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


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I'm personally glad the cross bars are not included at all. It means there's more adjustability, fore and aft for different cargo loads. Plus, I use AM load bars, cargo baskets and boxes, and the foldable bars get in the way IME.

 

Ah gotcha, I rarely ever haul anything on the roof, thus I like the aerodynamic advantage of folded crossbars (but they are still there when I rarely need them).

 

I can see lack of adjustability being an issue though.

05 LGT 16G 14psi 290whp/30mpg (SOLD)

12 OBP Stock 130whp/27mpg@87 Oct

00 G20t GT28r 10psi 250whp/36mpg

22 Ascent STOCK

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Cross country in Subenwagen, during our coast-to-coast move, we had a 1,200 lb LGA Sport trailer on behind and a 16 CF Yakbox up top, and with the pup, electric cooler, and other essential "move" stuff, we were pretty loaded. Still managed a pretty decent 22MPG overall. That's Stage II-ish with 270AWHP/305AWTQ.

 

Everything we brought with us in the car, the trailer and in the Yakbox would fit inside the Ascent, with room to spare, and we would likely have gotten equal or better mileage with more comfort :eek:

 

This was our set up. Trying to upload another pic so you see the rear. She was 'squatting' pretty bad due to the weight of the stowaway box with hitch rack (heavy stuff).

IMG_20180814_121720.thumb.jpg.07b8b7cd9637dd1d1687872c182df786.jpg

IMG_20180814_121639.thumb.jpg.a6c8c46bc91a13ca37160de2a9e420a1.jpg

Edited by xt2005bonbon
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Here is the rear. Had a 20lbs propane tank in that box, camping gear, jack stands, water container (shower), etc.... Fridge in the trunk, food, tools, etc.. and lots of other stuff. On the roof, strictly camping gears and bike trailer in the camping box. I know that I well exceeded the roof weight rating. That awning is not light either.

 

 

Gas mileage you might ask? 14mpg @ 80 mph. 17 mpg @ 60-65 mph :spin:

IMG_20180814_121346.thumb.jpg.c4ab82e3499cb5b18d1282160a4b3c8d.jpg

Edited by xt2005bonbon
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That is impressive. Nothing on the roof?

Just did a 5500 mile trip from MD to Utah with 2 adults, 2 kids, 3 mountain bikes+skybox+awning on the roof and a stowaway carbo box in the back. You do NOT want to know my gas mileage. Covert knows though :lol:

 

 

 

I know. But it may be a temporary dip in the timeseries. Could happen that in a couple of years, the value would bounce back!

 

We ordered the cargo carrier last minute, my in-laws were planning to drive their explorer up, but it got rear ended the week we were supposed to leave so we needed all the space we could get. No time to install the tracks on the roof or that is probably what I would have done considering the number of low profile roof top carriers available on the used market.

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That's a load.

 

This is what we looked like.

 

 

Yours was squatting pretty good too actually.

 

 

 

Yeah it was quite a load. I mean, I even have this 'overload' rallitek rear springs and she was still squatting pretty bad. However, I must say the bilstein BTS kit shocks were performing wonderfully given the load. Next time, I may get this kind of trailer:

 

 

Rondas-ST-in-the-Mountains.jpg

 

 

 

I am actually wondering the kind of gas mileage the Ascent would get with my exact setup.

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I am actually wondering the kind of gas mileage the Ascent would get with my exact setup.

 

I wouldn't expect it to be great, to be honest it is a bit disappointing from what I have been seeing on the Ascent forum. I would expect low 20s loaded down, maybe high 20s with just people and few bags and 65 mph cruise.

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Yeah - I meant to mention that the "squat" is due to the passenger side being elevated on a stone bulge, pushing the wheel arch down on the diver side. When on level ground, it actually sat and handled quite level. 18" wheels fill that up even more now.
- Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum -
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Yeah. Plus, as soon as you add bikes and crap like that on the roof, you can already expect a noticeable loss in gas mileage, I think no matter how fuel efficient your car is. At least, I always did.

 

 

That's a veritable mountain of wind resistance up there. Surprised you did that well, as loaded as you were, at the speeds you were travelling.

- Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum -
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I'm personally glad the cross bars are not included at all. It means there's more adjustability, fore and aft for different cargo loads. Plus, I use AM load bars, cargo baskets and boxes, and the foldable bars get in the way IME.

 

Same. I think the separate crossbars have higher load limits too.

 

I'd have to see some hard data on that, our Odyssey has ~75k miles on it and no issues from oil seepage that I have noticed, and that is using 20w oil that is recommended. Even fully loaded with 4 adults and 2 kids and all our requisite stuff for a 2 week vacation, and a cargo carrier on the back we averaged 29 mpg going to Tennessee this past summer traveling 70-75mph. Any H6 would need cylinder deactivation or really tall gearing to achieve that with AWD.

 

Lets not forget the 3.6 has problems of its own burning/leaking oil without the added benefit of saving fuel.

 

Check out the Piloteers forum. There is a guy that makes something called vcm muzzler that prevents your car from turning off the cylinders.

 

The deactivation only happens at highway speeds when it is up to temperature so if you are an urban driver you probably won’t see it.

 

Yes the issue with the seepage is suggestive of lack of pressure. The problem is that you get a bunch of oil in the cylinder when it fires up again. The longer you are on highway the more oil weeps into the cylinder.

