Light years ahead of Subaru Ascent

[TellurideNY]

Before learning about the Telluride I was ready to pull the trigger on an Ascent. I actually saw the Telluride for the first time after returning to the Kia/Subaru dealership following an Ascent test drive. I ended up getting a White EX a couple weeks ago which I had to leave at the dealer to get my hitch installed today now that the parts finally came.in. They gave me an Ascent for a loaner and the difference between the cars is night and day. After living with the Telly for 2 weeks the Ascent just felt cheap. The driver assist features don't even come close to the same level. The short drive made me very happy about my decision. So for anyone looking at this who is on the fence or considering the Ascent over the Telly I would highly suggest back to back test drives as that will make the decision easy.

 

[Gwyn]

I would not consider the Telluride "light years" ahead of the Ascent. It sure does beat the ascent in a few key points. But the ascent holds it own in a few categories.

I really love that fact you get a 7 pin tow package with the Ascent. I like the side dimming mirrors. I like the rear view mirror camera. The ascent has higher ground clearance. It has less hassle in awd drive system. I like the looks of the Ascent more. The cornering headlights are better. The ascent is also cheaper when fully loaded. I think the ascent might be quiter then the telluride.

If it was not for the SX prestige package, I would probably buy the ascent over the telluride. But for me, the SX prestige is better then what I lose with the ascent.

For me, the telluride is a 96/100 and the ascent is a 90/100.

 

[TellurideNY]

I agree the Ascent definitely edges out in a few locations. As someone who has been driving Subaru's for my last 3 cars, '11 Forester, '11 Outback, '17 Outback the Ascent felt very comfortable when I had that out the first time. The turbo made it way more fun to drive then the Outbacks. I had basically decided that I was going to buy the Ascent and only a random article about the Telly, seeing it sitting out front of the dealer, and its additional space behind the 3rd row made me take a closer look.

When comparing feature sets, for me 8 seats was a requirement so my comparisons are between Ascent Limited and the Telluride EX. At this trim level I think its a pretty easy win for the Telly (~$3-4K less for the EX) although I agree I do miss the side dimming mirrors and Homelink.

However my light-years comment was really more about the feel you get when driving them as well as the capabilities of the driver assist features.

If I had not driven them back to back yesterday I would not have thought the difference was so big. The interior and ride quality of the Telly feel way more refined while the Subaru stays true to its brand with a more no-nonsense utility feel. Its like the difference between a Toyota with leather seats and a Lexus.

When it comes to driver assist, Eyesight is really far behind. Turn on Eyesight and Lane Keep assist and the Ascent will do a great job at adaptive cruise and keeping you from crossing the lane markers but if you let the car drive itself you end up ping ponging down the road going back and forth between the left and right lane markings. The Telly on the other hand stays centered and very confidently drives down the lane aside from when you encounter sharper curves in the road. It's not Tesla autopilot by any means but its way ahead of Eyesight. Maybe the 2020 Subaru's will come with some improvements to Eyesight in this regard but right now Telly wins hands down there.

 

[emj123]

I disagree. If the Ascent Touring had been a little less, I would have bought it over the Telluride. I would rate the features as equal. Does the Kia look cooler? Yes. But having owned multiple Subarus in my lifetime, I would feel much better about reliability than I do with the Telluride. It only has 1500 miles on it and based on all the issues I have read about, I am just waiting for something to break or stop working. PLUS, my Kia dealer SUCKS ASS. We were lied to and treated poorly and when I gave a crappy review, was contacted by Kia corporate, only to have them do nothing at all.

Having said all that, I DO like my Telluride (please don't call it a "Telly") but I am not confident about the reliability. Fortunately, I only leased it, and will give it back in 3 years.

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[TellurideNY]

I have the same reservations and agree all of us early purchasers are out on a limb in terms of the possibility of reliability issues. Not only is it a Kia which does not have the same reputation as Subaru when it comes quality ect. But all of us also have very early production runs of a brand new model vehicle with a bunch of advanced tech in it. There were plenty of Ascent issues early on as well after release last year.

My Kia and Subaru dealers share the same building and service department so that is not an issue for me. Hence why I ended up with a Ascent loaner while my hitch was installed.

 

[YEH]

^ Actually, if anything, Kia has done better in the reliability rankings the past decade/decade or so than Subie overall.

For instance, 2019 JDP VDS.
Kia - #10
Subie - #14

2018 VDS
Kia - #5
Subie - #25


Consumer Reports 2018 Reliability Rankings
Kia - #5
Subie - #4

2017
Kia - #3
Subie - #6

A few years ago, Kia also topped AutoBild's reliability rankings for Germany.

Subie still has their long-held issues w/ O2 sensors, CV joints, etc., but their fast growth has also led to other problems.

