Why The Subaru Ascent Was Poorly Designed and Overpriced 

I can't imagine a whole lot of people use this code for the erectile dysfunction stuff we're all in our 20s and 30s mainly lmao

We bought a 2020 Ascent, drove it 2 years, 29,500 miles and sold for $100 more than what we paid for it. It was great value!

“I am a fucking shitty driver and I hate that this car makes me try to be safer behind the wheel” is exactly what this putz said in this video.

We bought a new 2019 Ascent 2 years 28k miles ago. We text drove the Pilot, Highlander, Explorer, and CX9 and the Ascent stood out as the best choice by far. It drives better, it has a low center of gravity and handles like a car, it’s the fastest in its class, no horizontally opposed V6 like the rest, least amount of blind spots compared to the rest, great safety rating, eyesight works excellent. And Rob it is a great value, as it’s priced right in the middle of the pack, and if you compare used ones the Ascent holds its value the best. The rear seat belt can be moved, and Subaru has covered any issue like the brakes at 20k miles. If I had any complaints I’d say the seats are a little more sporty than I’d like for a road trip suv and it has a cvt transmission. It’s not bad for a cvt, but it’s still a cvt. I love our Ascent!

Wow I see the problem here. Lets break it down... what will wear tires out prematurely and warp brake rotors and use gas excessively- aggressive driving. Hard starts, stops and cornering. To support this we only have to listen that you also follow too closely and often merge with out signaling. My neighbor has the same car and has none of these issues. His has 78,000 and has the first set of tires and brakes. He drives 5mph over the speed limit and he also pulls very often a 3,800lb boat or 3600lbs of atvs and generators and camping gear. You need to change your driving habits.

Plot twist: rob's wife been hooning the ascent without him knowing it 🤣🤣🤣

I love my 2021 Ascent limited. 40,000 miles, ZERO problems.

Pretty sure your supposed to use your blinker while merging onto a highway lmao

If you have issues with the brakes, its the way you drive! I sell Subarus, never heard of it happening, we have 20 Ascents in our service loaner fleet, don't even have any with that! The beeping and all, thats safety dude.

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All of your complaints seem like whining. Seatbelt reminder= good thing. Tailgate opens when hitting an obstruction= good thing. Rotor warp probably means you are very heavy on the brakes. Had my 2020 for a year 12k miles. Very nice car. Comfortable drives nice. Not noisy. The suspension is very shallow over bumps. Very few complaints on this end.

The Subaru Ascent is the best mid-sized SUV on the market for the price. Highly underrated. Yes, it had some roll out issues (2019-20), but those software issues have been fixed. Consumer Reports now recommends the Ascent.

It seems like Mr Spagetti found his RU-vid password again.

I love our Ascent, and we haven't had any issues with brakes, tires, the chime isn't annoying (opinionated) and it's been halfway across the country twice in a year. No issues whats so ever. I'm actually more excited to drive my Ascent over my 09 WRX. I'd buy the Ascent again if I could. We picked it over a Highlander and Atlas and love it

Well, the fuel, the brakes and the tires doesn't seem like the car's problem, more like operator issues. I put about 17k on my 2019 Ascent per year and I've had none of the issues your describing here in San Diego. If your wife has a lead foot, the turbo charger will burn gas quickly out of the 19 gallon (not 14) tank quickly. Try to keep the tachometer under 2k rpm to save gas. I hated the stock tires but still got 33k miles out of them and they were at 5/32 tread when I replaced them with better rubber. I agree with your complaints on the eyesight system, they program it to prevent total idiots from crashing. I shut if off frequently. The 3rd row seatbelt has a spot to tuck it away at the rear of the headliner, but iff you don't use it..........oh well!! I'm now at 37k miles on mine and the biggest issue I've had was with the Apple Car play not wanting to play with my old Iphone. However, the problem disappeared as soon as I bought a new phone. The Ascent is a good platform, remember, it's a family car. The "sport" in sport utility vehicle doesn't represent "sport car." Keep that in mind the next time you buy a car. Also, if you go with a Range Rover for your next purchase, get used to visiting the service dept. LOL!

I have a 2020 ascent touring and I love it. It handles great, it’s got great passing power, loves the sand and snow. My 1 complaint would be the seat needs more cushion in the bottom. I just throw a thin pillow in when I go on long trips.

