2019 Subaru Ascent Mid-sized SUV - True 3-row vehicle

So who's buying one already?

We'll likely order one this fall. Dealer is already sold out of their 42 allocated.

SBT - how about those pics from 3/22 Atlanta AS?

Even phone camera craptastic or 800x600 resized images will do.

 

BTW NYIAS is not that amazing, its fairly meh... and has been for about 15 years now. As much a function of the times as of what the industry is selling.

Can you expand on this? My wife is leaning towards the Pilot, and beyond it's utterly bland looks I don't really have a lot to say against it. The interior doesn't seem that great for the price. But otherwise seems pretty decent.

 

It also has a version of SHAWD that is supposedly pretty good and has a decent amount of interior space for it's size.

 

Electronics are finicky. Engine is DI - so waiting to see on carbon issues. The AWD is lousy in comparison to my Outback. Xmode was okay but you can’t go fast or it turns off. Honda Transmissions have had some issues. There is a slew of TSB and recalls all over already.

Everything that Pilot said. I thought the interior was totally bland (same for MDX), the vehicle seemed ponderous and heavy, and it was a TVM V6 setup so knew that MPGs were going to suck while loaded/towing. SHAWD is electronically dependent, and you lose that electrical feed at the rear diff and you're boned. Overly complex IMHO.

Pics such as they are, are uploaded...several were corrupted

That's lousy.

 

Also, I don't find the seats comfortable in the Pilot in the front. The second and third row are actually nice. Not as nice as they would be with ventilated, but still decent.

 

I also am starting to hate the whole rear power lift gate thing. I know this is where the industry is headed, but it was never "inconvenient" to me to shut the rear hatch. I could see added convenience of it linked to a button on my fob if I had my hands full, but you're not supposed to manually close the Outback (and in this case, Honda) rear hatch.

 

Furthermore, there is a lot of talk on the 9-speed transmission on the Piloteers forum because it spends more time looking for a gear than actually staying in it. The 9 is available on the Elite or Touring trims. The EX-L we have (and everything below it) has the 6-speed transmission. I don't mind the 6AT, it's pretty quiet, but I don't have paddleshifters, so there's no way to control the torque unless I either set it in Overdrive Off (which makes it a 5AT) or Low (which I have no idea wtf the limits of that are). I really missed my Sport# and Sport mode here...

 

You never know how much you miss the little things until they're gone.

 

That being said, I'm confident that the head gaskets won't blow on the Honda (3.5 V6 EarthDreams DI engine), but I'm sure there are a hundred other little electronicy things that are going to drive me nuts. The most prevalent right now is the fact that intermittently (my favorite issues to troubleshoot) the presets on the bottom of the radio are blank. They're there if you touch them, but they're literally blank, so if you don't know what tab you saved them on, it's a guessing game.

 

Also not a fan of the way they have their infotainment system. Very cluttered, not intuitive. And, anytime you're within 15% of the oil change interval, which I think has been around 6000 miles for us - so around 900 miles or so - there's a super bright orange informational LED that illuminates forever, with a chime that sounds every couple of minutes, to notify you you're within about 3 weeks of your oil change due date. And no way to squelch either of them. And you have to use the up/down arrows to pan through the informational screen to find actual useful info, like distance to empty, or digital MPH readout, or tire pressure.

 

Shoot me now. I'm glad I'm not the daily driver of that thing.

 

Again, I would probably go for a Highlander if I had to do it all again (two years ago - waiting for an Ascent wasn't exactly a viable option), but I'll obviously be pushing exceptionally hard for an Ascent to get us back to an all-Subie family when she decides she's had enough of the Pilot too. It's tough to say that you can't wait to be done with a 40,000+ dollar SUV, but I really won't miss that thing a bit. The Misses actually suggested that I get an Ascent for my next ride to replace my Outback and that way when hers gets older she can just take my Ascent and I'd get something new, but I'm pretty adamant on getting one of the last 3.6's. Good thing I didn't get a Baja years ago :D (If I could go back that far ago, we're talking almost 20 years, that car always had that cool factor to it...)

Edited March 27, 2018 by Pilot1226

you never know how much you miss the little things until they're gone.

 

 

+1000.

That's lousy.

 

 

now you are going to have to take the ferry over the hudson to look at it yourself.

 

and then the 2019 forester,....and the newly revealed rav4,....

