2019 Subaru Ascent Review - The Three-Row Subie
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Date: 2019-05-30
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Comments and reviews: 10
DucFanDan
An overboosted 4-cyl, with a CVT, and an absurd tow rating that will only get idiots towing things this vehicle has no business towing. Great. facepalmSubaru Outback, Forester, and Impreza are fine crappy-weather cars. Theyre predictable and easy to drive in the snot. Tow vehicles, they are not. Subaru has a bad habit of underspringing, underdamping, and underbraking their cars. Every friggen Outback I have driven (which spans almost every generation, including the newest, has frighteningly bad handling characteristics when loaded. The car will oscillate over mid corner disturbances in a way no vehicle should be allowed to. Undersprung and underdamped. Then theres the brakes. Short of an STI or BRZ, Subarus almost universally have terribly spongy brakes. Towing isnt just about acceleration. In fact, thats not even half of it. Towing safely is MOSTLY about being able to control the load. That means the ability to descend a long grade, loaded up, without frying the friction brakes. That means suspension that will handle the tongue weight AND be adequately damped to prevent pogoing after every mid-corner imperfection. Based on my experience with just about everything else Subaru makes (including this vehicles predecessor, the Tribeca, this vehicle has ZERO business towing up to 5000 lbs. The fundamental architecture is a blown-up Outback. You wanna haul the kiddos to soccer practice, this is probably fine. For the safety of yourself and everyone else on the road, if youre going to tow, buy a proper tow rig(Now waiting for all the Subaru kool-aid addicts to start throwing stones, because those folks are like a friggin cult)
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An overboosted 4-cyl, with a CVT, and an absurd tow rating that will only get idiots towing things this vehicle has no business towing. Great. facepalmSubaru Outback, Forester, and Impreza are fine crappy-weather cars. Theyre predictable and easy to drive in the snot. Tow vehicles, they are not. Subaru has a bad habit of underspringing, underdamping, and underbraking their cars. Every friggen Outback I have driven (which spans almost every generation, including the newest, has frighteningly bad handling characteristics when loaded. The car will oscillate over mid corner disturbances in a way no vehicle should be allowed to. Undersprung and underdamped. Then theres the brakes. Short of an STI or BRZ, Subarus almost universally have terribly spongy brakes. Towing isnt just about acceleration. In fact, thats not even half of it. Towing safely is MOSTLY about being able to control the load. That means the ability to descend a long grade, loaded up, without frying the friction brakes. That means suspension that will handle the tongue weight AND be adequately damped to prevent pogoing after every mid-corner imperfection. Based on my experience with just about everything else Subaru makes (including this vehicles predecessor, the Tribeca, this vehicle has ZERO business towing up to 5000 lbs. The fundamental architecture is a blown-up Outback. You wanna haul the kiddos to soccer practice, this is probably fine. For the safety of yourself and everyone else on the road, if youre going to tow, buy a proper tow rig(Now waiting for all the Subaru kool-aid addicts to start throwing stones, because those folks are like a friggin cult)
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lakeseminole
Hello Alex Ive owned the 2019 Subaru Ascent for two months. And, I read all about it before a test drive and purchase. This vehicle exceeds nearly all of my expectations. It is wonderful to drive, a powerful a/c system, important in Florida, a comforting eyesight technology. I am a single male, no family and wanted a vehicle to drive across the country and offer me comfort and space at 290 lbs and 6 foot tall. The Ascent is AMAZINGLY QUIET ON THE ROAD. I only have three issues about the vehicle because it is truly well built, excellent fit and finish, drives wonderfully, so comfortable and I appreciate the Subaru app telling me all about the vehicle, remote start and so much more. In Florida, I would appreciate a place for a small umbrella as the driver. Everything is a cup holder I would also like a place in the door to store a pen(s) in a vertical position. Besides the glove box, which is filled with owners manual, registration and other, we need another small space for other items. The bin below the a/c controls is not deep or tilted enough. When you speed off, everything comes flying out over the gear selector and then on the floor The driver and passenger have two cup holders in the middle. Redesign the drivers door to offer, as example, an area to drop pens, small note pad/small tablet, mini umbrella. Thanks and I love my first Subaru
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Hello Alex Ive owned the 2019 Subaru Ascent for two months. And, I read all about it before a test drive and purchase. This vehicle exceeds nearly all of my expectations. It is wonderful to drive, a powerful a/c system, important in Florida, a comforting eyesight technology. I am a single male, no family and wanted a vehicle to drive across the country and offer me comfort and space at 290 lbs and 6 foot tall. The Ascent is AMAZINGLY QUIET ON THE ROAD. I only have three issues about the vehicle because it is truly well built, excellent fit and finish, drives wonderfully, so comfortable and I appreciate the Subaru app telling me all about the vehicle, remote start and so much more. In Florida, I would appreciate a place for a small umbrella as the driver. Everything is a cup holder I would also like a place in the door to store a pen(s) in a vertical position. Besides the glove box, which is filled with owners manual, registration and other, we need another small space for other items. The bin below the a/c controls is not deep or tilted enough. When you speed off, everything comes flying out over the gear selector and then on the floor The driver and passenger have two cup holders in the middle. Redesign the drivers door to offer, as example, an area to drop pens, small note pad/small tablet, mini umbrella. Thanks and I love my first Subaru
