Volkswagen Atlas vs Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk: which is more reliable?
The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is clearly ahead of the Volkswagen Atlas on the federal record: 77/100 against 64/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Volkswagen Atlas
- 8 model years scored
- 1,939 owner complaints on record
- about 55 complaints per year on the road
- 64 recall campaigns, 30 safety-critical
- best year 2020 (87/100) · worst 2021 (42/100)
Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
- 4 model years scored
- 1,116 owner complaints on record
- about 38 complaints per year on the road
- 0 recall campaigns, 0 safety-critical
- best year 2021 (94/100) · worst 2018 (47/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Atlas against Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Volkswagen Atlas
- Electrical System — 472 complaints
- Air Bags — 363 complaints
- Engine — 357 complaints
Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
- Electrical System — 385 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 296 complaints
- Engine — 177 complaints
Both nameplates have Electrical System as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Volkswagen Atlas — avoid: 2021.
Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk — avoid: 2018.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Volkswagen Atlas prices at about $44,100 and a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk at about $31,600 — the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is roughly $12,500 less, and they return 22.0 against 13.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Volkswagen Atlas or the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk scores 77/100 against the Volkswagen Atlas's 64/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk carries about 38 complaints per year on the road against 55 for the Volkswagen Atlas.
Which Volkswagen Atlas and Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk years should I avoid?
Volkswagen Atlas: 2021. Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk: 2018. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Volkswagen Atlas and the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk?
The largest complaint group on the Volkswagen Atlas is Electrical System (472 complaints); on the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk it is Electrical System (385).
Is the Volkswagen Atlas or the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk cheaper to own?
A recent used Volkswagen Atlas prices at about $44,100 and a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk at about $31,600, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.