Subaru goes uptown: The Ascent Touring
The Ascent, the grown-up Subaru, is a three-row SUV with all of the brand’s beloved features with large helpings of near-luxury available. The glossy black grille, chrome door handles and power-folding exterior mirrors with integrated turn signals denote the Touring trim. Color: Autumn Metallic Green.
The Ascent Touring has the poshest and most comfortable Subaru interior yet, and this crisp, large Starlink infotainment monitor is easy to suss out. Rather than a button or dial on the console, touchpads on the screen select the drive modes. There’s also a scanning nanny that keeps an eye on where the driver is looking and provides a figurative elbow to the ribs if one’s attention wanders.
The Ascent, the grown-up Subaru, is a three-row SUV with all of the brand’s beloved features with large helpings of near-luxury available. The glossy black grille, chrome door handles and power-folding exterior mirrors with integrated turn signals denote the Touring trim. Color: Autumn Metallic Green.
The Ascent Touring has the poshest and most comfortable Subaru interior yet, and this crisp, large Starlink infotainment monitor is easy to suss out. Rather than a button or dial on the console, touchpads on the screen select the drive modes. There’s also a scanning nanny that keeps an eye on where the driver is looking and provides a figurative elbow to the ribs if one’s attention wanders.
Oddly, given the brand’s popularity across northern New England, passers-by still seem surprised that Subaru offers a vehicle this big. But 2025 will mark six years since the Ascent, a three-row SUV, made its debut. And in truth it isn’t that big; alongside a Chevy Suburban or Ford Expedition, it looks comfortingly compact. After owning smaller Subies, my son and his wife bought an Ascent as their family grew, and it comfortably transports them, two small children and all the necessities. (No more dog, which freed up more space.)
With the third row of seats stowed away, the Ascent’s cargo compartment is amply large and, thanks to a height-adjustable power liftgate, easily accessible. A 5,000-pound towing rating and the Trailer Stability Assist package plus 700-pound-capacity roof rails expand the Ascent’s utility further yet, reinforcing Subaru’s “active lifestyle” pitch.
But it isn’t just utility. Inside, this top-end $50,000 Ascent Touring is kitted out with everything on the Subaru menu, including myriad cupholders and USB A and C charge ports; a vast sunroof and rear-window shades; Bluetooth connectivity and wireless Apple CarPlay / Android Auto; and a long list of other comfort and convenience features such as Cabin Connect (part of the Harmon Kardon stereo), which lets the driver project their voice into the third-row seats, presumably to quell any juvenile uprisings. Naturally, the front and rear seats, steering wheel, wing mirrors and windshield wipers are heated. Both front seats are power-adjustable.
Subaru’s twin-lens (depth-sensing) EyeSight safety system has now been augmented with a third, wide-angle lens and the software has been upgraded to operate more smoothly and in a greater range of conditions. With the blind-spot monitors, EyeSight offers emergency steering and braking assistance. The back-up camera now offers a top-down 360-degree view of everything around the vehicle and an electric brake booster helps the vehicle react to obstructions while in reverse.
Even the rear-view mirror is now more than it seems—it can serve as the real-time video screen for a rear-facing camera, which offers an extra-wide field of view. If this is too disorienting, or for anyone who checks their makeup in the mirror, it can be switched off and the normal mirror function restored.
All the mechanical bits should be familiar to Subaru fans, from the 4-cylinder, 2.4-litre turbocharged boxer engine (rated for 260 horsepower and 277 torques) and its continuously variable CVT automatic transmission (programmed to offer eight gear-like “steps” accessible through paddles on the steering wheel) to Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive with hill-descent control and X-Mode settings for snow/dirt and deep snow/mud.
For 2025, the Ascent lineup begins with the $40,215 Premium, which appears to be quite well equipped for a starter model and has all of Subaru’s safety systems. On top of this, there are, in ascending order, Onyx, Limited, Bronze, Touring and Onyx Touring trim levels, priced up to $51,415. The drivetrains remain the same in all of them.
Subarus are valued for their cost-efficiency and longevity, their all-weather all-wheel drive and their family-workhorse nature much more than for driving dynamics. When the job entails schlepping kids and groceries and maybe hauling the boat to the lake once in a while, a four-wheeled Swiss Army knife is more important than an autobahn-burning speed sled, and the Ascent fills that niche admirably. Subaru is preparing to roll out a series of gas-electric hybrids; it remains to be seen whether the Ascent will be part of this.
Next week: 2025 Hyundai Tucson Limited