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Brad Traeger
Nice review. I have the 2017 Outback Limited 3. 6R with Eyesight and its fantastic. I also have the same complaint about the CVT; however, I like the manual control for engine braking when I tow a trailer or just in traffic. In the midwest US winters, the AWD is a game-changer and its nice not to have to blow out the snow at the end of the driveway in the morning to get to work. Subaru, like Toyota, put a lot of pride in understanding their customers and delivering top end value; no doubt some of the Toyota values rubbed off on Subaru in their past partnership with the Celica/SRX co-development as well as a lot of core cultural alignment in their business operation. In another year or two Im going to trade one of our cars and it will likely be replaced by the Ascent. I wasnt impressed with the quality problems and lack of design refinement in the past 3 consecutive Hondas I had, especially the weak charging system and small battery. I have not had a Subaru let me down yet; I had two well-used older ones (92 Legacy and 99 Forester) before leasing a the Outback.
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Nice review. I have the 2017 Outback Limited 3. 6R with Eyesight and its fantastic. I also have the same complaint about the CVT; however, I like the manual control for engine braking when I tow a trailer or just in traffic. In the midwest US winters, the AWD is a game-changer and its nice not to have to blow out the snow at the end of the driveway in the morning to get to work. Subaru, like Toyota, put a lot of pride in understanding their customers and delivering top end value; no doubt some of the Toyota values rubbed off on Subaru in their past partnership with the Celica/SRX co-development as well as a lot of core cultural alignment in their business operation. In another year or two Im going to trade one of our cars and it will likely be replaced by the Ascent. I wasnt impressed with the quality problems and lack of design refinement in the past 3 consecutive Hondas I had, especially the weak charging system and small battery. I have not had a Subaru let me down yet; I had two well-used older ones (92 Legacy and 99 Forester) before leasing a the Outback.
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Ray Jensen
Alex: THANKS for this review Ive been waiting for this car for a year and a half now. Subaru, in my opinion, really lost thousands of sales by waiting this long to debut this model. Kia. is making the same mistake with their Teluride. I dont get it. Anyway. you ask about the value of Subarus symmetrical AWD. It. holds GREAT value. to me. I used to live in New England. in the hills where there was lots of snow. It is beyond believe. where a Subaru will go in that stuff. Fantastic. I want to love this car. Not sure if I do. Ill have to drive it. I LOVE Subarus. but Im NOT crazy with their choice of a small displacement 4 cylinder engine. Should have been 2 offerings. one of them being 6 cylinders. God knows. they have the engine already. But originally. this car was being purported as being the size of a Chevy Tahoe. Thats what all of the magazines were pumping. This car. really isnt that much larger than my 2018 Sorento AWD. Only about 1 inch on each side inside. and only 6 inches front to rear. Disappointing. Cant wait to see your full review on this one
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Alex: THANKS for this review Ive been waiting for this car for a year and a half now. Subaru, in my opinion, really lost thousands of sales by waiting this long to debut this model. Kia. is making the same mistake with their Teluride. I dont get it. Anyway. you ask about the value of Subarus symmetrical AWD. It. holds GREAT value. to me. I used to live in New England. in the hills where there was lots of snow. It is beyond believe. where a Subaru will go in that stuff. Fantastic. I want to love this car. Not sure if I do. Ill have to drive it. I LOVE Subarus. but Im NOT crazy with their choice of a small displacement 4 cylinder engine. Should have been 2 offerings. one of them being 6 cylinders. God knows. they have the engine already. But originally. this car was being purported as being the size of a Chevy Tahoe. Thats what all of the magazines were pumping. This car. really isnt that much larger than my 2018 Sorento AWD. Only about 1 inch on each side inside. and only 6 inches front to rear. Disappointing. Cant wait to see your full review on this one
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Tom Thomas
Front row passenger seat is unacceptable. 4way is econobox level. My Outback: Self changing oil, whining CVT (although, it works great) road noise, horrific headlights and horrible tires. Ive seen Ascent reviews where it slid in the rain. Tires. I got real tires (night and day in the snow) and Subaru fixed the oil, noise and headlight issues. My wife cant travel far in the OB because of the seat. Anyone with a bad back will look elsewhere. Mind blowing that a flagship car and cant have both front seats top of the line. Subaru said it would take regular gas. I could be wrong but one website that sells cars says it takes premium gas. Considering their history with Turbo issues, I cant imagine putting regular in it. Only the CX-9 is a regular gas turbo (more HP with the premium. OB is the #1 ticketed car in America and its not from speeding. Its the always out headlight. I still like the car because Ive owned worse, including numerous way over rated Hondas. Just so short sighted to have the absolute worst passenger seat in the class.
