[FoRealz]

Hey all,

Finally got to see an Ascent in person today. Unfortunately, test drives weren't allowed.

I took a bunch of pictures and included an imgur link below to the album.

As a disclaimer, I'm pretty tall 6'5" and my girlfriend is also tall 6'1"

My initial impression was positive, I felt like it was very easy getting in and out. I'm currently driving a Toyota Tacoma and felt like a very similar experience in terms of ride height and ease of entry. More impressions below.

Leg room was great in the driver's side. Unfortunately, I forgot to see if my phone fit in the little shelf spot. The hip extension piece was nice and made things comfortable. I'm sure longer drives would be great with it.

The leather and accent leather trim was so soft and comfortable. No stitching issues noticed. Very impressed by this.

I climbed under and took two pictures - I believe the one is the oil pan/drain plug (I may be wrong)

I also took a picture of the spare underneath and in the one picture you can see the clips that hold on the tow hitch cover piece. I stuck my hand up there and the spare tire definitely doesn't feel as wide as the stock tires, So I'm thinking a full size spare won't actually fit. Or if it does, it will probably hang down lower.

Next set of photos is views from the drivers seat and I did move the rearview mirror up. I am a little concerned it may still block my 1 o'clock a bit. So I may still want to look into raising the mirror higher. Other than that, visibility seemed really good.

So the next set of photos shows the captains chairs and gap in between the 3rd and 2nd row. One thing that I thought was interesting was the captains chairs didn't lock when pushed all the way forward. I'm assuming this was a design choice so that the 3rd and 2nd row didn't have an even larger gap and so the front seats don't bump.

The one picture shows my arm touching the plastic/edge when my seat is all the way back. This happened in both the front and 2nd row seats. It wasn't a huge deal as it happens in my Tacoma as well. There's still plenty of arm resting room on the leather part as well.

The next picture shows the 1st row passenger leg room. You can see on the left side that it's a bit rounded, but again not a huge deal because with the seat all the way back I can basically extend my legs completely and during a road trip I could take off my shoes.

In the second row my head touches the roof a bit on the corners where the roof curves down. If the 2nd row was tilted back, then it wouldn't matter or be an issue.

Next set of pics shows the view from the third row and my head touching the roof. Again, if tilted/reclined, it's not an issue. I'll never be sitting back there anyways...let's be real.

Next pics are the engine, me laying down. You can definitely feel the gap, so sleeping back there would require some adjustment and shoving something there.

Pic of the infotainment system and then the rear and then the gf in the drivers seat. Sound and bass was pretty solid, I'm a little jealous I couldn't order the sound system without getting the moonroof.

So overall, it was a really positive experience. I walked away feeling better about my decision. It didn't feel as massive as the Atlas I previously test driven, but it also didn't feel small or cramped either. It still feels big. And seeing it in person, it is definitely a big vehicle. The doors were lighter weight and I saw some videos where they said that was on purpose so kids could handle them. It felt like the most premium feeling Subaru my gf and I had ever been inside of. Looking forward to the test drive next. Given all the things I've heard, it's going to have enough pull and I should be very happy with the performance.

Edit: I forgot to mention that I ordered mine without a moonroof so that should gain me even more headroom.


Album link:
https://imgur.com/a/7pF6970

 

[husker_soze]

Nice photos! Not familiar with Subaru oil pans...but that does look interesting.

 

[FoRealz]

Nice photos! Not familiar with Subaru oil pans...but that does look interesting.

Thanks! Looking again, I'm thinking that's actually for the CVT and the oil pan drain plug is probably further towards the front.

 

[gobears157]

Thanks for this review! This is one of the most helpful reviews I’ve seen on this forum, and makes me really glad I got the limited trim with the option 23 (pano roof, upgraded sound, and nav that I won’t use).

If I can rep you on this site, I would. Looking forward to any additional experiences you share!

Unfortunately, none of the SF Bay Area dealers have any Ascents to check out before the actual launch.

 

[Subiesailor]

Oil pan looks to be under a shield. It’s forward of the front axles. You got the cvt?

 

[GHP1]

For folks thinking this is going to be Tahoe room they will be disappointed. Again my impressions where the second row in bench seat config did not provide any more comfort and perhaps less than a top spec Outback. That front thigh support is nice and think the next Outback could also have this

 

[jacket4256]

great pics first I have seen with the ivory on black.

 

[Burutoo]

Thanks for these pics especially from under the car. Nice to see the tranny underside and spare/clips. I always feel so awkward taking these types of pictures since we on the board are the only ones who really care about this stuff it seems. Glad you didn’t care what others thoughts to snap those shots.

 

[calimomofboys]

For folks thinking this is going to be Tahoe room they will be disappointed. Again my impressions where the second row in bench seat config did not provide any more comfort and perhaps less than a top spec Outback. That front thigh support is nice and think the next Outback could also have this

Agreed. We have had many Tahoes and almost nothing touches those in terms of spaciousness & comfort but the acceleration in the Ascent is so much better and braking is not soft like I have come to realize it is in Tahoes. I very much look forward to parking the Ascent as I have been in a Tahoe, full size pickup or minivan for the past 15 years. We chose captains chairs for the comfort aspect and those ARE comfortable, unlike a bench. Yes all day long on thigh support as a taller person. Super nice feature. If our kids were younger or we had more of them I might be tempted to suck up the gas mileage, braking and acceleration to get a Tahoe again but ours are 12 and 15 so at least one of them should be driving their own danged car in the next 5 years. In the meantime that third row is pretty comfy and will provide enough options for us for comfortable road trips. Now to figure out where the perfect pooch will fit....

