We just traded my 2019 Forester for a 2023 Ascent Premium. We also looked at the Hyundai Palisade but they wanted $2k over MSRP. No thanks. We are very pleased with our purchase.
Same here. 3k over msrp for palisade, and that was after 2 hours of my time wasted when I had asked soon as I walked in the door about mark ups... Went to a volume Subaru dealer by me and they said $3.4k UNDER MSRP for an Ascent Touring immediately upon walking in the door. They are a volume dealer so they sell for invoice price (not msrp) with no negotiations requried. Grand Subaru in Illinois.
Great review! I owned a 2019 Limited Ascent for 4 years and it was a champ - made use of all 3 rows to take family on trips. There were a couple recalls but they were handled by the dealer pretty painlessly. The battery did need to get replaced because the OEM batteries suck. Other than that, no major problems.
@Kevin Ng. Did you experience a significant amount of body roll on the expressway? I read about this though I didn't experience it when I test drove the car.
FA24 is rock solid and the transmission cooler is worth the step up in trim to ensure no issues. The shifting problems were a software issue coupled with the robust output of the engine- fixed completely
Traded my 2020 Forester Sport for an Ascent Touring. This is easily one of the nicest vehicles I’ve ever driven. Rides perfect, has plenty of power and has so many useful features
I leased an ASCENT late 2019. Only had issues with some weather stripping around windshield and a very minor annoyance with the front cup holder's which the Subaru company sent me a more holding set of cozy cup holders for my Starbuck's vente coffee. Plus key chain and a few other gifts. Paid to complain a little. Other than that I leased that Ascent for two years no problems. Thank you for this great review.
Excellent video so informative answered all the questions I had. Shame the U.K. only get the 2.0L with the Crosstrek and the same for the UK’s Mazda CX-30. This does hold me back from buying them especially the Crosstrek which has downgraded its output from a fairly miserable 150 BHP to a shocking 136 BHP. Your channel is fantastic. This comment was meant for the previous video on the Crosstrek. Oops.
Best bang for your back in the segment. I traded my 2018 cx9 after test driving the cx90, atlas, pallidade and telluride. Just cant compete with the specs you get at its price point.
The overuse and implementation of these massive screens as a replacement to gauge and knob clusters has actually become a safety issue in vehicles. Studies have confirmed that the increased size and required use of the touch screens has a direct correlation to having your eyes and hands off the road/wheel more often and as a result a higher chance of crashes. Say what you will about knobs, buttons, and old gauge panels, tactile input is much safer and does not require your eyes off the road to adjust. Car companies need to minimize their use of these displays and create a reasonable balance...for safety sake.
Wrong! Probably you don't know how the Eyesight system in the Subarus work. Subarus are one of the safest vehicles out there and yes they are catching up on the overall look of the vehicles as well.
Yep. Manufacturers try selling big screens as high tech luxury, but the reality is that using a Chinese LCD panel is much cheaper than designing and manufacturing buttons, switches, and gauges.
Older cars that use hybrid versions are far more confusing; the full screen, if trained well, is far more user friendly. Especially since clients’ demands on cars continue to increase. Can’t blame the designers for keeping up with clients’ needs.
So agreed!!! It's a major reason why I'm still driving a 2000 and a 2002. The nativigation screen on the 2002 remains off all the time and it's so out of date and useless (and the screen is broken) that it makes me wonder if someone has a new car these days more than 5 years how is that screen going to keep up and not cost a fortune for them to repair just to operate the air conditioner...
The Ascent is such a handsome, well-equipped vehicle, I wish Subaru would take another look at the Outback and scale down some of that awful cladding to make it look more like this. If I had a big family I would probably buy an Ascent for all the reasons you covered so well, Tyler. Cheers~
A lot of people who buy Outback’s like some cladding bc we live in areas where we get a LOT of snow and ice. The cladding helps keep our paint from chipping. Yes Subaru is now putting way too much cladding on now, however.
