2021 SubaruAscent Touring For Sale

We bought the Subaru Ascent because it’s one of the few SUVs roomy enough for a large family and practical in day-to-day life. It’s spacious even with all three rows in use, with enough cargo room in the back for groceries, bags, and strollers. The wide-opening doors and low cabin floor make it easy for our kids to climb in and out on their own. It also handles Wisconsin winters like a champ—ice, slush, snow, you name it. It’s powerful, packed with safety and driver-assist features, and competitively priced for everything it offers. But despite all those positives, we’re seriously considering trading it in—and the reason is simple: the gas mileage is shockingly bad. We’re averaging 16 MPG combined (mostly city driving), and on highway-heavy road trips, the best we’ve seen is 22 MPG. That’s well below the EPA estimates of 20 city / 26 highway. We’ve never come close to those numbers. There’s also no option to switch to an eco or fuel-saving driving mode—what you get is what you get. In today’s market, with many competing vehicles offering hybrid or plug-in hybrid options, it’s hard to justify burning through a full tank every week. For comparison, the Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid gets 35 MPG combined—more than double our in-town mileage. The dealership confirmed our Ascent is performing “within expected parameters,” but that only reinforces the problem: this is just how it runs. On top of the fuel economy issue, there are two frustrating design oversights. First, the window lock disables all window controls—including the driver’s. So if you want to stop the kids from playing with the windows, you also lose control. Second, there’s no way to turn off all the individual overhead lights from the front. That means if a kid leaves their light on, I have to crawl to the third row to turn it off. Not ideal at bedtime or in bad weather. Bottom line: The Ascent checks almost every box for a family SUV—but its poor fuel efficiency and lack of thoughtful design in some areas make it hard to recommend, especially with more efficient options now widely available.

I live in the snow belt and this car drove like a champ in the snow storm we just had. The safety features are top notch on this car it has prevented me from getting into accidents. I hope I’ll have this car 10+ years.

We have owned and driven our Ascent for 7 months and roughly 10k miles. Very pleased with the vehicle and really impressed with the turbo 4. I have read comments about fuel mileage and ours has ranged from a low of around 21 mpg and a high of 24.9. We live in rural so minimal city driving. On the interstate if you run 78 to 80 mph the best you will do is 22. I have noticed if you sit and idle for any extended period the fuel gauge drops quickly. Have never noticed this in other vehicles I have owned. The Ascent is very sturdy and quiet in my opinion. This sturdiness along with safety features makes me like this car better than any others that I have owned.