Kia Telluride or Subaru Ascent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Subarus were great in the 90s. You still see a lot of those outback’s and foresters on the roads today. It’s the 2004-2020 ones that are a disaster. I’ve had 3 of them and they all had issues. Lemoning the last one. It’s Honda, Toyota and Nissan for me from now on. Especially since their awd systems have caught up to suby. The outback is still enticing since it’s a unique vehicle and might be worth the risk. But I would never buy an ascent over a pathfinder, Highlander, or pilot.

The really haven't.

They’re closer. I had a 2014 pathfinder and it would wait for the front axle to slip before engaging the rear. Total nightmare in snow and ice. My buddy drives his 2018 rogue through snow all the time. Plus, Subaru has gone away from the 50/50 split to a system that is not closer to 70/30 in the name of fuel economy. I’ve been a Subaru fanboy my whole life. I’ve had 5. I would not buy one made between 2010 and 2020 and would have to do a ton of research before buying a 2021 and newer. Suby has lost its mojo.

You know what happened to them? They put their engineering budget into marketing, and started cutting corners with crappy steels in their components like the internals of the transmissions, to further free up cash for making insufferable, feel-good, warm fuzzy commercials to hock their now-POS cars on unsuspecting saps like me and my H, who bought into all that bullsh!t. So for them, it paid off in the short term -they greatly increased their market share in the last 15 years. But they’ve screwed themselves long term, because we’ll never buy another one.

[Anonymous]

I would test drive. I rode in one recently and didn't feel safe... the ride didn't feel very solid when it was going around turns. It felt like a 90s Ford Explorer, if that makes sense.

I would look into the Telluride's recall history.

In terms of safety, you can't beat a Subaru. I guess it comes to your priorities. What about a Highlander? The Ascent is supposed to compete with the Highlander.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a telluride and we love it. Good looking, comfortable and so far (50k) very reliable.

+2

My company has a Highlander which is not nearly as nice.

Have a 2023 Telluride with about 35k miles and love it.

[Anonymous]

I’ve been a Subaru fanboy my whole life. I’ve had 5. I would not buy one made between 2010 and 2020

DW has a 2018 Legacy that has been fine.

Last year I bought a 2017 Outback that now has 130K on it. It's been fine.

I may be wrong but I don't think it's every model and year during the decade that have been bad. But I have heard there were a lot of duds.

[Anonymous]

Telluride is about 20K more. I was already a Subaru owner when we decided Ascent vs Telluride. What tipped it for me was the fact that Kia will often abandon brands and the parts for them. I own cars for a long time so want parts available.

[Anonymous]

I happily own a Subaru Outback but I don't think I would buy the Ascent if I was in the market for a three row. It looks like an overgrown Outback and has the same engine as the Outback XT but weighs nearly 1000 more pounds....thus it's an underpowered vehicle.

The vehicle is a design afterthought for Subaru; it was simply a cash grab to prevent existing Subaru customers from defecting to other brands to get a 3-row. It's built entirely on Subaru's universal chassis for the Outback and Forester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I’ve been a Subaru fanboy my whole life. I’ve had 5. I would not buy one made between 2010 and 2020

DW has a 2018 Legacy that has been fine.

Last year I bought a 2017 Outback that now has 130K on it. It's been fine.

I may be wrong but I don't think it's every model and year during the decade that have been bad. But I have heard there were a lot of duds.

I have a recent-ish Outback and my son has my old one from the early teens. They've both been fine, but I have a Samsung refrigerator that's been fine, too, so I may be an outlier in these things. (I used to be an outlier in the other direction and was pretty much hexed in my Toyota & Volvo days.)

But according to Consumer Reports, the Ascent has mediocre reliability, so sure, drive one. If you really love it, consider it. But go in with your eyes open.

[Anonymous]

If you are open to Kia, what about Hyundai Santa Fe? The new ones are very roomy and very high tech inside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are open to Kia, what about Hyundai Santa Fe? The new ones are very roomy and very high tech inside.

The new ones aren't plug in yet. I love mine and it's almost too hitech, but no plug in

[Anonymous]

Agree with the no plug in, but I don’t think OP was even looking at hybrids for the two models. The hybrid Santa Fe would be a good alternative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I’ve been a Subaru fanboy my whole life. I’ve had 5. I would not buy one made between 2010 and 2020

DW has a 2018 Legacy that has been fine.

Last year I bought a 2017 Outback that now has 130K on it. It's been fine.

I may be wrong but I don't think it's every model and year during the decade that have been bad. But I have heard there were a lot of duds.

I have a 2010 and a 2015 outback and they are both going strong. 220,000 some miles on the 2010.

I have a number of friends and family who have Subarus and they all seem pretty happy with them. Sure, there might be the occasional lemon, but they are unusual. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another Subaru- in fact, we are also looking at the electric crosstrek.

[Anonymous]

Friend bought an Ascent, turned out to be a lemon. Switched it out for an outback, had no issues.

[Anonymous]

Both Ascent and Telluride are LOOOOONG overdue for a redesign. I wouldn't buy either.

[Anonymous]

My Ascent a gas guzzler and has some odd issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a telluride and we love it. Good looking, comfortable and so far (50k) very reliable.

+2

My company has a Highlander which is not nearly as nice.

Have a 2023 Telluride with about 35k miles and love it.

I don’t doubt that the Telluride is a nice car. While the Highlander might not be as nice, they are nice enough and if I were betting on which car makes it to 200k miles with the least amount of mechanical issues, my money is on the Highlander. We hold onto cars forever, which is why I would lean to the Toyota. I do think the Telluride looks sharp and I’ve heard lots of good things about it.