Some automakers will try to make their SUVs stand out by making them unique in one thing, such as off-roading. Another way that automakers have made their SUVs stand out is with premium SUVs, which are better equipped and more expensive than usual but less so than a true luxury SUV. The 2023 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport is one of those premium SUVs, and it has five advantages over one of its competitors, the Nissan Murano.

1. Volkswagen gave the Atlas Cross Sport a better warranty

According to Edmunds, the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport has a much more generous and long-lasting basic warranty than the Nissan Murano. VW gave the Atlas Cross Sport a four-year or 50,000-mile basic warranty. In comparison, the Murano has a three-year or 36,000-mile basic warranty.

That said, the Murano has a better powertrain warranty, as it gets a five-year or 60,000-mile one. The Atlas Cross Sport’s powertrain warranty is a four-year or 50,000-mile one. However, Volkswagen also has a seven-year or 100,000-mile rust warranty and a three-year or 36,000-mile roadside warranty. 

2. The Atlas Cross Sport gets more torque

Volkswagen offers two engine options on the Atlas Cross Sport, while Nissan only has one engine option for the Murano. No matter which engine folks choose for their VW, it’ll get more torque than the Nissan SUV. The Murano’s 3.5-liter V6 gets 260 hp and 240 lb-ft of torque, while the Atlas Cross Sport comes standard with a 2.0-liter turbocharged I4 engine.

The Volkswagen’s 2.0-liter engine gets 235 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. That means that, while the Murano has 25 hp more than the Atlas Cross Sport, the VW has 18 lb-ft of torque more than the Murano does. The other engine that VW offers is a 3.6-liter V6, and it gets 276 hp and 266 lb-ft of torque, which is more powerful than the Murano’s V6 in every way.

3. You can tow more with the 2023 Atlas Cross Sport

Thanks to the torque advantage, the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport can also tow more stuff than the Nissan Murano can, according to Edmunds. The Volkswagen SUV has a max towing capacity of about 2,000 pounds. In comparison, the Nissan SUV maxes out at 1,500 pounds. This means that the Atlas Cross Sport can tow about 500 pounds more stuff than the Murano can.

4. The Atlas Cross Sport has more cargo capacity too

The Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport can also carry more stuff inside the car than the Nissan Murano can. Without folding any seats down, the Atlas Cross Sport has 40.3 cu. ft. of cargo capacity. The Murano, meanwhile, only has 32.1 cu. ft. of cargo capacity without folding its seats down. That’s a difference of 8.2 cu. ft. 

That size difference gets bigger when the seats are folded down. In that configuration, the Atlas Cross Sport has a max cargo capacity of 77.8 cu. ft. The Murano, on the other hand, tops out at 67 cu. ft. with its seats folded down. That’s a difference of 10.8 cu. ft. 

5. The 2023 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport has more ground clearance

The Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport has another size advantage over the Nissan Murano, and it’s in terms of ground clearance. Both SUVs weren’t designed to go off-road, but every bit of ground clearance can help if folks find themselves off-road. 

The Murano has about 6.9 inches of ground clearance, while the Atlas Cross Sport has about 7.1 inches of ground clearance. That difference of 0.2 inches isn’t much, but it may matter in some rare off-road situations.