Subaru Ascent

All-new SUV offers up to 8-passenger capacity

Make a sweet confection without a tasty topping, and you might lose customers. Subaru faced that dilemma and has whipped up the 2019 Ascent to top its lineup of cars and crossover SUVs.

Subaru, enjoying steady popularity, found that customers with growing families were fleeing. It had the Outback; the Forester and smaller Crosstrek crossovers; the Legacy and Impreza sedans;WRX and WRX STI sport sedans; and the BRZ sport coupe.

But none could carry more than five passengers. Customers with a couple or more kids, as much as they liked Subaru -- especially its “love” advertising -- went looking elsewhere.

Subaru tried to accommodate more passengers with its 2004 Tribeca, a seven-passenger crossover. But it was cramped, sales were lousy, and was unceremoniously dropped in 2014.

Biggest Ever

Now comes the all-new Ascent, the biggestever Subaru, with both seven- and eight-passenger configurations. More than that, however, it is stocked with inventive and imaginative features that prompted one Subaru official to describe the Ascent as the “perfect family hauler” and the top-line Touring “the kitchen sink” model.

One noteworthy item is an inside rearview mirror that, with the touch of a lever, switches from mirror mode to a rear-facing camera. That’s for when you load up the back with so much vacation stuff you can’t see out of the rear window. Like others of this kind, the camera view can confuse a viewer’s depth perception but at least it gives an unobstructed view of what’s behind.

Notables

Also noteworthy: Tri-zone climate control so even third-row passengers have air vents. Nineteen (count’em) cupholders. Eight USB charging ports so everybody can play games and write novels. Rolling 4G LTE WiFi hotspot. Reading lights for the back rows. Apple Car Play and Android Auto.Wide opening rear doors and a rear hatch opening maximized for loading large items.

Depending on the trim level — there are four — some of these items are extra-cost options. However, this review is based on the Touring “kitchen sink” model, which has a sticker of $45,670, so has all of those and more. Other trims are the base at $32,790, Premium at $35,170, and Limited at $39,970.

The base model comes equipped for eight passengers, with a second-row bench seat. Premium and Limited trims offer a choice of seven- or eight-passenger seating with no price difference. The Touring trim level comes only as a seven-passenger model with second-row captain’s chairs.

Power On Demand

Like all Subaru vehicles except for the rear-drive BRZ coupe, the Ascent has standard all-wheel drive, motivated by a horizontally-opposed 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 260 horsepower and 277 lb.-ft. of torque. Also called boxer or flat engines, they are similar to those that powered the famed Volkswagen Beetle. Subaru now is the only car company that uses boxers exclusively.

The Ascent’s continuously variable automatic transmission is one of the better units of that design, which uses belts and pulleys to multiply engine power. It exhibits none of the slipping sensation of some CVTs and the Ascent’s can be shifted with steering-wheel paddles to mimic an eight-speed automatic.

With a responsive throttle, the Ascent is never embarrassed in freeway merging or two-lane passing. It can tow a trailer weighing up to 5,000 pounds, and also has some off-road capability with 8.7 inches of ground clearance and a socalled X-drive mode that maximizes traction and includes automatic hill descent control.

Seats 7 or 8

Packaging for seven or eight people is artfully done. The second-row seats slide fore and aft to provide knee room in the third row, which can accommodate a couple of adults but is best reserved for agile youngsters.

In this age, it goes without saying that a vehicle of this stature comes with modern safety equipment, including automatic pre-collision braking, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping and trailer sway warning, and blind-sport warning.