 

Almost all of the cylinder issues like this are the same exact ones.

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Same. I think the separate crossbars have higher load limits too.

 

 

 

Check out the Piloteers forum. There is a guy that makes something called vcm muzzler that prevents your car from turning off the cylinders.

 

The deactivation only happens at highway speeds when it is up to temperature so if you are an urban driver you probably won’t see it.

 

Yes the issue with the seepage is suggestive of lack of pressure. The problem is that you get a bunch of oil in the cylinder when it fires up again. The longer you are on highway the more oil weeps into the cylinder.

 

Almost all of the cylinder issues like this are the same exact ones.

 

I can't comment on the Pilot, but the Odyssey is constantly in and out of eco mode, I could do a short video tomorrow to show it. It cycles fairly often, unless you are on a long flat highway stretch. But again, we haven't seen any issues from it either way, it could be the older systems weren't programmed to cycle as often.

 

In any case it would be nice to be able to turn it off, but no such luck.

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It’s separate from the Econ button I think you are referring to.

 

Also the Pilot has the EarthDreams 3.5 engine. Not sure if that’s the one in the Odyssey.

 

The only way i know of to disable it is that muzzler- lots of reading on that piloteers page.

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It’s separate from the Econ button I think you are referring to.

 

Also the Pilot has the EarthDreams 3.5 engine. Not sure if that’s the one in the Odyssey.

 

The only way i know of to disable it is that muzzler- lots of reading on that piloteers page.

 

The odyssey doesn't have an Econ button, the eco mode is completely controlled by the ECU and I believe it was a different system than the Pilot got. I read quite a few posts and most of them concluded the oil burning was inherent to the engine regardless of the VCM, which has been an industry wide problem. There is quite a lot of speculation on plug life and VCM, but depending on your driving habits it may or may not become noticeable. Our plugs will be due soon so if you are interested I will share some pics if I do them myself.

 

All of those threads do make me a bit more anxious to dump this Odyssey, I am not looking forward to the timing belt service either which will be due by the end of next year or so.

 

The VCM muzzler is interesting, but the issue doesn't have seemed to follow into the newer models of the Odyssey, but I will be reading up on it on the odyclub page just for kicks. I am a bit turned off by the marketing strategy for the device, reminds me of the Killer B oil pickup vendor chiming in whenever someone was doing work on their bottom end and swearing up and down all EJ motors needed an upgraded oil pickup. So I read through countless threads mentioning it, and the instances of broken oil pickups were almost always Turbo models, which I didn't have at the time.

Edited by FLlegacy
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Right, I'm trying to remain optimistic about that because my wife drives about 80% city/urban with it.

 

I'm hoping she's done with it before the TB service on that thing too... ;)

I took ours in for a clunking noise, it needs struts. 77k miles and the right strut has gone bad 2 times first time under warranty. My wife wants to trade it in now...tbelt quote for future reference was $900.

 

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Thanks. I'm curious if that's a complete TB changeover including tensioners/pulleys, water pump, and thermostat while they're down there, or if it's literally only the belt.

 

That's annoying about the struts. Sounds like a design flaw since they keep failing (like the head gaskets in the 00's)

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  • 3 weeks later...

I was looking for some engine bay picks and came across the 2017 concept article/pictures: http://www.thedrive.com/new-york-auto-show/9250/2018-subaru-ascent-suv-revealed-in-new-york

 

I love the concept's rear end!

attachment.php?attachmentid=270255&stc=1&d=1541020073

 

Compare that to the production version:

attachment.php?attachmentid=270256&stc=1&d=1541020073

 

I think the concept's tail lights are much better looking, while production model has more of an Crosstrek flair, in the end the production Ascent still reminds me of the Tribeca :spin:. I wonder if they will redesign the rear lights for 2020 refresh.

Ascent_Concept_Rear.thumb.jpg.45282dda40fd21cefbeaa63ca3b4c70d.jpg

Ascent_Production_Rear.thumb.jpg.7c9769e2d34a476bc5e152fae25731c9.jpg

05 LGT 16G 14psi 290whp/30mpg (SOLD)

12 OBP Stock 130whp/27mpg@87 Oct

00 G20t GT28r 10psi 250whp/36mpg

22 Ascent STOCK

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In NW PA for a wedding. Looks like the local dealer has a Silver one in stock. May go take a look at it to see what if anything is different/offered on this one.
- Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum -
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  • 3 weeks later...

Found a dealer that did a side by side comparison, props to them for doing this, because it's eye opening by how much bigger the Ascent is.

 

Back Side by side:

attachment.php?attachmentid=270829&stc=1&d=1542738312

 

Back Overlay:

attachment.php?attachmentid=270828&stc=1&d=1542738312

 

Side Overlay:

attachment.php?attachmentid=270827&stc=1&d=1542738312

Ascent_vs_Outback_SideOverlay.jpg.5ceb9590485a0601b8851fe116ca835b.jpg

Ascent_vs_Outback_BackOverlay.jpg.372e1c18dff82cad1693ee52f4dce054.jpg

Ascent_vs_Outback_Back.jpg.3b1522110108df4720d630b316290f87.jpg

05 LGT 16G 14psi 290whp/30mpg (SOLD)

12 OBP Stock 130whp/27mpg@87 Oct

00 G20t GT28r 10psi 250whp/36mpg

22 Ascent STOCK

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