Compare the2026 Volkswagen Atlas Cross SportVS 2025 Subaru Forester

The Atlas Cross Sport has a standard Automatic Post-Collision Braking System, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Forester doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

The Atlas Cross Sport has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. A system to reveal vehicles in the Forester’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Atlas Cross Sport has standard Rear Traffic Alert and automatically engage the brakes. Subaru charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Forester and it’s not available on the Base and the Forester’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

Compared to metal, the Atlas Cross Sport’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Subaru Forester has a metal gas tank.

Both the Atlas Cross Sport and the Forester have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport is safer than the Subaru Forester:

	Atlas Cross Sport	Forester
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	48	56
Abdominal Force	64 lbs.	84 lbs.
Hip Force	215 lbs.	349 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	208	208
Spine Acceleration	35 G’s	58 G’s
Hip Force	529 lbs.	640 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	14 inches

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The Atlas Cross Sport comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Forester’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The Atlas Cross Sport’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Forester’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Volkswagen pays for scheduled maintenance on the Atlas Cross Sport for 2 years and 20,000 miles. Volkswagen will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Forester.

The Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the Forester’s engines use an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

The Atlas Cross Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 89 more horsepower (269 vs. 180) and 95 lbs.-ft. more torque (273 vs. 178) than the Forester’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Atlas Cross Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 87 more horsepower (269 vs. 182) and 97 lbs.-ft. more torque (273 vs. 176) than the Forester Wilderness’ standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Atlas Cross Sport’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 75 more horsepower (269 vs. 194) than the Forester’s optional 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Motor Trend the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport is faster than the Subaru Forester 4 cyl.:

	Atlas Cross Sport	Forester
Zero to 60 MPH	7.7 sec	8.8 sec
Quarter Mile	15.9 sec	16.7 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	90 MPH	86.3 MPH

The Atlas Cross Sport has 2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Forester (18.6 vs. 16.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For better stopping power the Atlas Cross Sport’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Forester:

	Atlas Cross Sport	Forester Wilderness	Forester Hybrid
Front Rotors	13.2 inches	12.4 inches	12.6 inches
Rear Rotors	12.2 inches	11.2 inches	11.8 inches

The Atlas Cross Sport stops much shorter than the Forester:

	Atlas Cross Sport	Forester
60 to 0 MPH	121 feet	131 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	134 feet	152 feet	Consumer Reports

For better traction, the Atlas Cross Sport has larger standard tires than the Forester (245/60R18 vs. 225/60R17). The Atlas Cross Sport SEL Premium R-Line’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Forester (265/45R21 vs. 235/50R19).

The Atlas Cross Sport SEL Premium R-Line’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Forester Sport/Touring’s 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Atlas Cross Sport SE has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Forester. The Atlas Cross Sport SEL Premium R-Line’s 21-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Forester Sport/Touring.

The Atlas Cross Sport has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Forester doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Atlas Cross Sport’s wheelbase is 12.4 inches longer than on the Forester (117.3 inches vs. 104.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Atlas Cross Sport is 5.4 inches wider in the front and 5.9 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Forester.

The Atlas Cross Sport SEL 4Motion handles at .81 G’s, while the Forester Sport pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Atlas Cross Sport has 3.7 inches more front hip room, 3.8 inches more front shoulder room, 1 inch more rear legroom, 5 inches more rear hip room and 3.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Forester.

The Atlas Cross Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Forester with its rear seat up (40.3 vs. 29.6 cubic feet). The Atlas Cross Sport has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Forester with its rear seat folded (77.6 vs. 74.4 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Atlas Cross Sport. The Forester doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Atlas Cross Sport’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Forester’s (5000 vs. 1500 pounds).

The Atlas Cross Sport uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Forester uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Atlas Cross Sport SEL has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, navigation instruction and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Forester doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the Atlas Cross Sport and the Forester have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Atlas Cross Sport is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Forester prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Atlas Cross Sport’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Forester’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Atlas Cross Sport the driver can close all of them at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Forester can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Atlas Cross Sport’s standard KESSY Keyless Access allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, unlock the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Keyless Access and Start is only offered on the Forester Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring, and doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear door.

The Atlas Cross Sport’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Forester’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the Atlas Cross Sport SEL to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Forester doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

The Atlas Cross Sport’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Subaru only offers heated mirrors on the Forester Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring.

Both the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport and Subaru Forester offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The Atlas Cross Sport offers available power folding mirrors, which allow for easy, one-touch folding or unfolding at the driver’s discretion. This provides added convenience when maneuvering or parking, as well as when walking past the parked vehicle. In comparison, the Forester’s foldable mirrors are manual, requiring the driver to get out and physically fold them once parked and unfold them before getting in.

The Atlas Cross Sport has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel is only available on the Forester Limited/Touring.

The Atlas Cross Sport SEL Premium R Line has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Forester.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Forester Premium/Sport/Wilderness/Limited/Touring offers wireless charging.

The Atlas Cross Sport offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Forester doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Atlas Cross Sport SEL Premium R-Line’s Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Forester doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Atlas Cross Sport is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Forester doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.