Subaru Ascent Forum banner

Subaru symmetrical AWD vs Mitsubishi S-AWC

26K views 27 replies 10 participants last post by  JimRatliff  
#1 ·
Hello,

Just wondering if anyone own both. I’m a proud owner of both 19 Ascent and 16 Outlander. Recently tested on rain, they both behaved same. Please share your experience if any.
 
#2 ·
Mitsubishi
It is hard to find specific numbers, but, though Mitsubishi specifically states it can compete with the Subaru AWD system, in Eco mode, it is normally entirely front wheel drive and then reactive after the fact, very much like Nissan's system and much like Honda's and Kia's/Hyundai's systems.

In Auto mode, it is a normally front wheel drive system, or front biased variable torque system.

It is also a transverse mounted system.

Subaru
All Subaru AWD systems (there are currently 4 in use) are symmetrical (no torque steer/transverse mounted systems), and always all wheel drive in all conditions.

They both have a lock mode (Mitsubishi 4WD lock, Subaru X-Mode).

Full time symmetrical AWD virtually always edges out part time or heavily front biased systems.

Honestly, there's no comparison when things get messy. Any AWD Subaru easily wins.

This guy says the Subaru full time system destroys Mitubishi's "full" (but not really) time system.

Subaru wins again (against Mitsubishi and Audi Quattro) - WITH EASE:

Car Question puts many cars through this... The Mitsubishi struggles, where the Ascent managed it on ice.
(see below for the Subies easily handling this test)

Mitsubishi doesn't seem to like doing 3 wheel roller tests - that says a lot:


Compare the Outlander tests to some Forester tests...

And here's the Subies easily doing CarQuestion's tests (and ones doing as well in snow and on ice as the Mitsubishi was doing on dry pavement):
 
#4 ·
Mitsubishi
It is hard to find specific numbers, but, though Mitsubishi specifically states it can compete with the Subaru AWD system, in Eco mode, it is normally entirely front wheel drive and then reactive after the fact, very much like Nissan's system and much like Honda's and Kia's/Hyundai's systems.

In Auto mode, it is a normally front wheel drive system, or front biased variable torque system.

It is also a transverse mounted system.

Subaru
All Subaru AWD systems (there are currently 4 in use) are symmetrical (no torque steer/transverse mounted systems), and always all wheel drive in all conditions.

They both have a lock mode (Mitsubishi 4WD lock, Subaru X-Mode).

Full time symmetrical AWD virtually always edges out part time or heavily front biased systems.

Honestly, there's no comparison when things get messy. Any AWD Subaru easily wins.

This guy says the Subaru full time system destroys Mitubishi's "full" (but not really) time system.

Subaru wins again (against Mitsubishi and Audi Quattro) - WITH EASE:

Car Question puts many cars through this... The Mitsubishi struggles, where the Ascent managed it on ice.
(see below for the Subies easily handling this test)

Mitsubishi doesn't seem to like doing 3 wheel roller tests - that says a lot:


Compare the Outlander tests to some Forester tests...

And here's the Subies easily doing CarQuestion's tests (and ones doing as well in snow and on ice as the Mitsubishi was doing on dry pavement):
Man I really wish I had more confidence in Subaru’s QC on the Ascent and 2020 Outback as I’d love the advantages of the AWD drive system. It is just hard when I read people using duct tape and felt to stop rattles (https://www.ascentforums.com/threads/rattling-noises-in-cabin.2439/ ) moon roofs not closing, transmissions going out, etc...... this is not a knock, it is an expression of genuine disappointment by a would be new Subaru owner. :(
 
#3 ·
An oldie but goodie, showing this has been an ongoing thing
 
#11 ·
You have to go with what you like. It's always a crapshoot regarding how the car is going to turn out as far as qc issues go (read my posts, and you'll see exactly what I mean). But, by narrowing your choices to the T,H,S brands, you are statistically improving your chances of getting a decently assembled car, compared to, say, Fiat, Jeep, VW.

But it doesn't eliminate the possibility ( just like buying a tin can like the Dodge Journey doesn't mean it will necessarily fall apart on you after 5k miles), so in the end, decide which one you like best and go with it. You can agonize all you want about the decision as it relates to quality, but in the end, you get what you get, with whatever model you buy.
 
#12 ·
You have to go with what you like. It's always a crapshoot regarding how the car is going to turn out as far as qc issues go (read my posts, and you'll see exactly what I mean). But, by narrowing your choices to the T,H,S brands, you are statistically improving your chances of getting a decently assembled car, compared to, say, Fiat, Jeep, VW.

