I've had my Ascent since the end of October. I special ordered it and love it. I owned a 2009 Forester before that so I generally like the way Subaru's handle and drive. I haven't really had any issues with the vehicle and new technology is really nice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any Subaru with a CVT made since 2011 is garbage. We had an Outback and the transmission failed at 96,000 miles. We have a Crosstrek, and transmission is about to fail at 101,000 miles. Right after the warranty expires. We’ll never own another one, they’re crap.

Gonna go for poor driving skills for $100, Alex. Never had issues with the transmission

Not the PP but google "Subaru CVT transmission failure". It is a known defect with Subarus.

We avoided the Ascent when we just purchased a 3rd row SUV. We had a Forester and realized it was on the lower side quality wise, and we also feared the transmission issues mentioned above. We didn't want to risk that the Ascent would have these same issues or possibly others.

We went for a Pilot and love it. I do think the Ascent looks nice, we were just turned off from our previous experience. We have friends who just got an Ascent and they are happy with it. Buy the car you are comfortable with.

Subaru had a transmission issue on some 2011 and later outback models. They extended the warranty out on these.

Anonymous wrote:Any Subaru with a CVT made since 2011 is garbage. We had an Outback and the transmission failed at 96,000 miles. We have a Crosstrek, and transmission is about to fail at 101,000 miles. Right after the warranty expires. We’ll never own another one, they’re crap.

Gonna go for poor driving skills for $100, Alex. Never had issues with the transmission

Anonymous wrote:It’s underpowered. I’ve driven one, ok? No amount of people saying “it’s faster than my _________” is going to make me believe otherwise, because the lack of power was what convinced me NOT to buy one. If you’re comparing it to a Forester (also underpowered, I own one) than that’s a lousy benchmark.

Compare it to a Tahoe with a 5.3, 5.7 or 6.0L, a Grand Cherokee 5.9, aSequoia 4.7 or 5.7. Or virtually any quad cab V8 pick up truck. Then you’ll understand what actual power/torque feels like.

I’m puzzled why people even argue this. A 2.7L four cylinder mass production street engine is NEVER going to have as much torque as a medium-to-large V8. It’s just not. So why pretend it does?

Are you feeling inadequate because you know it’s slow? Who cares? It’s not a race car, what difference does it make? Just admit it’s underpowered and stop with the nonsense.

I believe this PP! My outback is grossly underpowered and I have the biggest engine/hp/torque model. I have a hard time merging into rush hour traffic sometimes. While I like Subaru, my next car won’t be a Subaru since I need to merge quickly.

Any Subaru with a CVT made since 2011 is garbage. We had an Outback and the transmission failed at 96,000 miles. We have a Crosstrek, and transmission is about to fail at 101,000 miles. Right after the warranty expires. We’ll never own another one, they’re crap.

NP. We test drove 2019 Ascent and Forester last week and end up buying the later. While the Ascent has the 3rd row seats, but it seemed a bit cramped as compared to other cars in the same class. We are a small family so Forester works for us. I noticed that the newly designed Forester is 5 inches wider than the 2018 models. The front cabin seemed almost as big as the Ascent. For this reason plus lower gas mileage and difference of $10k, Forester is right for us.

Anonymous wrote:Do you work for Subaru? Is that what this is?

You were honestly trying to compare a Subaru ascent with a V8 pickup in terms of utility and work qualities. Come on man, are you on the spectrum or something?

Someone buying an ascent is going to be in a different consumer demographic than someone considering a tundra or F150

Anonymous wrote:Do you work for Subaru? Is that what this is?

Pp 6:55, 12:17, 19:46. Op asked for people that own one, I do. I don’t work for Subaru, but our first forester saved our lives when we were hit by an RV, launched off the highway, and rolled 3-4 times, and we all walked away - so I am somewhat partial and appreciate their attention to sight and safety. We needed a third row suv when the ascent was coming out - it had what we liked from the forester - large windows, good visibility, plus a lot of improvements that set it apart from the competition. When they brought them around the dealerships for show and ride along we were surprised how much more refined they were than the forester and decided to wait. I have borrowed a new highlander and didn’t really care for it, and was not impressed by the pilot during test drives. It was a pretty easy decision for us once they got them in the dealerships for test drives.

We have a V8 4Runner and used to have a V8 Jeep. I love the 4Runner and the ascent drives better, in my opinion. The V8 Jeep sucked, it didn’t drive well, had a myriad of problems, struggled uphill, and I couldn’t wait to be rid of it - a pox on anyone that recommends a Jeep to anyone.

I find it odd that the gripe is that it is underpowered compared to much larger suvs - everything in that midsize class is. The ascent isn’t underpowered compared to the highlander or the pilot. If you are in the market for a midsize suv the ascent is a great option (consumer reports agrees, which carries more weight than my anonymous opinion). If you need something the size of a suburban or need to haul a space shuttle, it’s not for you - but neither are any of the other midsize suvs.

Do you work for Subaru? Is that what this is?