The Subaru Ascent was supposed to be a signal that you made it into the pinnacle of Subaru’s vehicle lineup with the Ascent being the company’s latest attempt at winning over three-row SUV buyers looking to inject more premium content and quality into their rugged SUV purchase.
But despite its name, the Ascent’s sales have actually been descending for the past few years and we wanted to find out why, what is the Ascent missing that’s preventing it from achieving its full potential?
Ascent’s styling is anything but bold
The Ascent is competing in a very saturated slice of the SUV market and as a result, it has to go above and beyond in trying to stand out from rivals. The Ascent is still riding on the merits of a refresh that it received a few years ago and while the front end is still bold as ever thanks to its slick headlights and large front grille, the rest of the Ascent’s profile feels clunky and it’s starting to show its age. The side profile is largely what you would expect from a three-row people mover but the rear end is clunky with the large taillights having an odd look to them.
Touring models like our tester get bigger alloy wheels but even these shiny distractions do little to turn attention away from the fact that many of its rivals are benefiting from more extensive updates. Some have gotten more style while rivals like the Hyundai Palisade pushed further into tech and with enemies like that, the Subie’s task becomes noticeably harder as time marches on.
Comfy interior is paired with high levels of safety
If you’re a buyer who is willing to look past the Ascent’s flawed wrapper and slip inside you’ll be rewarded with an interior that’s very comfortable and is loaded with high quality materials. The front seats are very comfortable and the bolstering does a decent job of holding occupants in place though the Ascent will never be mistaken for a performance SUV.
The layout of the controls and switches is good for the most part but the portrait style 11.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system continues to be a very prominent sore spot. The menu layout is good but it still suffers from noiceable software lag. This quirk has always been present in countless other Subaru models and it’s even more promient here since the Ascent is supposed to be the flagship.
The Ascent can be equipped with either captain’s chairs or a second-row bench in some trims with our Touring model coming exclusively with the former. The second-row captain’s chairs provide plenty of comfort and space with the interior trimmings matching what you see in the front half of the Ascent.
The captain’s chairs also offer an impressive array of adjustments and allow passengers to take full advantage of the space with the Touring also lumping in rear climate control and plenty of storage. The third-row is best left for children and pets which is on par with others in its segment. Fold the seats down and it expands on the 18 cubic feet of cargo space allowing the Ascent to haul larger loads.
Safety and comfort trump performance
Performance for Touring models like our tester comes form Subaru’s familiar 2.4 liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. This engine also sees duty in other Subaru offerings and here in the Ascent it makes 260 hp and is mated to a CVT. In theory, this engine makes a decent amount of power and is supposed to deliver decent acceleration. In practice, our tester proved to have rather middling acceleration with the noisy engine also allowing alot of engine racket into the cabin.
The Ascent is also a pretty heavy SUV and that played a role in our tester’s 6.8 second 0 to 60 time which is in the lower end of the three-row SUV spectrum. However, the suspension makes up for the engine’s lack of oomph by providing an impressive amount of comfort despite our tester’s 20-inch wheels. The steering is a bit too light for our tastes but most buyers will be pleased with it around town. Out on the freeway there were times where the Ascent wandered in its lane requiring consistent micro adjustments to help it stay straight.
The Ascent also comes loaded with plenty of safety gear with Subaru’s EyeSight system standard on every Ascent model. Other safety features include adaptive cruise control, automated emergency braking, and forward collision alert. The strong safety presence also makes up for its fuel economy which is on par with rivals at 19/25 mpg in city and freeway driving. The Premium bumps its highway mileage by 1 mpg to end up at 26 mpg.
Value Quotient?
Pricing for the 2026 Subaru Ascent starts at $40,795 for the base Premium model with the pricing staying the same for both the 7 and 8 passenger versions. The pricing gradually goes up until you get to Touring models like our tester with those models starting at $51,165 with the Onyx variant starting at $51,995.
This pricing is also on par with rivals like the Hyundai Palisade, Ford Explorer, and the Honda Pilot but the main issue with the Ascent is it’s still not doing enough to truly stand out in the segment. As mentioned, the three-row SUV market is a very saturated place, and standing out from the crowd is more important than ever. Some are focusing on style while others are doubling down on technology.
In the case of the Ascent, it doesn’t have any one true category that it’s trying to fill and as a result it blends into the conversation versus leading it. Perhaps this is the core reason why sales are slipping with recent introducions of the revamped Forester and Outback also eating into its proverbial real estate.
That’s a shame because once you get to know the Ascent better, it wins you over with some of its functional charms espcially in terms of comfort and safety equipment.
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