😂 I’ll one up you, the 2021 Malibu has a feature that doesn’t allow you to shift the vehicle out of park until you put your seatbelt on. It can be disabled but imagine in emergencies

The dude knows how to whine, lmao

You only lease a very expensive high end auto. For you to lease a "standard" vehicle like the Subaru paying $600 a month and then having to put down $6,000 ,well all I can say is the dealer laughed all the way to the bank. Even today, the average cost of a lease vehicle is no more than $450 a month. Ideally, there are times when manufacturers ask zero down "sign and drive" and you make a monthly payment, which is fantastic. Often times, there is a down payment of $1,000 to $3,000 to start a contract. You were a complete numbskull to take your cash and plunk down $6,000 for any standard vehicle and on top of that pay a ridiculous $600 per month payment. I think you might have talked too much about your new home and cars and how successful you were to the dealer. Hence you got screwed!

"who merges onto the highway with their blinker on?", Fucking most people. I've never seen a car have so many annoyances caused by somebody's laziness.

I have a 2019 ascent. I really enjoy driving it. Great road trip vehicle.

Omg Rob is turning into a lesbian

buy the car back, i’m sure the residual value would allow you to recoup at least $3,000. It’s that subie tax! not to mention the used car market is insane right now.

I actually really love the Ascent. To each his own.

My man, 10k miles/ year is nearly 200 a week. If you have to fill up twice a week, then she must be sitting in that car in park with the engine on for several hours a day.

Got my Ascent in 2019 . Now it has 55,000 miles and drives amazing Never had an issue . Still has the original brake pads .

His first issue was the 36mos lease..”well you signed for it ya fool” I’m ⚰️

Rob, everyone shows turn signal when merging... by the way, NSX looks so cool in the driveway

Weird, my sister has one. I driven it plenty in the last year. She truly loves it.

We drove our 2020 Ascent, tires fine, no problems and sold it 2 years and 29,500 miles later for $100 more than what we paid. You must be really really hard on your vehicle or just had bad luck.

It's not that difficult to disconnect that center seatbelt in the 3rd row. You stick a key in the side of the joint where it connects at the seat.

Rob, You forgot to mention that God forsaken cvt transmission. Everything else you said is spot on. Especially that chime

Eyesight is standard on all Subaru's, you are supposed to indicate when merging on to the highway, also you can turn off the lane departure feature on the steering wheel.

Premium trim is not the way to with the ascent, but it seems most of the issues he has with the car would have been solved if Rob took the time at the dealership to realize how much nicer the limited (or touring) trims are. I don't understand how 1st time Subaru buyers forget that the cars priority is passenger safety so everything is designed with that in mind. Dude would like the turbo outback noticeably more. I realize I'm late to this guys energy... the gas tank is 19.3 gallons either complain to the dealer (could've been defective) but he's jacking that fuel up amount. It's easily over 300 miles on a regular tank of driving

Rob: This Subaru is poorly designed. I think I’m going to buy a Range Rover.

B8 RS5 with the wave rotors also had problems but it was due to soft material that would wear horribly fast and get warped. Many people replaced front rotors twice in a single year. The solution was to go aftermarket rotor which actually was cheaper anyways.

I inserted the buckle just 20 times and it works until for whatever reason, your battery is disconnected. Then you have to repeat the process. My 2019 has 34,000 miles and I've had a huge smile all along. Love the tri level A/C here, in Florida. Cold, cold, cold. Eyesight system THE BEST.

I have the 2019 Subaru Ascent. I am running on the original tires at 24K miles, and I estimate I have around 10K to go. I wonder if you got bad tires. No problem with breaks either. I love the paddle shifters for assisting with down hill decent. The car holds 19.3 gallons of gas? There is a large reserve so it may have you fooled on how often to fill it up. I am a fairly aggressive driver, so get gas mileage similar to yours. I purchased mine out right with the limited options. At that time it was cheaper than the Atlas, and Kia Telluride. I love the acceleration. Just preferred the all time four wheel drive and the way the car seems to track the road. I would recommend this car to a person who loves a "drivers" car. My negative - not for me though. Some find the torque feel on acceleration as something less than smooth. I don't mind that, and like the way it will move off the line for such a heavy car. The car has a pretty good turning ratio for it's size, but you can tell it creates an issue with the drive train being quite. For me the trade off is worth it, but I could see others would be annoyed. I believe the tailgate issue you mentioned is common to all power assist rear doors, so I am not sure you can get away from it. My 2009 Highlander does the same thing. The door chime? No idea, but I think if you take your key with you the issue goes away? Not sure since I haven't been annoyed by it. I guess I love mine and would recommend it for someone like me, but not for everyone.

youtube hates the pew pews

My neighbor , who has owned Subaru's exclusively since 1985, bought a top of the line touring edition. She has had endless problems from minor to significant with it. She traded it for a Toyota Highlander.