 

bring a screw driver and pry off the backing plate on the bumper to reveal where the Ascent tow hitch goes,

 

 

 

NYPD cops with personal boats probably just smile and say they were wondering the same thing and chastise the subaru reps for keeping it a "secret"

Nah. Honda's ATs are crap. Pretty much every AT Honda/Acura owner I know have had issues with tranny.

Our 2014 odyssey also still has a timing belt...$1500 dealer job. I don't know if I would touch it.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

Nah. Honda's ATs are crap. Pretty much every AT Honda/Acura owner I know have had issues with tranny.

 

My '16 TLX has a great 9-speed auto. However, I think the '15 TLX (same generation) had an issue and was recalled. Apparently it was fixed for '16+?

 

My wife's '07 TL Type-S has a great AT too. Actually shifts harder/faster than the TLX...

 

Everything about these cars is top notch except the damn infotainment system

Everything about these cars is top notch except the damn infotainment system

 

Don't get me started on infotainment systems - it's a curse on them already during development.

My '16 TLX has a great 9-speed auto. However, I think the '15 TLX (same generation) had an issue and was recalled. Apparently it was fixed for '16+?

 

My wife's '07 TL Type-S has a great AT too. Actually shifts harder/faster than the TLX...

 

Everything about these cars is top notch except the damn infotainment system

 

Hmm when I looked into them a lot of the Touring models getting new trans within a few k. Guess depends on the definition of top notch.

So who's buying one already?

 

...ordered back in Feb.

Here's an example of the top notchiness

http://www.piloteers.org/forums/114-2016-third-generation-pilot/114682-zf-nine-speed-transmission-problems-recalls-praise.html

... better check my VIN against that recall. But I've had zero problems so far! *crosses fingers, knocks on wood, etc*

... better check my VIN against that recall. But I've had zero problems so far! *crosses fingers, knocks on wood, etc*

 

No need to worry, everything they make is top notch;)

Touche.

 

It appears I dodged the recall bullet, but I guess I either got lucky, or destiny is waiting over the horizon... For now, it's fantastic and I love it. Except for the infotainment system... which is actually slightly better than the Lexus GS 350 we were comparing it against. I guess we'll see how I feel in a few more years. 17k miles down, and zero issues thus far.

Everything that Pilot said. I thought the interior was totally bland (same for MDX), the vehicle seemed ponderous and heavy, and it was a TVM V6 setup so knew that MPGs were going to suck while loaded/towing. SHAWD is electronically dependent, and you lose that electrical feed at the rear diff and you're boned. Overly complex IMHO.

 

SHAWD is very reliable for me with 190k now. It works really well and only requires $24 in fluid every 40k or so(computer reminds) and my Subie mechanic charges me $20 labor(20 mins!) to change it while doing an oil change. I have it in a 2007 MDX. AWD never missed a beat and an absolute hoot on gravel roads at speed.

Nah. Honda's ATs are crap. Pretty much every AT Honda/Acura owner I know have had issues with tranny.

 

Not I said the fly.....190k no issues with a 300HP 3.7L coupled to it in a 07 MDX. They were terrible back in early 2000's eg at least 15 years ago.

Got a sneak peak picture of the new engine. It did not have port injectors, so looks like direct injection only, unless they mounted the port injectors under the manifold (which I highly doubt).

 

Interestingly enough, it doesn't seem to have any TGV's either.

Interestingly enough, it doesn't seem to have any TGV's either.

 

If it's a direct injection engine then it won't need the TGVs.

 

They are there just to improve the fuel/air mix when the injectors are manifold-mounted.

If it's a direct injection engine then it won't need the TGVs.

 

They are there just to improve the fuel/air mix when the injectors are manifold-mounted.

 

Then why do 2015+ WRX's, which are direct injected, have TGV's? TGV's are for tumbling air into the cylinder and causing it to better mix inside the cylinder.

Edited April 10, 2018 by covertrussian

Yeah - I couldn't see under the manifold, short of climbing up on the fender and doing a head-first dive down into the compartment. The rep indicated that Subaru was aware of the valve carbon buildup issue and had developed a solution or possibly used the BRZ/FRS DIPI system.

 

TGVs are, IIRC, designed to operate only during the first few minutes of startup to ensure that F/A is better mixed for leaner emissions on a cold engine.