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Front row passenger seat is unacceptable. 4way is econobox level. My Outback: Self changing oil, whining CVT (although, it works great) road noise, horrific headlights and horrible tires. Ive seen Ascent reviews where it slid in the rain. Tires. I got real tires (night and day in the snow) and Subaru fixed the oil, noise and headlight issues. My wife cant travel far in the OB because of the seat. Anyone with a bad back will look elsewhere. Mind blowing that a flagship car and cant have both front seats top of the line. Subaru said it would take regular gas. I could be wrong but one website that sells cars says it takes premium gas. Considering their history with Turbo issues, I cant imagine putting regular in it. Only the CX-9 is a regular gas turbo (more HP with the premium. OB is the #1 ticketed car in America and its not from speeding. Its the always out headlight. I still like the car because Ive owned worse, including numerous way over rated Hondas. Just so short sighted to have the absolute worst passenger seat in the class.
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Vic Wiseman
Wow, its so refreshing to watch your reviews. You provide so many details that the more detail oriented car buyers are looking for. Thank you and please keep up the amazing work. A few questions that I still have: 1) Does the Ascent have a center or rear hydraulic locking coupling that can transfer more than 50% power to the rear like the Pilot? Or does it simple rely on the brake torque vectoring (x-mode) alone to send power to the rear? 2) Does the eye sight work at slow speeds or stop and go traffic? Will it come to a stop WITHOUT turning adaptive cruise control off? I am okay with having to tap the accelerator after it stops as long as the adaptive cruise control is still on. 3) I heard the CVTs are the limiting factor for Subaru when it comes to certain off road conditions. Does the CVT limit power output when say only 2 diagonal wheels have traction? Whats the maximum % of power that can be sent to the rear? 40%? Thanks
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Wow, its so refreshing to watch your reviews. You provide so many details that the more detail oriented car buyers are looking for. Thank you and please keep up the amazing work. A few questions that I still have: 1) Does the Ascent have a center or rear hydraulic locking coupling that can transfer more than 50% power to the rear like the Pilot? Or does it simple rely on the brake torque vectoring (x-mode) alone to send power to the rear? 2) Does the eye sight work at slow speeds or stop and go traffic? Will it come to a stop WITHOUT turning adaptive cruise control off? I am okay with having to tap the accelerator after it stops as long as the adaptive cruise control is still on. 3) I heard the CVTs are the limiting factor for Subaru when it comes to certain off road conditions. Does the CVT limit power output when say only 2 diagonal wheels have traction? Whats the maximum % of power that can be sent to the rear? 40%? Thanks
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GermanCarsRule
I think that rear view camera is brilliant. If you take the family camping you tend to pack to the ceiling. You also want to see the camper and how it is tracking or the smoke from the tire that just blew out. I think this is a terrific feature. I wonder how it will work in rain or snow, too. There are so many other little details on the vehicle like the two steps which helps when packing the roof, that slot for tablets in the drink holder, tie down points, hand grasp points, etc. A group of engineers put a lot of thought into this and of course they used their past experience. I find that Subaru generally makes the best all around vehicles for outdoor people. They are the number one brand in Colorado with huge resale values. Thanks for a great review. Will like to see your next evaluation of it.
