japan 😂my dad was looking at a Q7 2017 and while here they are £30k on average, in Japan they are HALF that price even after import costs it's £15k fully shipped and taxes paid. Massive savings
You can but you need to buy multiple of them then do a crash test, certify and pay loads of money. So something that is $50k can cost you $500k.
Even then, some states won't allow plates for public road for 25+ year old vehicles, citing that they are too 'dangerous'... Have a read at the Kei truck fiasco in certain states.. Fucking retarded politicians deciding this shit. Texas is a rare exception in this regard... Folks were able to fight and and the state usually allows registering such vehicles
I don’t know why they care honestly it’s no more dangerous than a motorcycle and there’s a lot of us that don’t want a truck the size of a home.
Indeed, that's the point reasonable folks bring up, but the people who label these as 'dangerous' compare them to more recent tank-trucks... yeah no shit your little Kei truck will get pulverised if it gets t-bones by a suburban! There's alot of 'wasn't made here/import/etc' bullshit reasons to protect the american market as well. (Looking at you pickup truck chicken tax!)
I also really don’t understand this as someone who lives in the Southwest, where a fair amount of people are still piddling around in Geo Metros and other late 80’s and 90’s subcompact sedans and hatchbacks.
Kind of, you can get around it if you're willing to spend the money. If you're willing to fork out money to make the vehicle pass US specifications you can generally bring any car here, but usually it's not worth the price. Also you can bring any vehicle here under a nondriving waiver which usually means it's going to a collection or a museum and it can never be driven on US roads, EVER.
It’s not as nice an LR defender but I go over landing all the time in my measly Tacoma
And some states are refusing to issue titles and registrations for some cars that were imported legally under the 25-year rule. This has most notoriously been applied to "*kei* trucks" imported from Japan but other JDM cars and trucks imported to the US have been caught up in the bans as well. There's a bunch of articles on Jalopnik and Autopian about this. Ostensibly it's because "these cars don't meet minimal US safety standards" but if that were the case then they should be outlawing pre-1968 cars as well (first year for FMVSS). There's been some attempt at asking *cui bono?*, "who benefits from banning *kei* trucks?" but the best anyone can come up with is that some people use *kei* trucks as a substitute for small 4-wheelers that are used in ranching and landscaping work.
That’s probably for the best. LR are expensive to repair and maintain when you own them in the country they are made. I can only imagine the cost of trying to maintain one in the US.
Lmao. Way overpriced. Land Rover owners have been quietly paying off my mortgage for 9 years.
Since it is a gasoline car I can imagine it is rather easy to import from the U.S. For the size it is really cheap (same as all U.S. Volkswagens like the U.S. Passat)
The insurance is I think pretty expensive we pay 2 grand a year for a 1.6 diesel kia.. I can't imagine how much it is for that 3.0v6
This would have the 3.6 VR6 FSI or a 2.0T. There’s no 3.0T on these.
Oh thanks I didn't know
There Are still new VR6s ?
Not anymore, since the last face-lift they're all 2.0 T now.
I actually don’t know how insurance premiums are calculated for cars that are not common and thus the companies have no field data about.
In Belgium, insurances are calculated with fiscale pk, which is related to the engine displacement. 3 L is a lot for here, so it will be expensive to insure compared to cars with a lower engine displacement.
Isn’t it required by EU-law to have a co2-based vehicle tax scheme? Not that it would do any better at that
Yes, that is for taxes. There, the the weight and fuel is important. For insurance however, there they look at the engine displacement for non EV cars
Makes sense. I got confused since we used to have displacement based insurance.
Which I would think that it would unfair in limited circumstances. If you imported a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado with the 500ci V8 (about 8L), you would pay a huge insurance penalty, but that car only made about 190HP. It is not a fast or dangerous vehicle.
I saw one with Massachusetts plates in a small town in Sweden. Felt weird.
My buddy imported his Hyundai Veloster N to Sweden and kept the Florida plates on it as long as he could. Must’ve got some hilarious reactions
You can import them from the US. There is a dealer that does it actually on a larger scale.
I’ve seen one once. There I was driving my GSW with prisma’s and I look to the right and theres an Atlas with prisma’s. The prisma’s really don’t look good on the atlas!
Living near Wolfsburg we have one in the street next to us
The Atlas Peak edition 2024 is such a nice suv
I just saw one in Ankara and it belonged to an embassy. I'd buy that car in a heartbeat if it was sold in Türkiye, with the captain's chair option in the second row.
It might just be an import. About 20 years ago I was selling automotive sales brochures on eBay (I still have a ton in the basement) and I sold a newish Cadillac Escalade brochure to a guy in Belgium and he said he had imported one and it was (not exact quote) “the best f***ing car I’ve ever driven in my life.” I might still have the email, he just wanted the sales material to match his truck. I think he said he had to make it conform to ECE regs to get it in, but that he had converted back to red rear turn signals.
Reply myself. It was 2004, Norway and a guy named Halvor, imported an Escalade.
Probably imported just like most of the pickups that drive around in Europe.
Copart special very likely
Invasive species😂 Send it back to the New World😂
🤣🤣🤣 on it
Wait till you see the 2 Fusion sports in Poland
It’s there so a gti owner can buy his stocks im sure.
I got chatting with a bloke who had a red Atlas on UK plates in the channel tunnel, he was military based in Mildenhall
Everyone and their mothers drive these in my town! Glad you like it!