Used 2019 Subaru Ascent SUV Consumer Reviews
Used Ascent for sale
Very Disappointed!
DisAscO, 09/20/2019
2019 Subaru Ascent Premium 4dr SUV AWD w/7-Passenger Convenience Pkg (2.4L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
17 of 17 people found this review helpful
We were very excited top purchase a New Ascent for reliability & safety. Less then 5,000 miles, when driving at moderate speeds & at highway speeds we've repeatedly heard a brief screeching noise coupled with a vehicle pause & then lunge forward. The Transmission is flawed! Back to dealer & we were unable to reproduce the problem; the dealer service checked & performed a programming software upgrade they said may solve the problem. It did not & we're experiencing the same Transmission issue. Also our driving is not challenging for a vehicle; no fast starts & stops, and although we have the tow package we have towed nothing to date. No acknowledgement from dealer that the Ascent has reported Transmission issues, however we've heard from other owners whose dealer has clearly agreed that there is an issue. All else really doesn't matter much if the transmission is flawed and IT IS. Do NOT purchase an Ascent until Subaru has corrected the Transmission problems. We had another problem that the dealer addressed; but things aren't going to be perfect & that's fine, but a flawed transmission is unacceptable.
Potential buyers Edmunds review is spot on - read
Radman8, 07/11/2019
updated 07/12/2021
2019 Subaru Ascent Limited 4dr SUV AWD w/7-Passenger Technology Pkg (2.4L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
17 of 17 people found this review helpful
The Edmunds review and ratings in the numerous categories are very accurate. Read them carefully before you buy. The CVT is terrible. Can shift hard, hesitate, and whine. The cabin noise from road bumps is terrible. If you test drive one take it on a bumpy patched road if possible. Engine noise especially during acceleration can be loud.Subaru brags about the 19 cup holders but the two in the front console are very limited in what size cup they can hold. Front seat is uncomfortable. Make sure you really test it. If do an outdoor activity that requires you to leave a door or the rare hatch open forget this car. Numerous reports of people having the battery drain when the hatch is left open because it keeps things such as the computer system on w no way of shutting it off. Try it look at the dash w car off and hatch open. You will see the system is still on. This car does have great technology, room, and some other nice features. Just really test it before you buy it.
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2019 Subaru Ascent for sale near you
Showing 3 of 56 listings
- Touring 4dr SUV w/7-PassengerMSRP: $17,29174 mi away
- Premium 4dr SUV w/8-PassengerMSRP: $15,995In-stock online
- Limited 4dr SUV w/8-PassengerMSRP: $15,58074 mi away
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OK, not great
BlueGreen, 03/29/2019
updated 04/17/2020
2019 Subaru Ascent Touring 4dr SUV AWD w/7-Passenger (2.4L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
48 of 51 people found this review helpful
I really wanted to like this car. It has decent features, it roomy, and looks anonymous but attractive at the same time. Like many SUV's in this segment, it offers a lot of safety and features for the price, and is like a Honda in that it doesn't appear to be large on the outside, but it's really roomy on the inside. Three 10 year olds fit comfortably in the third row. It has decent power, it handles acceptably well, and is quiet when traveling at a steady rate of speed ( but is noisy under any type of acceleration), and besides the terrible MPG, it is a great highway cruiser. Around town, the CVT is fine, you wouldn't notice the difference from a geared transmission. Lane keep and adaptive cruise work well. Front seats are hard, but that's fine for me, and on the Touring at least, there is a thigh extender to make the seat more comfortable. Materials are good, not great quality, the feeling is more durable than lux in my opinion. Visibility and low speed maneuverability are excellent. Instrumentation and controls are functional, but not fancy or attractive in their layout, but most things are easy to access/figure out. The things that are not so great- gas mileage, still only at 16.7 mpg at 3000 mostly easy miles, although we did once get 23mpg on a highway trip traveling slightly downhill at 67mph with the CC on). At idle, the engine is buzzier and more coarse than some diesels I have been in. Engine is loud under anything more than moderate acceleration. CVT gets flummoxed under medium to hard acceleration. When cold, the CVT tends to buck at low speeds until the car warms up ( this is apparently a common issue). The high end HK stereo sounds like an AM radio with most music (not all, but most). Controls have