2018 Subaru Ascent unveiled

The new three-row Subaru Ascent has been unveiled at the 2017 Los Angeles motor show, and serves as a replacement for the long departed Tribeca.

Riding on a 2890mm wheelbase and boasting 4350 litres of passenger volume, the new Ascent is said to be largest Subaru of all time. The Liberty, for comparison’s sake, has a wheelbase that’s a mere 2751mm.

Based on the new Subaru Global Platform, which made its debut underneath the latest Impreza range, the Ascent looks a lot like a Liberty scaled up and stretched out into crossover form.

There are three rows of seats. In its standard configuration, the Ascent can seat up to eight people, although high-spec models are available with captain’s chairs in the second row, reducing maximum capacity to seven.

For improved ingress and egress to the third row, the Ascent’s rear doors open up to 75 degrees.

The Ascent will be powered exclusively by a new 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder boxer engine. Equipped with direct injection and a twin-scroll turbo, the new motor develops 194kW of power 5600rpm, and 376Nm of torque between 2000 and 4800rpm.

To put that into perspective, the 3.6-litre six-cylinder mill in the current Liberty and Outback makes 191kW of power at 6000rpm, and 350Nm of torque at 4400rpm.

Drive is sent to all four wheels via a continuously variable transmission with paddle shifters that can access eight virtual gear ratios.

Assistance features include X-Mode low speed assistance, hill descent control, and trailer stability assist. Subaru says the Ascent has a 2.3 tonne tow capacity.

The Ascent is fitted with up to eight USB ports, a 120V power outlet, and 19 cup and bottle holders.

Standard features include roof rails, a three-zone climate control air-conditioning system air with vents for all three rows, and the company’s EyeSight safety system, which includes automated emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and head-up display.

Available features include front seats with power operation and cooling, heated front and second row seats, blind spot monitoring, lane changing assistance, steering responsive headlights, automatic high beam control, electronic rear view mirror, and a 180-degree front view monitor.

Base models come with a 6.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system, while mid- and high-spec models gain an 8.0-inch display. Depending on the trim level, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, satellite navigation, Wi-Fi hot spot, satellite radio, and a 14-speaker Harmon Kardon sound system are available.

Australia

Although the Subaru’s Australian arm has shown an interest in the Ascent crossover, the new crossover is currently only slated to be built at the company’s US plant in Indiana, with production limited, for now, to left-hand drive.

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