Subaru Ascent - Review, Specs, Pricing, Features, Videos and More

The 2025 Subaru Ascent continues as the brand’s largest vehicle, a three-row SUV designed to offer practicality, standard all-wheel drive, and a strong focus on safety and in-vehicle technology. For 2025, the Base trim has been eliminated, making the Premium trim—with added standard equipment—the new entry point at $38,795. Subaru has also introduced two new trims: the Bronze Edition and the Onyx Edition Touring.

All 2025 Ascent models are powered by a 2.4-liter turbocharged BOXER engine paired with a Lineartronic CVT, producing 260 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque. Towing capacity remains at 5,000 pounds. Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive and X-MODE with Hill Descent Control are standard across the lineup. A dual-function X-MODE is included on Onyx, Bronze, Limited, Touring, and Onyx Touring trims.

Standard safety equipment has been expanded for 2025. All models now include Blind-Spot Detection with Lane Change Assist, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, Reverse Automatic Braking, and Automatic Emergency Steering. Emergency Stop Assist is also standard and can intervene if the driver becomes unresponsive while using adaptive cruise control.

Inside, the Ascent features Subaru’s 11.6-inch STARLINK Multimedia Plus system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with tri-zone automatic climate control, multiple USB-A and USB-C ports, and a suite of STARLINK Connected Services. Trim-specific upgrades include a panoramic moonroof, Nappa leather, Harman Kardon audio, and a Surround View Monitor.

What’s New for 2025

The Ascent’s 2025 updates include the elimination of the Base trim, two new models—Bronze Edition and Onyx Edition Touring—and an expansion of standard safety features across all trims. The Bronze Edition offers bronze-accented 20-inch wheels and interior trim, while the Onyx Edition Touring pairs blacked-out styling with Touring-level equipment. A new Cabin Connect feature, available with Harman Kardon audio, amplifies the driver’s voice to rear passengers. Emergency Stop Assist is now standard for the first time.

We sent out the call. A request to every manufacturer, looking for new, significantly updated, or strong contenders in the mainstream three-row SUV segment. We need the best of best for a special AutoGuide Three-Row SUV Shootout Comparison brought to you by Weathertech. Our goal: to find the best 3 row SUV.

Quickly, manufacturers responded and entries poured in. Representing Korea are two strong options in the Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade. From Japan, we have the usual players, the Honda Pilot, Nissan Pathfinder, Subaru Ascent, and Toyota Highlander.

Also, there’s Mazda. The brand was eager to get the tried-and-true CX-9 in our shootout, but what they offered next was huge; both literally and figuratively. Mazda was granting us early access to the brand’s yet unreleased, all-new, CX-90 three-row SUV for this shootout. For those unfamiliar with the CX-90, it’s built on a completely new rear-wheel drive bias platform, featuring an equally new turbocharged inline-six.

Read the full comparison here

It’s a brisk December morning in Prince Edward County, one of Ontario’s key viticultural areas.

Visible exhales in the air make it hard to see the supposedly mild climate that makes this place suitable for growing wine grapes. We arrive here to get a sampling of the 2023 Subaru Ascent, a new revision of the largest testament to the brand’s undying fandom. It’s great the seat heaters are already on when we plant ourselves inside.

Driving along the country roads, the only thing more abundant than hibernating grape vines were other Subaru drivers. If terroir is an important concept in oenophile circles to define the context of a wine, it’s probably fair to apply the same idea to a vehicle—even if cars aren’t grown from the dirt and the rain. We drive for a few hundred kilometers in the new Ascent to find out why there are so many Subarus in wine country. Maybe we will discover why a rugged three-row SUV might make the most sense.

Click Here to Read the Review.

Going into this comparison, it almost didn’t seem fair.

It’s no secret that the Telluride has been a smash hit for Kia. The brand’s larger three-row has won awards right out of the gate, and folks are paying over list for used examples. The Telluride has immediately become one of the very best choices in the three-row crossover set.

The Subaru Ascent had its own time in the spotlight, roughly six months before the Telluride’s debut. A far cry from the maligned Tribeca before it, the Ascent leans into the modern Subaru values of pragmatic practicality and a learning curve as steep as playing Pong.

Click Here to Read the Review