I work at a subaru dealership, brakes on the ascent are a known issue, there is 3 revisions on the pads 3rd revision fixed most of all the issues, with tires the tires that come on the cars are soft, subaru puts them on to make the car feel like it handles and rides smoother than it does. And with how the car suspension is set up alignments are recommended ever 15k which I can see how is annoying

My grandparents got a Subaru with that driver assist. They took it to dealer and had it turned off. But there’s a beep when it senses you hitting a line on the road still

I can actually perfectly hear the noise Rob makes moments before recording a video in my head. You know what I mean.

I wonder if rob is going to talk about the windshield, had the windshield on an outback that just sprung a crack and it turns out that it was pretty common problem. Dealer wanted way to much because of the front facing cameras. Got a local shop to do it for $200ish and didn't have to do any recalibration to the cameras and everything still works fine.

For some reason an electric rear hatch annoys me to no end. Just slamming it shut is way quicker and doesn't suffer false positives.

Bought a Forester last year. Solid. I put Michelins to replace the stock tires. Also installed a Comma One Autopilot device. Eyesight system works great also, tracks vehicles relatively well.

Welcome to dealer provided tires. When I worked in the rental industry we went through the first set within 15,000 miles consistently

I'll just post some objective facts. That tank is over 19 gallons. If you drive about 10,000 miles a year, that equates to an average of less than 200 miles per week. If you are only filling it up once per week, and when it still has 4 gallons left, you're getting less than 13 1/2 mpg. If you are getting 18mpg (on the low end for this vehicle) and even filling only 10 gallons, twice per week, that's 360 miles per week, or 18,720 miles per year. So much else in this video is harder to correct so readily, but these numbers alone show he's full of it. Of course, I don't expect most people who lease vehicles to be able to handle basic math. FWIW, real world, I tend to go about 300 miles between fill-ups, and usually have well over 3 gallons left in the tank when I top off. As for the rest? All equally nonsense, but not worth it. I hope he enjoys the Land Rover.

Just seeing this video. I have the Ascent, the gas tank is 19.3. I am think this was the first year that the Ascent came out. Much better now, I love it.

I bought a 2021 and it’s my family hauler/daily driver. It does everything I need both on and off road and the 2 dogs find it spacious. Even with all the abuse from the family and dogs, it still looks new thanks to the monthly car wash subscription. MPG depends on driving conditions where if I do a straight highway drive on relatively flat terrain at 50-65F, I get 28 mpg to empty. If all local, it’s 18-19.

Hey Rob! Loving the videos! For the record I watched this while in my 2021 subaru crosstrex! Love the gas milage on mine, can't talk to brakes or tires as only at 10k but do agree eyesight could be improved!

Tank size is actually 19.3 gallons. A lot of more modern Japanese cars have large tank reserves, basically fuel that the gauge doesn't report on just because typically people who purchase those cars don't take care of them as well, and so it kind of saves their ass when they forget to fill up, they still have some gas left.

I have put 36K hard miles on the VW Atlas towing 5K pounds up 8,000 foot passes and it's ran like a clock. VR6 is tried and true and it uses a Toyota transmission. Also spent many days in deep snow with snow tires.

Hey Rob, you should never ever put money down on a lease unless its Security Deposits or if its things like taxes, and first month. For example, you put 6k down, if you drive off the dealers lot and the car gets totaled, you are NOT covered for the 6k you put down. GAP insurance does not cover that. I would suggest you look into MSDs if you want to lower the money factor on payments.

I love my 2020. The CVT can go, but other than that it’s awesome.

My issue with Subaru wagons are the center seatbelts that hang from the ceiling. Rob, all other complaints aside and they are valid, the only thing you can't complain about and is out of Subaru's hands are the tires. Oh and I am sure Subaru is well aware of the brake issues. Maybe did it to save money.

