2021 Subaru Ascent Limited Review- A Ride Big Enough For The Family & Your Pets
We’ve all seen the commercials from Subaru illustrating how much dogs love riding in any vehicle from the Subaru stable. Having spent a week with the new 2021 Subaru Ascent Limited, our family can attest that this is a perfect vehicle for people as well as puppies! After the week was over, we did comment that we should have taken a dog or two for a ride, but had not thought of it. We enjoyed the space ourselves enough that we had forgotten about or ride loving border collies: Izzy, Shep and Hudson.
There are three rows for passengers (and/or puppies) in the Ascent and the kids said the back two rows were comfortable and roomy, enough to make any road trip enjoyable with no “are we there yet” comments.
They were especially pleased with the rear climate control, a feature lacking in more than a few vehicles we test. One of the first comments they will make when there is no control is how they are either too hot or too cold and we need to roast or freeze ourselves in the front seat in able to make them comfortable in the peanut gallery.
Powerful But Still Efficient
I found the Ascent great to drive since it has 260 horses providing 277 lb.-ft of torque, more than enough to make me smile when pressing my right foot down on the accelerator when entering the freeway.
And fortunately with the rising price of gar, I won’t be spending much time at the gas pumps. This sporty SUV is economical at the pump, providing an EPA-rated fuel economy figure of 21 mpg city and 27 during highway driving equating to a 500 mile range on a tank of fuel.
Delivering on another function illustrated during commercials, the Ascent provides enough towing capacity (5,000 pounds) to be able to hit the hills and dales as one heads to their favorite camping and fishing venues far off the beaten path.
EyeSight Driver Assist technology and advanced adaptive cruise control with lane keeping assist keep are among the many features which make the Ascent (as well as all Subaru’s) one of the safest brands on the world’s roadways. The Ascent even has a lane centering feature which automatically engages to keep the vehicle from straying from its lane.
Standard Features & Safety
There are a number of features which are standard on all Ascent models, including the aforementioned tri-zone front and rear automatic climate control as well as automatic power door locks; power windows and side mirrors; multi-function display; security system with engine immobilizer; rear vision camera; two USB input ports in front section of center console; two USB charging ports in rear section of center console; raised roof rails; 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels; and 19 cupholders.
My premium model also included Blind-Spot Detection (something I definitely need) with Lane Change Assist and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert; body-color side mirrors; rear window privacy glass; an 8-way power driver seat; leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift lever handle; second-row independent Automatic Climate Control; and the All-Weather Package with heated exterior mirrors, heated front seats and windshield wiper deicer.
The Limited I tested also had LED fog lights; lower door cladding with chrome accents; body-color side mirrors with integrated turn signals; and 20-inch aluminum-alloy wheels in dark gray with machine finish.
Pricing for the 2021 Subaru Ascent starts at a very affordable $32,295 with Limited models like the one I tested still coming in at under $40K ($39,925). This is a great value in my book, even if you live in Texas rather than the Pacific Northwest, where Subaru’s seem to be the brand I have seen most often on the mountain roadways I have driven.
