Is color change or mostly a name for same color?
About time on TPMS... some 2008 cars a use to have been able to do it ..
and others I was able to program with no tools... Subaru was only one I had to get tools for ...
Not sure how they did seat belt for 2nd and 3rd row.. a lot of people have items or dogs...on back seat ...

 

It is a true color change. This color is darker based on the photo they put in the test.
Thats a GREAT question on the dogs in the back seat that I do not have an answer for.

 

Appreciate the insider news! Overall, not very impactful changes. I would imagine that adding LED headlights to the lower trims would result in a decent price increase..

 

I'd say it's impactful. Something other than poop brown for the touring! That was 50% of the reason why we didn't get the touring.

So did they introduce the engine stop "feature"?

 

@Shokz Thanks for the information - right on schedule as you had said also!
The big news for me, but more for my better half as she didnt like the java brown as much (more of that odd couple of pieces of ivory trim) and we already have an Outback with slate black interior is that new interior color option...

Also, you said 2 LED headlights - is that the same as the 2020 Outback?

Any infotainment update? Hope it didnt go the 2020 Outback route - i am OK with no changes here.

Like the lane centering instead of lane keep.

please do share any more as you see fit

 

@mtmra70 No word on the start stop technology. So that means most likely it will NOT be on the 2021.

@javidmajid The infotainment is staying the 8" Gen 3.1 unit and not going to the 11.6" Gen 4.0 until the remodel in 2023, but I cannot be 100% on that. The 2 LED headlights is basically making the Base and Premium the same as the Limited and Touring.

 

@javidmajid The infotainment is staying the 8" Gen 3.1 unit and not going to the 11.6" Gen 4.0 until the remodel in 2023, but I cannot be 100% on that. The 2 LED headlights is basically making the Base and Premium the same as the Limited and Touring.

Thanks - that would make sense for the headlights as the IIHS ratings were dinged because of the headlights...

 

Touring models now have an Option Package 33 which replaces the Java Brown Leather with Slate Black Leather with silver stitching. So you have a second interior color choice on the Touring.

But unfortunately no lighter color. Bummer. I really dislike when a premium trim only offers dark interiors! The Java is tolerable and similar to what I had in my previous Grand Cherokee, but... I. Do. Not. Do. Black. Interiors. Ever.

 

for some reason in Canada most auto manufactures only supply black interiors... this as you know is a total pain! In Canada it may be cold in the winter but summers are excruciatingly hot!! But because we are in Canada anyone not here assumes it's cold all the time. In the summer we roast like everyone else...

 

Come down to Phoenix in July for excruciatingly hot

The coating on my expensive Rx glasses melted because I left them in the car all day while wearing my Rx sunglasses when camping!

But yes, black leather in Phx would be bad too. I'm happy I have the gray cloth!

 

Yes LCA and black interior for touring! That's what I was waiting for. I was hoping for big touch screen with updates on 2021 Ascent but I'm ok with all the buttons since I already have 2020 Legacy. Buttons and dials are way easier to control while driving

 

Thanks OP!

 

Thank you shokz. Does that mean blue/ivory cloth on the Premium is still an option for MY21?

 

My dealer confirmed the same info. But any info about facelift or interior update? Or is that going to be MY22 or MY23?

 

Did they provide you any guidance on when they may be introduced? Any other info they gave you?

 

Would like to see them push down Lane centering to the 2019 and 2020. Seems like a minor software update and when the 2020 first came out brochures actually listed Lane Centering as a feature on the car.

 

I’d love this too, but it’ll never happen.

 

Thank You!

 

Power folding side mirrors would be a nice touch.
Top of the line 2020 Outback has them.

 

Power folding side mirrors would be a nice touch.
Top of the line 2020 Outback has them.

Comes on the 2020 Ascent Touring as well.

 

^^ Yep, they built their whole platform around that. Not so with the other manufacturers. Most we get OTA is maps n bug fixes for the headunits. I wish we got ECU flashes/recalls/TCM reflashes etc OTA. We discussed all that in a thread a while back.

 

I, also, would like to see a software/firmware change to provide lane centering in the 2019's

 

Me too. It’ll never happen.
Us MY19 & MY20 owners are stuck with LKA. I knew this before I bought my MY20 that the MY21s would be getting the better LKA/LC.

 

Any idea if the Touring level will have the 8-seat option? Why do they hold that back at the high end??

 

Probably for the same reason you have to buy the highest trim Honda Pilot to get the 7-seat option in that model. I think they probably figure that folks looking to maximize passenger capacity are not going to buy the highest trim...and those buying the highest trim aren't looking to maximize passenger capacity.

It can be frustrating for sure but is, ironically, why we bought an Ascent. We wanted an EX-L trim Pilot to avoid the weird 9-speed transmission, but Honda offers the 7-seat configuration only in the Elite, which comes with stuff we didn't want and stickers at over $50k with AWD. So we came over to Subaru where you can get the 7-seat configuration in all but the base trim.

 

High Beam Assist on all trims is a big deal and a great change considering it is affects the safety rating. And also on my 2019 Premium trim that doesn't have high beam assist, my Insurance carrier withheld a discount that I would have gotten if I had that high beam assist.