Hi there! Relatively new to your channel but I really enjoyed the video, so much that I watched it twice! We recently bought our 2023 Ascent Touring and absolutely love it. I can say your observations are spot-on regarding its benefits and drawbacks of the vehicle. I completely agree with you on all points. The only minor quibble I find annoying is that the engine must be turned off in order to open the rear hatch. Drives me nuts but otherwise I love Subaru and the 2023 ascent so much I'm willing to give it a pass. Great review. 👍
@@ericpizarro3084 yes! When the all the doors are unlocked, engine is on, and in park - the car will not allow you to open the rear hatch. Only when engine is off, will it allow you to open rear hatch.
Bought the first generation and had a couple of recalls. Problems with pre-mature wear on the brakes, the head unit had problems, mainly the sound suddenly cutting off, the battery went dead suddenly after driving 1300 miles in 2 days. Also the lane centering ping ponged back and forth between lane lines. Hopefully all these things have been fixed and may have been first year problems. I did get rid of it after 2 years and bought a new Sorrento which has had no problems other than a couple of recalls.
I believe the lane centering issue you're talking about isn't actually an issue. The 2019 and 2020 Subaru Ascents did not come with lane centering. They only had lane keeping which keeps you in your lane but does not keep the car centered on it.
@@gabrielisaacson You are correct. Kia's centering was much better. I am sure newer models of the Ascent do a better job of centering. Centering is way better than keeping.
The lag on takeoff I feel is more related to the time required to build boost versus just cause of the cvt. I have a manual wrx and there is a slight delay to build boost as well.
It does the same thing with naturally aspirated subaru cvts, it’s just how they act. I did a video with the 3.6, 2.5 and turbo outbacks and they all had similar 0-10 mph numbers. The turbo lag is another thing!
Hard to find a better combination of features: 3-row SUV with world-class AWD and a forced-induction engine as standard. Living at ~3100' and regularly going up past 7,000' feet means your NA engines are ~20% less powerful than advertised and it only gets worse the higher you go. Subaru made the Forester, Outback, and Ascent to perform great at all altitudes with the turbo 2.4L engine, my only suggestion is that Subaru explore an Ascent hybrid for sake of fuel efficiency and reducing dependencies on fossil fuels.
On the PTC heater ground bolt? I put in a text blurb referring to that in here. This video isn’t about recalls, I just try to go over reliability woes and that doesn’t seem to have caused many people an issue, many recalls are a safety precaution.
Thank you for this great review! I have a 2020 Premium Ascent and it’s been a terrific car. I’d love to see you compare the 23 Ascent to the new Highlander with their new turbo 4 engine.
Agreed. Drove one for 3 weeks while my Outback was waiting for a master cylinder. Between the terrible brakes, the 14-16 city MPG, and the absolutely terrible CVT mated to the turbo engine. Would not buy.
AGREED! Had one for a few weeks and returned to to mpg's. I was getting 13.1 in the city. I drive like im paying for it. I was driving back home from out of town. Best mpg's I got was18.9 at 70 - 75 with ac and cc on. That highway is fairly flat and there was no head wind. Many complaints on the Ascents mpgs.
What's wrong with a minivan or the look of a minivan? I don't get why people hate minivans so much as they are far more practical than SUVs in most instances.
I too love minivans. Sadly, Subaru doesn’t offer one in the US. The Subaru Chiffon is well…just not suited for the USA. If you Google it you’ll see why. I’m not even a mom but love minivans. Right now, I’m deciding between this Subaru Ascent and the Toyota Sienna. I think that Paul Everritt was saying that this Ascent is Subaru’s version of a “minivan.” Almost in some ways. It’s why I like it.
What the heck are you at 6'4 even doing in the 3rd row. The only seat you should be in has a wheel in front of it. 6'4 I pick, who's going to tell you different.
@@Realistick I did, yes. My comment refers to my personal experience with it, Subarus in general (I’m an Ambassador) and several Subaru Technician friends. I’m consistently told to avoid the Ascent.
Mom had one as a rental car, this thing is hot garbage. The seats are hard and uncomfortable, the thing is too bulky and useless when trying to park, the ride isn't smooth at all, and finally the main problem is this absolute lemon of a car model is just too big. Absolute trash.
We just traded my 2019 Forester for a 2023 Ascent Premium. We also looked at the Hyundai Palisade but they wanted $2k over MSRP. No thanks. We are very pleased with our purchase.
