2023 Kia Telluride VS 2023 Subaru Ascent: Which Family SUV Is Best? 

I bought an Ascent last year. Never bought a Subaru before. I’ve been thoroughly impressed. The AWD makes a huge difference in nasty weather and it’s great even in nice conditions. I’m now a Subaru convert. Awesome vehicle.

We looked at both and got a much better deal on a 2023 Ascent Premium. Kia still wants over MSRP for the Telluride, pass. The Ascent had the highest rear passenger safety rating which is very important to us with two young children.

Ones you drive a Subaru, its hard to go back.

Subaru Ascent hands down! Can't beat what you get for the price, plus the IIHS safety scores.

I live in Canada and my family has bought 4 Subaru since 1997 and they are still going on strong

With the harsh winter weather in Canada…I choose Subaru, it’s already the third one for the family.

I’m old school I guess. Ending the video with “let me know what you think” bothers me. We are watching your review to see what you think, be a man and make a decision 😏😂

Symmetrical AWD and boxer engine are the reasons why I keep going back to Subarus. Have an 8 year old Outback and getting an Impreza. Also had a BRZ that I traded in for the Outback once family size grew.

We booked a subaru ascent premium. Much cheaper than any other 7 seaters and value for money is great especially with 3.9% APR deal going on now. Banks are giving loans at 7.5+%. Drives wonderfully and as Ben mentions it feels like you are driving a smaller vehicle which improves handling.

I'll take the Subaru over the Kia. That symmetrical AWD has proven to be unstoppable for me.

We liked the Telluride, but bought the Ascent. That $10k dealer markup was just too much for the Telluride.

A 23 Palisade Calligraphy is almost twice as much a month in insurance than the 23 Subaru Ascent Limited….im in Florida and with crazy insurance prices that’s about 100 bucks a month difference. Check your rates before you buy….

Subaru also is an all wheel drive that can be taken off road and does extremely well in harsh weather. The Ascent has the capabilities that Subaru has been known for. I own one and absolutely love it. I bought it after I sold my 25 year old Outback. It was amazing…

5 star safety with Subaru. And eyesight is included.

Love the KIA, but no deals to be made + markups! '23 subaru Ascent has more inventory + better deals for the consumer!

I would *definitely* choose the #Subaru 🛞🛞🛞🛞

Hard to beat Subaru safety and AWD prowess.

Subaru ascent wins!!! Amazing car

12:08 I like your summary there. Good Job.

Ordered my 2022 after having a KIA Sorento for 7yrs. Really considered the Telluride but after 18months of test driving every vehicle in the 50k to 75k I came back to the Subaru Ascent Touring and have been so happy. Multi state trips with my grandkids and its so comfortable to drive and I love the safety features!!

Living in Colorado, I’d take a base model Impreza over anything Kia makes.

Hey Ben, I enjoyed your review but you should have compared the top of the line Telluride with that top of the line Subaru..I just traded my beautiful palisade for the Subaru and I love it but I miss the palisade. Maybe next time you can compare the palisade calligraphy with the ascent.. As always great video

Ascent hands down 🙌🏾

I bought a cpo 2019 Ascent touring in 2020 right after the pandemic started for a really cheap price. I could've sold it and forked 7k over what I paid but anything loaded to the touring level from other brands was 25k more so I kept it. This is my 5th subaru (impreza brz wrx sti and now this one). My ONLY complaint is I wished they went back to regular transmissions instead of the CVTs. Not that I had any issues the warranty wouldn't cover but knowing it is a CVT it will drop resale value down the line.

Wish they made the Subaru a little more luxurious on the inside. Console and dash are a little old school. Really like the drive. Hard to pick the Telluride with the split sunroof design once you have a full panoramic roof too.