 

I am very surprised that this feature would have any impact on insurance rates. I believe you, but I do not see why that should be the case. I love this feature (never a miss) on my Limited and last evening I commented just that to my 17 year old son. That being the case, it has never been difficult to turn the high beams on/off manually. Insurance discounts are somewhat fungible. The companies have a maximum amount to discount and they simply break it down to categories for marketing. My son took a winter ice driving class to avoid uncontrolled skidding but we are already at the maximum discount level for our auto insurance.

Auto insurance discounts guide for 2025 | Insurance.com

Auto insurance discounts like good driver - up to 30%, bundling - up to 14% and group membership - up to 20% can save you a lot of money on car insurance.

www.insurance.com

 

With Subaru being a leader in value and safety, I always felt that they should of had the HBA, turn-responsive LED headlights as STANDARD equipment across ALL trims...and all Subaru models too. At a minimum, they could of made it an option for the base and premium models. Who wouldn't want to have a safety feature like that? I told Subaru that in more than one of the owner surveys they sent out. We love the HBA turn-responsive LED headlights in our Touring and I'm happy that all future Ascent owners will not have to make a choice to get the best lights for the Ascent.

 

I'm surprised that when asked about any news regarding the 2021 Ascent updates/ changes, my local dealers have denied knowing about any updates. I suspect it's their card to sell the 2020's.

 

It's possible they don't have final notes on changes yet. My dealer gave me a copy of a "sell sheet" for the 2020 Ascent when we were shopping (that showed the upgrades on the Touring vs. the Limited, and the changes to the Touring in 2020) and the date on the bottom was something like May 24, 2019. I would expect this date to be somewhat consistent year-to-year -- that is, dealers probably get final sell sheets and other materials in mid-to-late May in preparation for the inbound new models whenever they do arrive in August or September.

Any consistency to that schedule is certainly subject to change in the current operating environment.

 

Dealers are not going to highlight coming attractions for the most part and honestly, many don't even pay attention to things even behind the scenes. They are not going to see 2021 vehicles for quite a while yet, either.

 

That's been my experience too. When I go to look at a new vehicle, I just about always find I already know way more about it than the sales guy. When I got my Ascent in Aug '19, over year after they had been on the market, nobody at the dealership knew or believed the factory hitch was 2", not the sales guys or manager, not the service writers, not the parts department. They insisted up and down that Subaru only does 1 1/4" hitches, period. I had to get them pull one from inventory, open the box, and look at it. And this was a pretty big dealer in a metro area.

As far as new model info, maufactures will often put an embargo on information on new models. I know that was true in the businesses I was in. We'd send out the info and materials but give a specific date when the recipients were allowed to go public with it.

 

I think my sales guy (Brian Goon at @Liberty Subaru) was as excited about my purchase as me... and since it was a pre-order from pre-day-one (he and I started working on my order a week before pre-orders actually opened), the accessories list hadn't even finalized and kept changing - and he kept me right up to date on all of it. Seriously, I have the three dozen emails to prove it - and there were also multiple phone calls back and forth.

To this day, new or old model year, he's just as excited and knowledgeable. My friend, Dan Meola, one of their Sales Managers, is no different.

My Ascent was the THIRD Ascent off their lot (and the first beat me by hours, because I was stuck at work), and yet, he took an hour to do a full walk around and sit-inside to explain every single button and knob. We probably would have been there longer, but I had him do the abridged explanations of some of it, because I of course had already been reading the manuals.

So, in a few hours of the first production Ascent leaving their lot, he was already knowledgeably spend hours explaining every single feature from having learned it all, long before that first Ascent (or my #3) left their lot.

Oh, and, it's a dealership that's NOT in a Love Encore region, meaning, they just do this because it's what they do.

They've treated me like this since Day One in March 2013. They are literally one of the reasons why I decided to volunteer to become a Subaru Ambassador in 2016.

I'm hoping more dealerships follow suit with choosing such enthusiastic salespeople. Everyone deserves that type of experience.

Here's my 2019 Subaru Ascent Touring Magnetite Grey Metallic at the 7.0 mile mark on Liberty Subaru's front lawn for a photo op... this was technically its first "off-roading" trip, lol!!!

 

Good morning all,

Subaru released to us the training for the 2021 Ascent this morning. In it are all the updates to the 2021 model coming later this year.

Tungsten has been eliminated as a color choice, being replaced on Premium, Limited and Touring models with Brilliant Bronze Metallic.
2 LED Headlights with High Beam Assist and Steering Responsive are now standard on ALL trims.
Adaptive Cruise Control is now advanced with Lane Centering Assist instead of Lane Keep Assist of the 19 and 20 models.
All models now have new Self Registering TPMS sensors, which means no need to go to the dealer to have them serviced when tires are replaced.
Touring models now have an Option Package 33 which replaces the Java Brown Leather with Slate Black Leather with silver stitching. So you have a second interior color choice on the Touring.
All seats in the vehicle (including for the first time second and third row) have seat belt reminders which will chime and visually alert the driver to any unbelted passengers.

Pricing changes have not been announced nor has a release date.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

 

Ok, I have a serious question, at least for me!!!! My 2020 Outback XT Touring has that damn active fuel management system while my wife's 2020 Ascent Touring model does not. I know, I can turn it off every time I start the car, but it takes 3 maneuvers to complete the process. A separate visible switch would make me happier, however I am planning on the 2021 Touring Ascent unless it has the same active Fuel management system as the Outback. In which case, I'll go with a 2020 Ascent.

 

I never heard of any owner who likes that fuel management system. Maybe our future will see its demise.