It's funny because they had the big brakes from the tribeca and they didn't put them on the ascent, it's funny because it's just a newer one

I bought 2023 topline model. Not cheap, paid $51k out of door (included all). For the drive assist, I thought cool. I just love it. Cruise in high way, far easier and safer! I have a concern how to turn off the radio. There is no way I can turn off the radio without to actually turn off the screen (reboot the computer lol). I called dealer service…. Finally a lady suggested to use voice command. I tried a few times, sometimes worked but sometimes not😅

the driver assist will kill brakes. it will basically start dragging the brakes as soon as it senses someone infront of you. Basically will not allow the car to coast. So basically imagine anytime your not accelerating then the car will brake. Went through the same thing with my A7, was the most annoying thing.

Surprised that this guy didn't complain that the engine doesn't turn over when the gas tank is empty. Or that those stupid airbags deploy when you get into a bad accident.

my Fam has the forester, XV, outback and the ascent. None of them except for Ascent has good acceleration without droning, and suspension feels much more premium compared to the other subarus since its not stiff and absorbs bumps well. Also captain chairs at this price is a bargain since I cant think of any other SUV with captain seats for near this price. Eyesight is also decent- will follow and stop for cars in front of you and kinda works as the traffic jam assist, you just gotta tap the gas everytime you fully stop. So far, its a good bargain and feels much more premium compared to the other subarus, For 10k more, id get the ascent again over the outback or forester. Its even got the swoosh if you step on it hard enough and listen closely.

Anyone have issues with the floppy sheet metal on the roof making a gong sound when closing doors? Or bowing in under minimal pressure?

Had the same problem with the brakes on my Acura at 17k and they wouldn’t warranty it. It turned me off to getting another one

I work on these cars daily. And the most common repair needed on them is wheel alignments, they’re almost always toed out causing massive tire wear at sometimes only 10,000 miles. And these tires are about $900 for a set. I also see a lot of broken CVT chains

In this episode Mr. Spaghetti complains about sounds that the car makes for safety reasons because he doesn't use blinkers or seatbelts. 19 gallon fuel tank is plenty for a 4cyl suv. My v8 truck has a only 25 gallon tank. I own a 2017 outback and the tire issue is a problem with most subaru models. I go through a set every 25k. I think it has to do with the AWD system.

In this episode, Mr. Spaghetti tells how the snubaru soaks up too much sauce

I've never had a new car from any company that came with decent tires it's always shitty ones that give up in half the time they should

So what makes the Subie different from other poorly designed over priced suvs available now?

Whats your best alternative for the Ascent? 3 row, family friendly and not too bad on the mpg

In dad's forester the middle seatbelt can be released at the bottom with a key and stores fully in the roof, hopefully it is the same on the Ascent.

It's a awd car. Of course it's gonna go through some gas. I've been wondering about the assist. Say you're driving and you see a motorcycle coming up behind you on your right.... you move over to your left to give them room. Does the car kick you back to the right onto the motorcycle if it's next to you?

If it makes you feel better the warped rotors happened on my brand new Pilot when I got it within 6k miles.

You have to change the lane assist thing to warn only. I turned off the lane correction after the first week. I use it on the highway on cruise though. I have outback though.

What is the year and trim of your ascent?

Wait Subaru has a mortal kombat code to finish the interior chime..

The ascent is an awesome vehicle subarau makes a great product

Rob , what are you going to put to cover the 2x’s above the front door ? Some nice wood that’s stained or something ?

I think they try to get away with parts bin stuff but it isnt made to handle the weight/size of the big 3 row car

Okay, so more than half the stuff you said that was wrong with the Ascent is because of driver error. All newer cars have a chime, release the seat belt in the third row, (not that difficult.) All newer hatch rear door vehicles have the safety closing feature and having to climb through to fix isn't true. You are trying to compare the bottom of the trim packages offered for the Ascent (Premium) to a Mercedes and then Land Rover? C'mon now that would be like trying to say you didn't like the taste of garden hose water because you had Fuji water before that. The brakes are most definitely driver error, do you live in a stop-and-go busy city? Do you ride your brakes? Are you a distracted driver that applies hard brake pressure every time you stop? I've had my 2020 Ascent for about 1.5 years now and I have had ZERO issues with anything on that vehicle. It's a great SAFE family vehicle that holds its value very well. (like most Subaru's do) I highly recommend the Subaru Ascent for anyone looking to buy!