Subaru earnings tumble on quality woes, incentives and sliding sales

TOKYO -- Operating profit at Subaru plunged by almost half in the latest fiscal year amid a fusillade of falling wholesale volume, higher incentives and surging warranty outlays.

Subaru's operating profit tumbled 49 percent to 195.53 billion yen ($1.76 billion) in the full fiscal year ended March 31, the automaker said on Friday in its earnings report.

Net income dropped 33 percent to 147.81 billion yen ($1.33 billion) in the 12 months.

Revenue declined 2.2 percent to 3.16 trillion yen ($28.51 billion) in the just-ended fiscal year, as worldwide wholesale volume slid 6.3 percent to 1.0 million units.

Subaru's results were undercut by a rash of quality problems, mostly confined to Japan, that forced costly recalls and a temporary production shutdown.

Subaru earnings tumble on quality woes, incentives and sliding sales

Subaru's profit fell 49 percent in the latest fiscal year amid falling wholesale volume, higher incentives and surging warranty outlays.

www.autonews.com

Mechanically, there shouldn't be any major issues w/ the Telluride (yes, some buyers inevitably will get a lemon) as the 8 spd AT and the 3.8 V6 are tried and true components.

That being said, don't think the Telluride is lights years ahead of the Ascent (the automotive sector is too competitive these days), but the Telluride is more polished in more areas and looks more premium inside and out (Subie has never been known for its designs or interiors, altho the Ascent's interior is a good bit better than what Subie interiors have been in the past) - the Ascent looking like a bloated Forester and more minivan-ish in appearance.

 

[TellurideNY]

Interesting reliability stats there. Hopefully that starts translating into higher resale value down the line.

 

[Tellmeride]

The Subie Ascent looks waaaay too pedestrian, the Telly on the other hand...

Oops, I am gonna get a lecture regarding the use of Subie and Telly.

Bimmer, Caddy, whatever, who cares?!

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[Gwyn]

Interesting reliability stats there. Hopefully that starts translating into higher resale value down the line.

Reliability and depreciation are not directly tied. Cars with really good reliability may have poor depreciation. One of the major factors in depreciation.

The majority of KIA's problem is directly related to car rentals and sale initiatives.

KIA sells a lot of cars to car rentals, they keep for 1 to 3 years and mass drop them. If you sell your car when they sell, your car is worth less.

Depreciation takes this into account. Kia offers some serous clearances on cars, sometimes up to 30% off msrp. But that also means that you are going to take that in your depreciation.

If you take something like the Sorento for example. They sale a lot to rental companies and the value drops by 40% in 3 years. But the Santa Fe, which is basically the same thing, does not sell to rentals as much and gets 30% drop.

If you don't sell in a 6 to 8 years it is really not that bad.

 

[westcoastTelly]

I think Subaru makes a decent range of vehicles , but really , they are friggin FUGLY . They need a new design team and need to add some sex appeal ..........................let the flaming begin !

 

[LtFireguy]

The Subie Ascent looks waaaay too pedestrian, the Telly on the other hand...

Oops, I am gonna get a lecture regarding the use of Subie and Telly.

Bimmer, Caddy, whatever, who cares?!

Gotta be honest, never heard anyone shorten Subaru to Subie until today. I think it sounds silly. Telly makes sense as Telluride is a longer name but i think saying Telly takes away from the image of the vehicle in my opinion. You know what they says about opinions though, everyone has one!!

 

[Buckeye-TRide]

I think Subaru makes a decent range of vehicles , but really , they are friggin FUGLY . They need a new design team and need to add some sex appeal ..........................let the flaming begin !

Nah you’re right. The CVTs can go straight in the garbage while they’re at it.

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[CAsuKiHy]

Reliability and depreciation are not directly tied. Cars with really good reliability may have poor depreciation. One of the major factors in depreciation.

The majority of KIA's problem is directly related to car rentals and sale initiatives.

KIA sells a lot of cars to car rentals, they keep for 1 to 3 years and mass drop them. If you sell your car when they sell, your car is worth less.

Depreciation takes this into account. Kia offers some serous clearances on cars, sometimes up to 30% off msrp. But that also means that you are going to take that in your depreciation.

If you take something like the Sorento for example. They sale a lot to rental companies and the value drops by 40% in 3 years. But the Santa Fe, which is basically the same thing, does not sell to rentals as much and gets 30% drop.

If you don't sell in a 6 to 8 years it is really not that bad.

Interesting.

I’ve rented a couple of times and never saw KIA on the lot (Alamo, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz, Sixt)
Got Nissan, 4Runner, Santa Fe(couple of times), Dodge and Pacifica recently because I need van.

I know ZipCar uses Subaru’s Crosstrek a lot, maybe because they’re defective and they got them cheap. I see a lot of Hyundai leases used for Uber/Lyft.