Same here. 3k over msrp for palisade, and that was after 2 hours of my time wasted when I had asked soon as I walked in the door about mark ups... Went to a volume Subaru dealer by me and they said $3.4k UNDER MSRP for an Ascent Touring immediately upon walking in the door. They are a volume dealer so they sell for invoice price (not msrp) with no negotiations requried. Grand Subaru in Illinois.
Great review! I owned a 2019 Limited Ascent for 4 years and it was a champ - made use of all 3 rows to take family on trips. There were a couple recalls but they were handled by the dealer pretty painlessly. The battery did need to get replaced because the OEM batteries suck. Other than that, no major problems.
@Kevin Ng. Did you experience a significant amount of body roll on the expressway? I read about this though I didn't experience it when I test drove the car.
@@terence4427 Nothing that bothered me. For a large car, it felt fine. I'm not making sudden movements on the expressway that's inducing body roll. :)
Why did you get rid of it?
@@sansinutube I didn’t need such a big car anymore. (Kids are bigger now and I don’t need to have strollers, etc with me.)
FA24 is rock solid and the transmission cooler is worth the step up in trim to ensure no issues. The shifting problems were a software issue coupled with the robust output of the engine- fixed completely
Traded my 2020 Forester Sport for an Ascent Touring. This is easily one of the nicest vehicles I’ve ever driven. Rides perfect, has plenty of power and has so many useful features
I leased an ASCENT late 2019. Only had issues with some weather stripping around windshield and a very minor annoyance with the front cup holder's which the Subaru company sent me a more holding set of cozy cup holders for my Starbuck's vente coffee. Plus key chain and a few other gifts. Paid to complain a little. Other than that I leased that Ascent for two years no problems. Thank you for this great review.
The bolt recall is for Ascents built before April 2022.
Excellent video so informative answered all the questions I had. Shame the U.K. only get the 2.0L with the Crosstrek and the same for the UK’s Mazda CX-30. This does hold me back from buying them especially the Crosstrek which has downgraded its output from a fairly miserable 150 BHP to a shocking 136 BHP. Your channel is fantastic. This comment was meant for the previous video on the Crosstrek. Oops.
Best bang for your back in the segment. I traded my 2018 cx9 after test driving the cx90, atlas, pallidade and telluride. Just cant compete with the specs you get at its price point.
The overuse and implementation of these massive screens as a replacement to gauge and knob clusters has actually become a safety issue in vehicles. Studies have confirmed that the increased size and required use of the touch screens has a direct correlation to having your eyes and hands off the road/wheel more often and as a result a higher chance of crashes. Say what you will about knobs, buttons, and old gauge panels, tactile input is much safer and does not require your eyes off the road to adjust. Car companies need to minimize their use of these displays and create a reasonable balance...for safety sake.
Agreed
Wrong! Probably you don't know how the Eyesight system in the Subarus work. Subarus are one of the safest vehicles out there and yes they are catching up on the overall look of the vehicles as well.
Yep. Manufacturers try selling big screens as high tech luxury, but the reality is that using a Chinese LCD panel is much cheaper than designing and manufacturing buttons, switches, and gauges.
Older cars that use hybrid versions are far more confusing; the full screen, if trained well, is far more user friendly. Especially since clients’ demands on cars continue to increase. Can’t blame the designers for keeping up with clients’ needs.
So agreed!!! It's a major reason why I'm still driving a 2000 and a 2002. The nativigation screen on the 2002 remains off all the time and it's so out of date and useless (and the screen is broken) that it makes me wonder if someone has a new car these days more than 5 years how is that screen going to keep up and not cost a fortune for them to repair just to operate the air conditioner...
The Ascent is such a handsome, well-equipped vehicle, I wish Subaru would take another look at the Outback and scale down some of that awful cladding to make it look more like this. If I had a big family I would probably buy an Ascent for all the reasons you covered so well, Tyler. Cheers~
Thank you!
A lot of people who buy Outback’s like some cladding bc we live in areas where we get a LOT of snow and ice. The cladding helps keep our paint from chipping.
Yes Subaru is now putting way too much cladding on now, however.
