2018 Subaru Ascent Spied: Boxer Power with Three Rows
What It Is: Subaru has been without a three-row crossover SUV since it discontinued its ill-received Tribeca in 2014. However, the brand isn’t giving up on the segment, as seen in these spy photos. Wearing generous amounts of camouflage, Subaru’s new seven-passenger SUV appears to follow the smaller Forester’s formula for success, which marries a boxy exterior design with generous interior space. Although Subaru has not officially released a name for its new crossover, the brand formally registered the moniker Ascent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office earlier this month. Subaru also applied for trademarks on Ascent 7, Ascent Seven, Sojourn, Venterra, and Cypress, but the company did not follow through with registration of these names. Isuzu has used the name Ascender in the U.S., but no one remembers that vehicle; if there's any risk of name confusion it might be with Hyundai's subcompact Accent, which differs by only one letter.
Why It Matters: Subaru just can’t seem to lose these days. As of August 2016, the company has sold nearly 400,000 vehicles in America, a gain of more than 4 percent over the same sales period last year. This success is fueled by U.S. buyers who can’t get enough all-wheel-drive crossovers, and Subaru aims to carry that momentum into the three-row segment.
Platform: Introduced under the 2017 Subaru Impreza, Subaru’s new, scalable “Global Platform” is expected to form the foundation of the Subaru Ascent. The platform relies on high-strength steel that not only helps stiffen the chassis, Subaru says, but also improves impact-energy absorption in crashes. Plus, thanks to the mounting point for Subaru’s boxer engine, the Global Platform promises a lower center of gravity—a good thing for those looking for increased rollover resistance and dynamic ability in a mid-size crossover.
Powertrain: As a Subaru product, the Ascent is all but confirmed to come with standard all-wheel drive and a continuously variable automatic transmission. Nevertheless, the exact engine options are still unknown. Given that Subaru is using both a Ford Explorer and a Mazda CX-9 as benchmark vehicles in these spy photos—the only two nonluxury three-row crossovers currently sold with turbocharged four-cylinder engines—it seems likely that the Ascent will rely on power from a turbocharged flat-four engine, possibly the 250-hp 2.0-liter unit found in the Forester 2.0XT. We won’t be surprised if Subaru also offers the Ascent with its tried-and-true 3.6-liter flat-six engine or even a gasoline/electric hybrid drivetrain, as Subaru developed its Global Platform with such alternative powertrains in mind.
Competition:Ford Explorer, Honda Pilot, Hyundai Santa Fe, Mazda CX-9, Nissan Pathfinder.
Estimated Arrival and Price: We expect to see the Subaru Ascent debut sometime next year as a 2018 model with sales starting before the end of 2017. Pricing should be competitive with other three-row crossover SUVs, so figure on a base price in the low $30,000s and topping out just shy of $50K.