But it doesn't eliminate the possibility ( just like buying a tin can like the Dodge Journey doesn't mean it will necessarily fall apart on you after 5k miles), so in the end, decide which one you like best and go with it. You can agonize all you want about the decision as it relates to quality, but in the end, you get what you get, with whatever model you buy.
I am going to give the 2020 Ascent (another) and 2020 Outback a thorough test drive and inspection in January as well as the 2020 Highlander. I think you are right, I’ll be fine ultimately and perhaps I need to focus a bit more on what I like and balance that better with my OCD focus on reliability and QC. :)
 
#15 ·
I'm sure CR has plenty of data to back up their claims. Plenty of Subaru out there in the wild. I believe most Subaru owners are plenty happy with their cars and dont have the time to spend on these forums. If you noticed, alot of people here have owned previous subarus, that alone should give you you some confidence on reliability. I have an old 2004 wrx that still is running. That had a 4 cylinder turbo, which I remember you questioning the reliability of it in the ascent. It might not be the same, but I have never had an issue with it and have confidence in Subaru's ability in building a decent turbo charged engine
 
#19 ·
It does indeed seem like most of the people who post here are posting complaints. I think that's just the nature of people. Very few of us are going to randomly post "I love my car". I ordered my Ascent in February of 2018, yes 2018. I ordered it sight unseen, there were none anywhere to look at. I bought it because I have faith Subaru's ability to build a quality car. The turbo engine gives me no concerns- Subaru has been building turbo motors for years. The transmision is an unknown, but again, I believe in Subaru's ability to make good on any issues. Mine now has 12,200 miles on it with ZERO issues. I love the car, I'm glad I bought it and if it gets wrecked tomorrow I'll order another one. Having said that, it's not perfect, but neither are its competitors. For me, the choice was between a Pilot, a Highlander or the Ascent. The Pilot has trouble deciding which gear to use around 25 miles an hour, especially if you back off the throttle and then decide you need more power. So does the Ascent, but I think the Ascent manages it better. That's not a reliability issue, it's a shift logic issue, probably due to the engineers trying get it to higher gear as soon as possible for fuel economy. I also didn't care for the controls in the Pilot. After sitting in the second row seats in the highlander for 5 minutes, I realized the padding was so thin there was no way I could subject my adult friends to sit on them for any length of time. If the Ascent has the features you want, buy it. If it doesn't, then get something else. Don't get hung on what might go wrong. Every brand occasionally has issues, even Honda and Toyota. For every negative post you see here, there 20 or 30 of us who are have had no issues and are perfectly happy. I love my Ascent and I recommend it to friends without hesitation.
 
#22 ·
From the mere principle of AWD on mitsubishi and Subaru, they’re similar. If we dive in just a bit beyond the principle, the conceptual design of the two AWD platform, they’re two different animal. The Subaru AWD drive train layout is different than 90%+ cars out there, particularly the engine tranny sits longitudinally for symmetry and balance design. The simplest way to characterize the two is one is symmetrical and asymmetrical AWD, hence Subaru’s trademark
 
#23 ·
Well, and one is front wheel drive in eco mode, and highly front wheel biased in not-eco-mode.
 
#26 ·
The Ascent has more power than the Outbacks and Foresters in most of these videos. It is an absolute beast in the snow, as I know from personal experience driving on the frozen Lake Algonquin.

After this, we drove through the blizzard that hit upstate NY during MLK Weekend 2019.

I have never driven a car that's as sure footed in the snow as my Subies.






 
#25 ·
I have an outlander sport while my roof/hatch get fixed, it's kind of an endearing car ( it also exceeded my expectations by far, but they were pretty low to begin with). It handles Ok, rides nicely, is big inside relative to the exterior, has a killer stereo, and gets great gas mileage... And the cvt works like God intended it to work- rev to the power peak ( ok, power is a relative thing in this case) and stay there until you get to your desired velocity, instead of pretending to have gears. It did great in some serious mud on some challenging back roads....

Far better overall than the Dodge Journey I once had to suffer through for a few days.
 
#28 ·
OK, I feel the need to post. I've got 20k miles on my Ascent, including 7,000 in July going from New York City for a bicycle ride up and I've Vail Pass, then Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, and back through Austin, TX. Our other big trip was skiing in Utah and Colorado, and there was a lot of snow last year. The Subaru had handled everything with grace and aplomb. Gas mileage for the whole 20,000 is 25.4, and I often get 30 if I decide to use 91 octane, which I did on this last trip because of the really hot temps.

Suprisingly, my wife and I use many more of the USB outlets than we ever imagined, plugging bike computer, heart monitor helmet to helmet com, her Kindle, my phone for Android App.

Someone in retail Customer Service once told me that an upset customer Will tell 7 times as many people about a bad experience and remember it 10 times as long. That is true of bike and ski forums, I imagine it's true here as well.

Count me in the (mostly silent) happy majority.