Why does the Ascent mileage suck? (Is it that bad?)

We get 18-20 around town….25+ on road trips.
Am I “happy” about this fuel economy?
Not really.
Is it expected for a 4500 lb 3 row SUV?
Absolutely.

Thanks!
Well, we get 25 in our 2018 Highlander…and I think that is good for the size, and good for the ascent.
So I’d be happy with that….happier if gas was back to $2/gallon since we drive 30,000 miles a year (8 hours a day)

So far ours has been flawless, decent mileage too. I wish more people would report their mileage on fuelly (in my signature) because so far ours is the only 23.

2020sportbuyer said:

We are this/close to buying an ascent using the loyalty discount (2020 sport) but reading over all of the problems here and negative posts….wow, I am wondering if this is the correct move.

Thanks!

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PS….what do you mean “2020 sport”?

With 12K on the odo, I'm seeing 20ish in town, 26-28 highway. Keep in mind this is a ~2.5-ton AWD SUV with the aero of a brick and a turbo engine. I did a lot of research prior to purchase, and the MPG is on par with other similar-sized SUVs. You can't defy the laws of physics, it takes energy (fuel) to move this mass. Driving style makes a big difference, a lot of idling and warmup time kills the avg MPGs......there are no "miles" in the MPG equation when idling. If you are heavy footed and find yourself constantly in the "Turbo Zone", the MPGs will drop like a rock.

No hood shake on my 2022, and no issues other than the heater bolt ground recall (inspected and no problem). The OEM crap battery was replaced at no charge with the upgraded EFB-style battery. Not one hiccup in 12K miles.

Instead of worrying about forum complaints and anecdotes, you can look to real world data tracked by Ascent owners. Browse by model year or other factors to see the ranges of experience people are having.

I can think of 4,500 reasons why it isn't getting the gas mileage you'd expect.

And TBH…..my 2005 Outback doesn’t do much better. At least for hwy

We love our Ascent, which we've had for 2 years. No problems at all. Our stop and go, around town mileage isn't that great, but our highway mileage is better than I expected. And it's a beast in the snow, and the turbo, though it gobbles gas, is super fun when you want to go "Zoom!"

Daniel Acosta said:

So far ours has been flawless, decent mileage too. I wish more people would report their mileage on fuelly (in my signature) because so far ours is the only 23.

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How are you getting that 23 mpg (that's amazing)? I use Fulley, I've filled up 14 times (since new) and I've gotten an average of 18 mpg between combined. City driving I'm only getting 14 mpg.

Either you guys driving like granny or I have a lead foot. lol

Lots of existing discussion on this that you'll want to read. Some folks do get pretty pitiful fuel economy with the Ascent, especially for stop and go/urban use. Many of us get decent fuel economy. I'm perfectly happy with the 18+ MPH I get in general around town driving and the nearly 27 MPG I average for highway travel. And it's been that way since the beginning not quite four years ago. Yes, I do actually have a light foot and don't wear out brakes quickly, either. Considering I was getting 14-16 locally (depending on the season) with the V8 equipped Grand Cherokee I previously owned...I'm very happy with the Ascent.

I haven't had mine long, 21' Premium. No hood shake, everything is solid. Though, I'm real light footed and pretty much all highway driving (I live on one of them highway turnouts), put a little over 4k miles on mine within the last month. Haven't gotten any better than 23mpg. That's with cruise control on, all highway at 70mph. I towed a 3800lb trailer from Washington to Vegas and back, averaged 11.5mpg towing at 55-60mph - so I suppose that's pretty good for what it is...

So far, can't beat the Ascent if you're looking for a big suv that doesn't break the bank. We tote 3 kids and 3 dogs around with a trailer, my next choice in vehicle would be a Suburban with the 3l duramax but that's more than 2-3 times the cost of an Ascent!

@2020sportbuyer Buy the Ascent. You will be happy you did. My driving consists of a super-short 3-mile commute to work (11.5mpg) and 2,625-mile road trips (26mpg). I'm happy with the mileage. The Ascent is spacious for passengers and has great cargo capacity. Best of all, it offers A LOT of value compared against others. I've been longing for a Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe and was completely turned off by the lack of features on such an expensive vehicle; here in Canada, a GC with equivalent features is nearly double a fully-loaded Ascent. My Ascent has been flawless with 30,000 miles, not one trip to the dealer for warranty.

Another plus: we don't see as many Ascents on a road trip compared to Highlanders which makes the Ascent feel special.

I think the ascent mpg is the worst compared to the highlander- pilot- atlas- traverse and explorer 4 turbo. The mpg depends so much on where you’re driving, the pedal input and road elevation. Right now with my 2019 ascent I’m getting an average of 18 mpg with mixed driving. With regards to trip to the dealership, I had only one issue and that is the amplifier replacement. I have still the oem battery, brake pads with 40k miles on it. The only reason why at some point I need to let go my ascent is probably the cvt transmission or when I take possession of the elon musk truck. Hopefully, I can still drive this car until 100k miles.

one thing i notice with ours is that the cooling system cools the engine way too much to the point where you cant stay at operating temps that long, which is bad for mpg especially during cold winter times. the coolant temp gauge drops down as soon as you start to coast at hiway speeds or come to a stop and idle.

poj said:

one thing i notice with ours is that the cooling system cools the engine way too much to the point where you cant stay at operating temps that long, which is bad for mpg especially during cold winter times. the coolant temp gauge drops down as soon as you start to coast at hiway speeds or come to a stop and idle.

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Have you had that checked? Because mine's temp stays absolutely rock steady all the time, whether idling, coasting downhill, or whatever. Maybe something's wrong with yours that needs to be fixed, although maybe others have the same issue?

Highlander hybrid, Grand Highlander hybrid, or the CX-90 will be the only options if you want to significantly increase your fuel economy in the class as a deciding factor for purchase. My area of disappoint (still) is the CVT/engine combo, which you can find many examples of on this forum.

poj said:

one thing i notice with ours is that the cooling system cools the engine way too much to the point where you cant stay at operating temps that long, which is bad for mpg especially during cold winter times. the coolant temp gauge drops down as soon as you start to coast at hiway speeds or come to a stop and idle.

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My gauge stays in the middle at all times.