a plasticky feel to them ( although the layout of controls, as mentioned above, is generally very good) . Seat coolers are loud. Had an exterior trim piece work loose at 1200 miles!! The front suspension sounds like it's going to break when going over moderate to severe bumps (but the impacts are well dampened). There is no retained power for moonroof or windows when you turn the car off, and the sunroof only closes to tilt when you try to close it, you have to hit the button a second time to shut it completely. We, at the last minute, chose the Ascent over several competitors we liked slightly better, thinking it was the practical choice/compromise (vs the Atlas- cheap interior and reliability, CX9- smaller but gorgeous interior and fantastic handling, Traverse- nice but AWD is no longer automatic, and handling issues), and because we got a loaded Touring with tons of extras for $41.5k, but if we had to do it over, we'd go with the Mazda ( we are considering taking the hit and trading for one). We are not becoming part of the cult of Subaru, at least not with this purchase. Update 15 Apr 2020, 16 months and 12000 Mi...... We all still pretty much feel the same way about the car. The good news is that for the past 4 months I haven't had any major problems with the car, which is the longest stretch I've ever gone. But of course we have three cars, and I haven't used the Ascent in a month given the stay-at-home recommendations due -to cv-19. The mileage crept up to about 18 MPG overall at one point, but has dropped back down to mid-low 17's, and that is with a very light foot. I did get a Best highway mileage of over 25 round trip once after a transmission recall update was performed, but since dropped back to low 20s on the highway. We actually bought a high performance European SUV to drive for fun when we don't need the three rows of the Ascent, because it was just such a bore to drive, and oddly enough it gets considerably better mileage than the Ascent, despite the fact we get on that one when we drive it. Now, with competitors like the telluride, palisade, and some recently updated models, you would do well to test all the options. There's nothing really wrong with the car itself, we just had a whole bunch of issues with ours, the mileage was and is subpar, and it just isn't fun to drive, but it is comfortable. Even after the update, it still seems like the engine and cvt don't communicate well with each other. Ride and handling is fine for loping around town and highway, and even having come from a turbo V8 SUV, the ascent has plenty of power even with four or five passengers. Even with a two-hour extended test drive before we purchased it, these are things you won't know until you had the car longer than that. I still have a hard time recommending the car to anybody but the most die-hard Subaru loyalist. We usually keep our cars 4 or 5 yrs. Depending on what kind of deals we can get once these stay-at-home recommendations are over, we may look to replace the Ascent much sooner than that.
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Troubled future for the ascent
Travis, 03/07/2019
2019 Subaru Ascent Premium 4dr SUV AWD w/7-Passenger Convenience Pkg (2.4L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
37 of 39 people found this review helpful
The SUV runs great and has the power but lacks safety from my personal experience. I purchased my car in August of 2018 and have been to the dealer services 6 times for safety issues. I have had the rear hatch come open while driving on the interstate, the differential fluid go bad after 2500 miles on a brand new car and the front axel locked up while I was driving. The dealerships lack the knowledge to work on the car and want you to pay for most of the issues when the car is covered under there extend warranty. I’ve went back for the same issues multiple times but the issues are still present. The dealers always try to take short cuts when conducting services.
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This sucks
Amy , 10/17/2019
2019 Subaru Ascent Touring 4dr SUV AWD w/7-Passenger (2.4L 4cyl Turbo CVT)
16 of 16 people found this review helpful
This is our first Subaru purchase and my biggest regret is we didn't purchase a Honda. The vehicle started having transmission problems after a few months. I took it in twice-only to be turned away with the dealership saying nothing was wrong. I finally recorded it and told them I didn't want the vehicle back until it was fixed. So they did. Finally admitting there was a problem with the transmission and replaced it. Well, here we are a month later and the new transmission is having problems and I have an appointment to take it in. Purchasing a brand new vehicle for over $40k-there should be no issues! This sucks and I want a refund so I can go purchase another Honda!!!
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