 

[FoRealz]

The review embargo ends tomorrow morning and reviews will be posted. Looking forward to Redline Reviews on YouTube. He always does a solid job and recently did the Tahoe.

 

[Trey T]

I'm surprised there's no under engine cover.

Btw, you might be "pretty tall" but your gf is a giant, buddy. If you're happy overall w/ the space/seating, I'm sure many ppl will be comfortable riding in it.

 

[rhubarbsuburb]

Thanks for posting the pics. I'm getting even more secure with my decision not to order one until I've actually sat in and driven one.

I like tan interiors. Hides dirt, doesn't get too hot. These pics just confirm that even with the ivory (too light IMO, but Volvo seems to favor it too) interior, there is still an over-abundance of black surfaces. And they don't seem to look good together.

Also, the gap between the folded second and third row looks wider than some of the fissures at the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii, confirming what another member posted from what she saw at the Denver show (bench second row in her pics). I'm looking for something that offers fairly flat and continuous surface behind front seats when others are folded down. I've been excited about the 'behind first row' cargo area spec, but only if there's a relatively flat, continuous surface back there. This just doesn't look like it will offer that (not that any other 3-row seems to, either, frankly). ugh

 

[Sparkland]

The first thing Subaru is going to change on the Ascent is that ivory trim on the dash (all color interiors) and on the armrests. Those will definitely be dirt magnets.

 

[Jimmy D]

Thanks for posting the pics. I'm getting even more secure with my decision not to order one until I've actually sat in and driven one.

I like tan interiors. Hides dirt, doesn't get too hot. These pics just confirm that even with the ivory (too light IMO, but Volvo seems to favor it too) interior, there is still an over-abundance of black surfaces. And they don't seem to look good together.

Also, the gap between the folded second and third row looks wider than some of the fissures at the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii, confirming what another member posted from what she saw at the Denver show (bench second row in her pics). I'm looking for something that offers fairly flat and continuous surface behind front seats when others are folded down. I've been excited about the 'behind first row' cargo area spec, but only if there's a relatively flat, continuous surface back there. This just doesn't look like it will offer that (not that any other 3-row seems to, either, frankly). ugh

Saw a Black touring last week with the brown leather interior. It was really sharp.

 

[FoRealz]

I'm surprised there's no under engine cover.

Btw, you might be "pretty tall" but your gf is a giant, buddy. If you're happy overall w/ the space/seating, I'm sure many ppl will be comfortable riding in it.

Legs for days :smile_big:

Thanks for posting the pics. I'm getting even more secure with my decision not to order one until I've actually sat in and driven one.

I like tan interiors. Hides dirt, doesn't get too hot. These pics just confirm that even with the ivory (too light IMO, but Volvo seems to favor it too) interior, there is still an over-abundance of black surfaces. And they don't seem to look good together.

Also, the gap between the folded second and third row looks wider than some of the fissures at the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii, confirming what another member posted from what she saw at the Denver show (bench second row in her pics). I'm looking for something that offers fairly flat and continuous surface behind front seats when others are folded down. I've been excited about the 'behind first row' cargo area spec, but only if there's a relatively flat, continuous surface back there. This just doesn't look like it will offer that (not that any other 3-row seems to, either, frankly). ugh

One of the reviews I watched said the Atlas folded pretty flat. The gap is a bit annoying, but I don't think it's a deal breaker. The bench will definitely be flatter, but not as comfy as the captains chairs. The captains seem to the have the same amount of padding or close to as the front seats. I found them to be very comfortable.

I only feel like it will be an issue if you wanted to sleep in the back, but as far as cargo space, I don't think it will be an issue.

 

[Jason]

The first thing Subaru is going to change on the Ascent is that ivory trim on the dash (all color interiors) and on the armrests. Those will definitely be dirt magnets.

You'd think so, but they've had them in the outbacks for years.

 

[FoRealz]

Thanks for posting the pics. I'm getting even more secure with my decision not to order one until I've actually sat in and driven one.

I like tan interiors. Hides dirt, doesn't get too hot. These pics just confirm that even with the ivory (too light IMO, but Volvo seems to favor it too) interior, there is still an over-abundance of black surfaces. And they don't seem to look good together.

Also, the gap between the folded second and third row looks wider than some of the fissures at the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii, confirming what another member posted from what she saw at the Denver show (bench second row in her pics). I'm looking for something that offers fairly flat and continuous surface behind front seats when others are folded down. I've been excited about the 'behind first row' cargo area spec, but only if there's a relatively flat, continuous surface back there. This just doesn't look like it will offer that (not that any other 3-row seems to, either, frankly). ugh

here's the atlas point flat seat point I was referring to