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I think that rear view camera is brilliant. If you take the family camping you tend to pack to the ceiling. You also want to see the camper and how it is tracking or the smoke from the tire that just blew out. I think this is a terrific feature. I wonder how it will work in rain or snow, too. There are so many other little details on the vehicle like the two steps which helps when packing the roof, that slot for tablets in the drink holder, tie down points, hand grasp points, etc. A group of engineers put a lot of thought into this and of course they used their past experience. I find that Subaru generally makes the best all around vehicles for outdoor people. They are the number one brand in Colorado with huge resale values. Thanks for a great review. Will like to see your next evaluation of it.
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GoodISnipr
I heavily agree that if it has a CVT, the engine ought stay in its best rpm for whats needed. I used to hate the idea of a CVT, but Ive been borrowing a 2011 Jeep Patriot that has one, and I can see how the CVT will allow the engine to last for decades longer. My gripe about the Jeep CVT is that the torque converter slips way too much and it has no balls when needed. Floor it, and the engine sits at near redline for up to 30 seconds to get to 100km/h. Its horrible. Or maybe its out of adjustment, Im not sure, I dont own it. Honestly though, Im a diehard manual transmission driver and I know Subaru isnt the best with CVT on the market at the moment. If it had a manual option, Id opt to pay more for it because I know itd last longer and would be cheaper to maintain.
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I heavily agree that if it has a CVT, the engine ought stay in its best rpm for whats needed. I used to hate the idea of a CVT, but Ive been borrowing a 2011 Jeep Patriot that has one, and I can see how the CVT will allow the engine to last for decades longer. My gripe about the Jeep CVT is that the torque converter slips way too much and it has no balls when needed. Floor it, and the engine sits at near redline for up to 30 seconds to get to 100km/h. Its horrible. Or maybe its out of adjustment, Im not sure, I dont own it. Honestly though, Im a diehard manual transmission driver and I know Subaru isnt the best with CVT on the market at the moment. If it had a manual option, Id opt to pay more for it because I know itd last longer and would be cheaper to maintain.
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Asim Durakovic
Just got a 19 Ascent Limited and I can tell you that this SUV is impressive. The roominess inside is quite generous. We got 7 passenger one, no Navi/Pano roof option, to keep the cost down, besides, that Pano roof is too heavy and wouldnt be used much anyways. Navigation is pointless with Apple Car/Android Auto standard. The kids and adults love the interior and the comfort creatures. We traded up from the Outback, completely different vehicle. Its very comfortable and handles greatly. We test drove the Highlander, but it didnt compare in interior space at all. A quick trip from Chesapeake, VA to Charlottesville, VA revealed great travel comfort. My wife loves it. Thank you Alex for a great review(s.
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Just got a 19 Ascent Limited and I can tell you that this SUV is impressive. The roominess inside is quite generous. We got 7 passenger one, no Navi/Pano roof option, to keep the cost down, besides, that Pano roof is too heavy and wouldnt be used much anyways. Navigation is pointless with Apple Car/Android Auto standard. The kids and adults love the interior and the comfort creatures. We traded up from the Outback, completely different vehicle. Its very comfortable and handles greatly. We test drove the Highlander, but it didnt compare in interior space at all. A quick trip from Chesapeake, VA to Charlottesville, VA revealed great travel comfort. My wife loves it. Thank you Alex for a great review(s.
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Ryan Thompson
A turbo 4 Subaru wont last more than 110k miles unless you are the exception to the rule. I have owned three of them and will never touch one again. The best Subaru I owned was my 1993 Legacy that I sold off with 187k miles. My buddy bought it and now his family has it still with over 250k miles. No major issues, ever. My 08 WRX and 08 Legacy GT both blew turbos by 75k miles. Come to find out with a little research, that is totally normal and even expected. It is also within manufacturer specs for a Subaru engine to consume 1 quart of oil per 1000 miles. That is completely unacceptable. Subaru should have gone with the 6 cylinder
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A turbo 4 Subaru wont last more than 110k miles unless you are the exception to the rule. I have owned three of them and will never touch one again. The best Subaru I owned was my 1993 Legacy that I sold off with 187k miles. My buddy bought it and now his family has it still with over 250k miles. No major issues, ever. My 08 WRX and 08 Legacy GT both blew turbos by 75k miles. Come to find out with a little research, that is totally normal and even expected. It is also within manufacturer specs for a Subaru engine to consume 1 quart of oil per 1000 miles. That is completely unacceptable. Subaru should have gone with the 6 cylinder
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