How Do Car Seats Fit in a 2021 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport?
The verdict: The Volkswagen Atlas three-row SUV excels as a people-mover with a roomy, comfortable cabin. How does the related two-row Atlas Cross Sport fare? The five-passenger SUV performed almost as well, thanks to ample room and accessible Latch anchors.
Does it fit three car seats? Yes
Take a look at how the Latch system and each car seat scored below in our Car Seat Check of the 2021 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport.
Related: Search Car Seat Checks
A Grade
- Latch: The two sets of lower anchors sit in slits in the leather for easy access and connection. Three top tether anchors sit three-quarters of the way down the seatback; they’re also easy to find and use. When equipped with a second-row bench seat, the three-row Atlas has one extra set of Latch anchors for the middle seat, a feature the Cross Sport lacks.
- Infant: This car seat was easy to install, and the 5-foot 6-inch front passenger had ample legroom up front with the seat installed behind them.
- Rear-facing convertible: As with the infant seat, the rear-facing convertible installed without problems, and legroom up front wasn’t an issue.
- Forward-facing convertible: After raising the head restraint, the convertible in its forward position fit well. We had no trouble connecting to either the lower anchors or the top tether anchor.
B Grade
- Booster: After raising the head restraint, the booster fit well on the seat. The buckles have short stalks that sit flush against the seat-bottom cushions, however. They will likely be tough for kids to grasp and use independently.
C Grade
- None
Grading Scale
A: Plenty of room for the car seat and the child; doesn’t impact driver or front-passenger legroom. Easy to find and connect to Latch and tether anchors. No fit issues involving head restraint or seat contouring. Easy access to the third row.
B: One room, fit or connection issue. Some problems accessing the third row when available.
C: Marginal room plus one fit or connection issue. Difficult to access the third row when available.
D: Insufficient room, plus multiple fit or connection issues.
F: Does not fit or is unsafe.
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About Cars.com’s Car Seat Checks
Editors Jennifer Geiger and Jennifer Newman are certified child safety seat installation technicians.
For the Car Seat Check, we use a Chicco KeyFit 30 infant-safety seat, a Graco Contender 65 convertible seat and Graco TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted for a 6-foot driver and a shorter passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant and convertible seats are installed behind the front passenger seat.
We also install the forward-facing convertible in the second row’s middle seat with the booster and infant seat in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit; a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. If there’s a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible. Learn more about how we conduct our Car Seat Checks.
Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat, and that Latch anchors have a weight limit of 65 pounds, including the weight of the child and the weight of the seat itself.
Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.
