The 2023 Subaru Ascent.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
Subaru never did get around to building a minivan, and by now it doesn’t need to. Rightly or wrongly, mid-size crossovers and SUVs have ousted the minivan as today’s big-family haulers of choice, and Subaru Corp. is already a legitimate player in that segment.
Since its debut in 2018 as a 2019 model, the Subaru Ascent has maintained a modest but meaningful presence in a three-row mid-size-CUV segment that’s long been dominated by the Ford Explorer and Toyota Highlander. For 2023, the Ascent gets a mid-life makeover.
Not much changes mechanically, but there’s the usual cosmetic nip ‘n’ tuck, plus the ever-more-important upgrades to the 21st-century definition of “technology” – such as screens, infotainment, connectivity and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
The appearance alterations are primarily a new face with a bigger grille and more muscular sculpting of the front fascia. There’s also revised LED lighting and new 20-inch wheel designs.
Upgrades to Subaru’s EyeSight ADAS technology include a wider field of view for the stereo cameras, plus adding a short-range, wide-angle monocular camera that helps detect and avoid pedestrians and cyclists in intersections at low speed. As well, automatic emergency steering joins the suite of standard accident-avoidance technologies.
Inside, an 11.6-inch, tablet-style vertical touch screen is now standard, as is wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Available Cabin Connect is basically an intercom for communicating between the front seats and the third row (but not vice versa). Models with navigation add What3words, a location technology that divides the world into three-metre squares identified by unique combinations of three words.
Full-time all-wheel drive, an X-Mode and 220-millimetres of ground clearance give the Ascent more rough-road capability than many rivals.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
As before, the Ascent offers one powertrain – a 260-horsepower, turbocharged version of Subaru’s signature boxer four-cylinder engine, hitched to a continuously variable transmission (CVT) with faux “eight-speed-manual” paddle shifting, and full-time symmetrical all-wheel drive with torque vectoring, X-Mode and downhill descent control.
Five trim grades are offered – Convenience, Touring, Onyx, Limited and Premier – at prices ranging from $40,990 to $53,995. Eight seats are standard on Convenience, seven (for example, second-row Captain’s chairs) on Onyx and Premier, while either seat count is available at no charge on Touring and Limited. Notable added kit as you move up the grades include a heated steering wheel and panoramic sunroof on Touring; different cosmetics on Onyx; navigation and 12-way power driver’s seat on Limited; and surround-view camera, black Nappa leather and ventilated front seats that can be activated remotely, on Premier.
Quite a few key competitors have arrived or been significantly redesigned since the Ascent was new. Among its closest competitors, the Mazda CX-9 is even older, but the newly freshened Toyota Highlander has a turbo-four-cylinder engine (and continues to offer a hybrid option) and the Honda Pilot is all new for 2023. Among the secondary competition, the Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade have joined the segment, and the Nissan Pathfinder was redesigned for model-year 2022.
If you’re a Subaru owner with a growing family, the Ascent provides a familiar place to grow into. If you’re coming from another brand, the Ascent’s base trim offers a lower price of entry than most rivals, and at any price point, you may want to consider the Ascent for its safety, comfort and advanced full-time all-wheel-drive system.
The ergonomics strike a good balance between actual switches and screen-based virtual ones.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
Tech specs
2023 Subaru Ascent
- Price: $40,995 to $53,995
- Engine: 2.4-litre turbocharged horizontally opposed four-cylinder
- Transmission/drive: Continuously variable/full-time all-wheel drive
- Fuel consumption (litres per 100 kilometres): 12.3 city/9.4 highway
- Alternatives: Chevrolet Traverse, Dodge Durango, Ford Explorer, Honda Pilot, Hyundai Palisade, Jeep Grand Cherokee L, Kia Telluride, Mazda CX-9, Nissan Pathfinder, Toyota Highlander, Volkswagen Atlas
Looks
The cosmetic surgery gives the Ascent a tougher visage, but doesn’t much alter an overall shape that is arguably less elegant than many rivals. Well, it is a Subaru.
Interior
A traditional centre console adds USB-C ports but still lacks a wireless phone charger.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
Perhaps the bulbous shape pays off inside, where the Ascent is competitively roomy despite being one of the segment’s smaller vehicles on the outside. That space includes a third row that can, if need be, accommodate adults in tolerable short-term comfort. The driver gets at least eight-way power seat adjustment (12-way on higher trims) and decent sightlines, though some might wish they could sit higher. The vertical 11.6-inch screen is integrated into a relatively traditional cockpit, with a conventional shift lever on the transmission tunnel, clear analogue gauges, and still plenty of hard-button secondary controls; some climate controls are now screen-based, but at least they’re permanently accessible on the home screen. Surprisingly, although USB-C ports are now provided, plus wireless smartphone pairing, there’s no wireless charging pad.
Performance
The base trim can’t tow much, but other models have a competitive 5,000-pound tow rating.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
Independent tests indicate that, objectively, the Ascent is on par with its peers, sprinting to 100 kilometres an hour in less than eight seconds. The combination of turbocharged torque and a CVT allows for effortless acceleration, though other aspects of its performance are less pleasing: Throttle response is almost too eager in low-speed, middling-along driving; and although it’s better than most, there’s still some random sags and surges of engine revolutions per minute typical of CVTs. The latter might matter less if the engine’s vocals were more melodious, though it feels smooth enough. The Ascent’s chassis combines a pliant, controlled ride with handling that turns out to be much more taut and agile than the light and lifeless steering leads you to expect.
Technology
The Ascent’s ADAS checklist starts high and goes up from there. Automatic emergency steering is new for 2023, while EyeSight’s new cameras enhance the existing precollision braking, lane-departure prevention, lane-centring and adaptive-cruise functions. The Touring model adds blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and reverse automatic braking, while a driver-distraction mitigation system is added on Limited. Infotainment and connectivity assets include wireless CarPlay and Android Auto and, on all except the base model, Starlink connected services. Navigation is standard on Limited and Premier.
Cargo
There is plenty of cargo space, though the deck is somewhat uneven.Jeremy Sinek/The Globe and Mail
Some other crossovers get closer to providing a fully flat-and-flush cargo deck with the seats folded, and the Ascent’s volume numbers – 458 litres with all seats up, 1,232 with row 3 folded, and 2,140 with both rows folded – are a little below class average. They’re lower than Subaru claimed for earlier model years because of a new measuring methodology – one that perhaps not all competitors share. Tow capacity is a modest 907 kilograms on the base Convenience trim, but a competitive 2,270 kilograms on all others.
The verdict
The Ascent’s modest 2023 makeover helps it keep up with class standards but doesn’t leapfrog it ahead.
The writer was a guest of the auto maker. Content was not subject to approval.
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