 

[jazzyone]

- Having recently rented the Rouge, Volvo XC90 and the Pathfinder (admittedly I didn’t test drive the Ascend but I saw it at a car show and I regularly drive my wife’s Outback), the semi-autonomous driving capability of the Ride is light years ahead. Compared to all these cars with similar capabilities, the Ride’s lane centering feels like it’s on rails when both lane markings are clearly visible. The other vehicles hunt while attempting to center and, one in particular, even crossed the yellow lane marking around a curve while the “Autopilot” indicator was still illuminated. I don’t recall the Ride ever crossing the lane marking when “Autopilot” is engaged (steering wheel icon is illuminated green).

- In the looks department the Ride looks amazing. To me, the Ride has a strong European influence. It adopts styling cues from Land Rover, Porsche, and Volvo to come out with a desin that is unique and appealing. The Ascent on the other hand looks like a fat version of my wife’s Outback. I like the looks of the Outback, but the Ascent needs to loose weight.

- the 2nd and 3rd row bench seats folds absolutely flat. I like this a lot. The seat folding mechanism is much better in the Ride. Effortless push button compared to a the antiquated lever mechanism.

-A normally aspirated 6 cylinder engine that’s been modified vs a new turbo charged 4 cylinder engine. I think long term dependability is on the Ride’s side. It also has a industry leading warranty.

These are some of the reasons I chose the Telluride over the Ascent and other comparable CUV/SUV!

 

[westcoastTelly]

- Having recently rented the Rouge, Volvo XC90 and the Pathfinder (admittedly I didn’t test drive the Ascend but I saw it at a car show and I regularly drive my wife’s Outback), the semi-autonomous driving capability of the Ride is light years ahead. Compared to all these cars with similar capabilities, the Ride’s lane centering feels like it’s on rails when both lane markings are clearly visible. The other vehicles hunt while attempting to center and, one in particular, even crossed the yellow lane marking around a curve while the “Autopilot” indicator was still illuminated. I don’t recall the Ride ever crossing the lane marking when “Autopilot” is engaged (steering wheel icon is illuminated green).

- In the looks department the Ride looks amazing. To me, the Ride has a strong European influence. It adopts styling cues from Land Rover, Porsche, and Volvo to come out with a desin that is unique and appealing. The Ascent on the other hand looks like a fat version of my wife’s Outback. I like the looks of the Outback, but the Ascent needs to loose weight.

- the 2nd and 3rd row bench seats folds absolutely flat. I like this a lot. The seat folding mechanism is much better in the Ride. Effortless push button compared to a the antiquated lever mechanism.

-A normally aspirated 6 cylinder engine that’s been modified vs a new turbo charged 4 cylinder engine. I think long term dependability is on the Ride’s side. It also has a industry leading warranty.

These are some of the reasons I chose the Telluride over the Ascent and other comparable CUV/SUV!

i had to re read this to understand waht a Ride was ................'ride might be better

 

[drizzt]

I was considering Pilot and Highlander prior to my T'Ride purchase. My wife disliked Pilot's plain vanilla boxy 'meh' look and I did not like Highlander's congested 3rd row (overall space). T'Ride manage to address all of that and more. Still, I do not understand Kia's decision on homelink, led headlight and seat memory only for SX model. It makes SX model that much more attractive I know, but still...

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[Kia-Driver]

Telly, Ride, 'ride, T'ride... I think we need to standarize on something. How about T'Rad?

Regarding drizzt's comments on all those options only available for the SX: Just wait a year or two and they'll filter down.
I was looking at the Stingers and was surprised to see the cooled seat option was only on the GT2 for '18, but it's now on GT1, GT2, & 2.0 Premium for '19.
Also, when I bought my '16 Sedona, the surround view camera was only available on the SX-L for '15, but they added it to the SX (with tech pack) for '16.

Next year should spread the options to lower trims.

 

[drizzt]

Regarding drizzt's comments on all those options only available for the SX: Just wait a year or two and they'll filter down.
I was looking at the Stingers and was surprised to see the cooled seat option was only on the GT2 for '18, but it's now on GT1, GT2, & 2.0 Premium for '19.
Also, when I bought my '16 Sedona, the surround view camera was only available on the SX-L for '15, but they added it to the SX (with tech pack) for '16.

Next year should spread the options to lower trims.

Well, I don't care if they filter down the optionals down to lower trims next year or the year after. It does not affect me and I'm having an early adapter's remorse. hehe..

Telly, Ride, 'ride, T'ride... I think we need to standarize on something. How about T'Rad?

I agree. full pronunciation of 'Telluride' is too mouthful.

 

[Kia-Driver]

Well, I don't care if they filter down the optionals down to lower trims next year or the year after. It does not affect me and I'm having an early adapter's remorse. hehe..



I agree. full pronunciation of 'Telluride' is too mouthful.

Just trade up in a couple years.

 

[drizzt]

Just trade up in a couple years.

Biggest carrot for me will be a plug in hybrid model. I've never purchased first year model, so I'm very new to this.