Mr. Spaghetti I had similar issues with our 2017 Forester. At 35,000 miles the front control arm and sway bar bushing were destroyed. Subaru wouldn't warranty them because they said it was due to abuse from off roading. So I guess Subarus are recreational vehicles any more 🤷‍♂️

Rob, come see me in CT for a Hyundai Palisade. I had a customer last week who's father has been a Subaru dealership mechanic for 25+ years and he brought her to see me for the Palisade because he refused to let her buy the Ascent because it's so bad.

Subaru social media manager flipping through RU-vid. “What’s happening today online?” Guy with 800k subscribers says our hotly anticipated new SUV is sh*t and overpriced.

Imagine if all of us in the comments could meet.

The factory tires are the cheapest tires they could put on and maintain a comfortable ride. The manufacturer takes the lowest bidder for the type of tires they want amd get special incentives for using those tires

I’m so happy my Mercedes doesn’t do a chyme like that. Instead it just pops up on your driver side touch screen with a picture showing which seatbelt isn’t locked in and disappears after a few seconds or you can close the warning whenever you want. Personally even that is stupid because if nobody is sitting in the seat why the hell do I need to put the seatbelt in?! My dad also has one but he put a chyme to go off every time he drives over 30mph he says to remind him not to speed. It goes off CONSTANTLY, I can’t sit in the car with him anymore.

That lease deal sucked man, that dealership raked you over the coals. Only Subaru I like is the forester.

Hey man, thank you for your honest video!!! You have helped me obtain some valuable insight.

Everything will be okay now that Subaru has joined forces with Toyota since February of this year. Scotty K told me Toyotas never break. 😄😄😄

I leased a Jaguar XJL for half that payment 😲. Sure it's a longer lease but still

I absolutely understand why you would daily a 1k beater Mercedes. But why in the world would you lease a new Subaru??!!! Buy 2-3 year old BMW for cash, get minimal insurance, drive it for a few years, sell it, wash / rinse / repeat. Never have a problem. As to the warped rotors; I was told by an engineer years ago that rotors rarely warp. More likely, the pads are unevenly transferring material to the discs (rotors) and this is creating high spots which cause that shuddering feeling and this process snowballs as more brake pad material builds up.

Your spoiled dude - I just bought a 2023 and love it ❤ I’ve had 3 Escalade / Denali / Yukon which were 3 times more money then assent. Thanks for the tip in the annoying beeping I’ll try and disable mine

If your main complaint about the Ascent is the gas tank and mpg I don't think any mid sized suv is for you.

Never buy a first year new car...however, my 2019 outback is awesome with the flat 6 engine. The most annoying thing is the gas to empty feature is not single digit countdown but in 10s so you never know where your gas is when the gas light comes on

Check out the Palisade & Telluride, they get high praise for a family SUV.

It's a warped rotor Rob, not a warped brake

I worked at a Subaru dealer for a little under a year. Biggest piles of junk I’ve ever seen. For Pete’s sake, there’s a recall on those ascents that require a whole new car replacement if some frame welds are not up to par.

I have a rental Kia Sportage at the moment and it has the same lane assist system that I think is dangerous.. You can turn it off while driving but it comes back on when you get out of the car and back in!😡

My girlfriend has a 2018 Crosstrek. Overall we both love it but when I look at certain things about it I just have to wonder what they were thinking when they designed it. For instance I don’t care if it’s all wheel drive. I’d rather have a cargo space that’s 1 inch less deep and have it be flat when the back seats are folded down. How hard is it to bring the cargo floor up to the same level that the back of the rear seats are at when they’re folded down or to offer an insert to make it flat back there? Also I agree that the lane assist is jerky. Otherwise we’ve made our own insert out of foam pads and have had a blast with it.

I have a 2020 Ascent Touring. I agree with the front rotor warping issue. Dealer turned the rotors at around 8k miles after they warped then. They warped again after another 10k miles or so, and I've dealt with that for the last 20k miles until I'm just now finally replacing them myself just before 40k miles. The rest of Rob's complaints are likely unwarranted.. The car has a 20-gal tank... not 14-16gal and I can get around 23mpg in town and 25mph hwy... not great, but not bad. The rear seat belt issue... you just have to disconnect it like any other seatbelt in the car. Yes, the car definitely has tons of alert tones... that's what you get nowadays with all the new driver sensors, but yes the seatbelt alert can be slightly annoying, though I'm not sure that all models don't have this now?

19 gallon tank is small?? The wife must have a heavy foot or she’s in traffic all the time.