Hi there! Relatively new to your channel but I really enjoyed the video, so much that I watched it twice! We recently bought our 2023 Ascent Touring and absolutely love it. I can say your observations are spot-on regarding its benefits and drawbacks of the vehicle. I completely agree with you on all points. The only minor quibble I find annoying is that the engine must be turned off in order to open the rear hatch. Drives me nuts but otherwise I love Subaru and the 2023 ascent so much I'm willing to give it a pass. Great review. 👍
An interesting note! I’ll try that out next time, thank you for watching
If you put the car in Park are you not able to push the button to open the trunk?
@@daweed980 thank you for the suggestion. Yes I tried that, but if the engine is running the car beeps and doesn't allow the trunk to open.
Did you unlock the doors before trying to open the back door? That could be it. I have a 2019 Limited and it does open the back door even if it’s on.
@@ericpizarro3084 yes! When the all the doors are unlocked, engine is on, and in park - the car will not allow you to open the rear hatch. Only when engine is off, will it allow you to open rear hatch.
Bought the first generation and had a couple of recalls. Problems with pre-mature wear on the brakes, the head unit had problems, mainly the sound suddenly cutting off, the battery went dead suddenly after driving 1300 miles in 2 days. Also the lane centering ping ponged back and forth between lane lines. Hopefully all these things have been fixed and may have been first year problems. I did get rid of it after 2 years and bought a new Sorrento which has had no problems other than a couple of recalls.
I believe the lane centering issue you're talking about isn't actually an issue. The 2019 and 2020 Subaru Ascents did not come with lane centering. They only had lane keeping which keeps you in your lane but does not keep the car centered on it.
@@gabrielisaacson You are correct. Kia's centering was much better. I am sure newer models of the Ascent do a better job of centering. Centering is way better than keeping.
@@davidpaisley9949 The Ascents, starting in 2021, received lane centering.
If you powerbrake the Subaru’s, the CVT won’t fake shift and you might actually get to 60 faster. It just holds the high revs instead.
I did brake torque it a little, I've only personally found that to be the case with the WRX
You should make a video comparing a 2023 Highlander XSE
I wish the Onyx Limited had Leather Seat. It's a deal breaker for me so I'll have to go with the Touring.
The seats in the Onyx are far more comfortable than leather seats which is why I went with this trim level as opposed to the limited trim level.
Nice video… you give great reviews!
Would like to know the space in back with the 3rd row down. I want the space for my dogs.
Would love to see a comparison between this and the new pathfinder.
The lag on takeoff I feel is more related to the time required to build boost versus just cause of the cvt. I have a manual wrx and there is a slight delay to build boost as well.
It does the same thing with naturally aspirated subaru cvts, it’s just how they act. I did a video with the 3.6, 2.5 and turbo outbacks and they all had similar 0-10 mph numbers. The turbo lag is another thing!
“The next stop is your moms house” killed me haha
compare to outback, which is quieter over 70MPH?
I think the outback had a little less wind noise so id give that the edge
Beware of a CVT trans.
How many CVT cars make it to 250,000 miles?
About as many 500 lb people make it to 100 years old. Just sayin.
I’ve seen old Subarus do it when people change the fluid as maintenance, just sayin🤮
The Assent gives the best interior in its class.
Wonder if not having a trans-cooler will have any effects on the performance of the base model other than those of towing situations.
Maybe out on the track haha, likely wouldn’t make a difference in long term health or anything but that’s an interesting question.
has a good price and ÄÄÄ??? Thanks for the video 😀
It appears that the Ascent does not have the dreaded Start/Stop feature. Am I correct?
Yes!
You can turn that on in the settings, buts its not automatically on.
Other vehicles you can turn it off, which I would!
Hard to find a better combination of features: 3-row SUV with world-class AWD and a forced-induction engine as standard. Living at ~3100' and regularly going up past 7,000' feet means your NA engines are ~20% less powerful than advertised and it only gets worse the higher you go. Subaru made the Forester, Outback, and Ascent to perform great at all altitudes with the turbo 2.4L engine, my only suggestion is that Subaru explore an Ascent hybrid for sake of fuel efficiency and reducing dependencies on fossil fuels.
Subaru just had a big recall on Ascents.