I'm from Montreal, and traded my Chevy Cruze for a 2020 Subaru Ascent last month. Two weeks back, there was a blizzard and I decided to take my car out for a ride to understand the driving dynamics of the car, as I have never driven a vehicle this large before. I was so surprised how well Subaru took the blizzard, it gives you immense amount of condifence. I have driven Kia Seltos AWD before, but this felt far superior. The Subaru is unstoppable and did not flinch at all in that massive blizzard. I ended up driving the car at night for two hours in almost zero visibility blizzard just for fun, and it included going to hilly terrains too. Once you feel the difference, there is no way you prefer to drive anything else if you live in a place where there is snow and ice.

I wish they'd do the Onyx Ascent with 18 inch wheels and an 8 passenger seating arrangement.

Could be better if you compare their offroad or ice/snow performance.

I like the Ascent but keeping my Outback limited.

If you can get the Telluride at sticker it's still a great bargain, but unfortunately, the dealership is still marking it up 10k over MSRP.

Subaru Accent for sure!! The prices of vehicles definitely are not getting any cheaper!!!

The Telluride is for people who don’t know anything about cars/manufacturers and are just buying one based solely on appearance.

Does the Subaru have the come-take-me feature that come standard with Kia’s?

I've never heard anyone say that kia and Range Rover are reliable.

Even though here on RU-vid I see there are many Subaru enthusiasts who's still living in 80's or 90's, selling record speaks.

On my third Subaru. And it’s a Ascent. Do I need to say more?

2 car seats with wife occasionally sitting in the middle. Will the Outback be wide enough? Or I should go for the Ascent?

fully concur

Only a fool would pay an ADM for the Kia. That said, it's a solid choice at MSRP.

I like the look of the Subaru better

While measuring the 2nd row leg room in Subaru, looks like you moved 2nd row all the way to the front. And move the 2nd row all the way to the back while measuring 3rd row. But you did not do the same in Kia?

Ascent FTW!

Didn;t show how to open the rear door.

Advertisements are cutting out video - I almost quit watching your video because of the advertising interruptions

Slow your camera panning down you gave me motion sickness

The battle is who will pay 50K for 35K cars

I like Range Rover Sport family SUV

Telluride looks cool, but KIA engines and transmissions are known to die just past 100k miles. The Ascent is cheaper and likely more reliable for a long term owner.

if subaru would get rid of the turbo enging and cvt and go back to the 3.6 and 5 speed automatic I would buy a new accent.

I would not be aginst cvt transmissions if they would go to a system like toyota use that has a mechanical 1st gear that way the transmission would last.

Subaru obviously

subaru for sure

don't compare trash like Kia or Huyndai to Subaru. Get Subaru, Toyota, Honda and Mazda if you want good quality built car. My go to brand is 1. Subaru and 2. Mazda.

Telluride 🥰 🥰 🥰

Ben: Please slow down in your speech. Just too fast. Thank you.

Background traffic noise is VERY irritating.

Aren’t reliable? They are some of the most reliable vehicles.

i like the ascent more but damn is it ugly.

you mean someone who worked at Land Rover?

First 🎉

Dude stop drinking so much coffee! My ears can't keep up with you )))

telluride best

I'll take the Telluride. It's one of the best SUVs on the market in my opinion

Kia's look wierd.weird. Subaru dash @ infotainment screen are way to large,they need to tone it down WAY too many buttons @ switches.

Subura need to fire its design team. This is hideous. Major Aztec looks

From a design standpoint- I’m not a huge fan of Subaru’s recent refreshes - the black plastic cladding coming up to the front looks bad especially when you’re spending over $40k for a vehicle. The Outback, Legacy, & Crosstrek definitely have it way worse than the Ascent- buuut meh I still think the Koreans do design better 😩👌

The Subaru's CVT transmission has proven to be an utter piece of junk, landing the Ascent on Consumer Report's "10 least reliable vehicles" list. CVTs are terrible ideas in large heavy vehicles, and the result is quite possibly the worst car Subaru has ever made.

This is krazy. Why would you compare subaru with a junk kia? 😆 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

What??????, you have a head injury the Telluride all day and everyday, no stupid CVT.