On the PTC heater ground bolt? I put in a text blurb referring to that in here. This video isn’t about recalls, I just try to go over reliability woes and that doesn’t seem to have caused many people an issue, many recalls are a safety precaution.
Thank you for this great review! I have a 2020 Premium Ascent and it’s been a terrific car. I’d love to see you compare the 23 Ascent to the new Highlander with their new turbo 4 engine.
I’ll try to get that one going sometime!
@@Realistick do a 3 way comparison ascent vs Highlander vs pathfinder maybe?
thanks for the review. how does the engine compare to Outback 6 cylinder?
Actually made a video on the outback xt vs 3.6r in March if you want to know more on that!
@@Realistick thank you! Will do.
reality city 13 mpg 😮
Agreed. Drove one for 3 weeks while my Outback was waiting for a master cylinder. Between the terrible brakes, the 14-16 city MPG, and the absolutely terrible CVT mated to the turbo engine. Would not buy.
AGREED! Had one for a few weeks and returned to to mpg's. I was getting 13.1 in the city. I drive like im paying for it. I was driving back home from out of town. Best mpg's I got was18.9 at 70 - 75 with ac and cc on. That highway is fairly flat and there was no head wind. Many complaints on the Ascents mpgs.
Ascent - That is Subaru speak for "minivan".
What's wrong with a minivan or the look of a minivan? I don't get why people hate minivans so much as they are far more practical than SUVs in most instances.
I too love minivans. Sadly, Subaru doesn’t offer one in the US. The Subaru Chiffon is well…just not suited for the USA. If you Google it you’ll see why.
I’m not even a mom but love minivans. Right now, I’m deciding between this Subaru Ascent and the Toyota Sienna. I think that Paul Everritt was saying that this Ascent is Subaru’s version of a “minivan.” Almost in some ways. It’s why I like it.
These sell for 47-51 here.
Does that still undercut the Highlander and Pilot over there?
@@Realistick AWD Pilot and Highlander are selling for 41-47 here
Base Ascent Starts about $10k cheaper than Pilot in Canada. Also converted to $US base is only around $30k
6'4" here and the 3rd row felt like a sardine can. :(
It’s all relative dawg
But how were the front and 2nd row?
What the heck are you at 6'4 even doing in the 3rd row. The only seat you should be in has a wheel in front of it. 6'4 I pick, who's going to tell you different.
@@JH-lu5yg Front was cozier than I expected and 2nd row was fine.
@@Offensively-normal I was at the dealership and tried it out.
I prefer the mitsubishi outlander phev 2023 the seat for the rear passengers it folds better than the subaru assent thanks for the presentation
It does fold better, but the outlander is super tiny. Cant really fit adults back there. I was really squished in there.
you cant take outlander offroad..
I like this car badly.. but the tranny cvt.. is big no for me..
Continue to make a fool of the TH-cam algorithm, good sir.
🫡
Nice station wagon.
Value??? You're out of your mind. Good luck getting one for under $45k. The insane pricing completely removes the Ascent from consideration.
Pretty easy here in Indiana, you want some dealership names?
I got my 2024 4k under msrp. Where u from?
The infotainment system looks ugly and outdated
Subaru Technicians will deter you from buying the Ascent. Big selling points, big let downs.
Did you watch the video? I address that here, I wouldn’t call it a big letdown anymore, just not a strong point yet.
@@Realistick I did, yes. My comment refers to my personal experience with it, Subarus in general (I’m an Ambassador) and several Subaru Technician friends. I’m consistently told to avoid the Ascent.
@@N8RTH what do you recommend for someone who needs 3 rows? Or 6+ seats?
@@JH-lu5yg if you’re a diehard Subaru person, then this. Otherwise, I’d go with a Highlander.
@N8 Could you elaborate?
The noise in the background makes the video useless.
I totally disagree!! 🥺
Mom had one as a rental car, this thing is hot garbage. The seats are hard and uncomfortable, the thing is too bulky and useless when trying to park, the ride isn't smooth at all, and finally the main problem is this absolute lemon of a car model is just too big. Absolute trash.
You are totally entitled to your subjective opinion. I disagree (and strongly)
My sister & hubby have been absolutely loving theirs for several years now. Geezz, you’re bitter!! 🤷🏻♀️