The 2025 Subaru Ascent is the flagship three-row SUV of the Subaru brand. Available as either an eight- or seven-passenger vehicle with standard Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, the Ascent outperforms its competition when it comes to standard features for the dollar. The Ascent has also been a perennial recipient of the Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, otherwise known as the IIHS, since its introduction in 2019.
The Ascent is powered by a turbocharged 2.4-liter SUBARU BOXER engine that produces 260 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque. Power is routed through a Lineartronic® continuously variable transmission (CVT) that has an eight-speed manual mode with steering wheel paddle shifters for complete control of the vehicle’s performance. All Ascent trim levels can tow up to 5,000 pounds when properly equipped.
The Ascent brings customers award-winning safety features thanks to EyeSight Driver Assist Technology that gives drivers peace of mind. With X-MODE, the Subaru can tackle some of the roughest and toughest terrain. Whether you like to go camping, tow a camper or boat, or if you get caught in treacherous weather, the Ascent will have no problem making it through.
Starting from $40,330, the Subaru Ascent is available to buyers in six different trim levels, including Premium, Onyx Edition, Limited, Limited Bronze Edition, Touring, and Onyx Edition Touring.
The Toyota Highlander is one of Toyota’s oldest SUV nameplates, and it’s also one of the brand’s most popular, especially since it has three rows of seats. With its starting price of $40,970, buyers can choose between the LE, XLE, Hybrid XLE, XSE, Limited, Hybrid XLE Nightshade, Hybrid Limited, Platinum, Hybrid Limited 25th Edition, and the Hybrid Platinum.
The Honda Pilot was given a full update in 2023 and has carried over into 2025 largely unchanged. The Pilot has been a popular choice since 2003. Honda looks to keep its grip on a loyal customer base. The Pilot is available in Sport, EX-L, TrailSport, Touring, Elite, and Black Edition trim levels.
The 2025 Honda Pilot starts from $41,650 for the base Sport trim level with front-wheel drive. Optioning all-wheel drive adds an additional $2,100 to the base price, which then comes to $43,750. That’s $3,420 more than the base model Subaru Ascent Premium.
Honda gave the Pilot an 18.5-gallon fuel tank, which is smaller the the 19.3-gallon tank in the Subaru. When you are busy and driving around running errands, the last thing you want to do is stop to get gas. In city driving alone, the Subaru will have more than 30 extra miles of range.
SUVs should always have good ground clearance for when you need to traverse over an obstacle in the road, cross a large puddle of water during or after a storm, or go off-roading during camping trips. Sadly, though, Honda only gave the Pilot 7.3 inches of ground clearance, meaning it will have more issues snagging its bumpers and such compared to the Ascent with its 8.7 inches of ground clearance.
The Pilot Trailsport, the more off-road-ready version of the Pilot, still only gets 8.3 inches of ground clearance compared with 8.7 inches for the standard Ascent.
All Subaru Ascent models get 18.2 degrees of breakover angle compared to the Pilot’s 16.0 degrees. This means that when driving over off-road obstacles, it’ll be much more likely that the Pilot gets stuck.
For those who purchase two-wheel drive Pilots, your towing capacity will only be 3,500 pounds. The Ascent, however, offers all buyers 5,000 pounds of towing capacity.
The Subaru offers the driver and front passenger an extra 1.2 inches of front legroom. This allows both occupants to have a little extra space to stretch out on longer drives.
The 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee L is Jeep’s practical answer to a full three-row SUV. Even though the Grand Cherokee L isn’t quite as luxurious as the Wagoneer, it provides buyers with a nice option. For 2025, Jeep has dropped the ability to get a V8 and gives owners the famous Pentastar V6 that produces 293 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. Buyers can choose between many trim levels, including the Laredo A, Laredo, Laredo X, Altitude, Altitude X, Limited, Overland, Summit, and Summit Reserve.
Like all of the other SUVs in this comparison, the Grand Cherokee L comes standard in rear-wheel drive and has optional four-wheel drive, whereas the Subaru Ascent comes standard with all-wheel drive.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee L offers owners decent total passenger volume with 141.9 cubic feet, but that’s considerably less than the Subaru’s 150.2 cubic feet.
Jeep’s Grand Cherokee L has 41.3 inches of front legroom compared to 42.2 inches of front legroom in the Ascent.
When it comes to shoulder room, the Ascent also has an extra 1.9 inches for front seat occupants, 2.3 for second-row passengers, and a huge 5.3 inches for third-row passengers.
Third-row passengers will feel more cramped in the Jeep Grand Cherokee L with 42.9 inches of hip room and 30.3 inches of legroom. The Ascent gets 1.4 extra inches of third-row legroom and 3.0 inches of extra hip room.
Most SUVs need quite a bit of space to make u-turns or complete circles in a parking lot, and the Jeep is no different with its turning circle of 39.6 feet. The Subaru Ascent needs 38.0 feet.
Jeep has a total of five different exterior paint options available. Weirdly, four of the five cost $595, with the only free color being Bright White. The Subaru Ascent offers seven total exterior colors that are all free.
The 2025 Volkswagen Atlas carries over from the all-new 2024 model. Volkswagen had not been known for having a three-row SUV until its debut in 2017. There are five trim levels that include SE, SE with Technology, Peak Edition, SEL, and SEL Premium R-Line.
The base SE model has a starting price of $41,525 when you option 4Motion all-wheel drive, which is $1,195 more expensive than the base Subaru Ascent Premium trim.
The Volkswagen Atlas has 6.3 inches of ground clearance compared to 8.7 inches for the Subaru.
SUVs are known for their wide turning radiuses, needing quite a bit of room to make u-turns. The VW Atlas needs a total of 41.0 feet to turn around, which is considerably more than the Subaru Ascent’s 38.0 feet.
The Atlas SE only gets five exterior paint options. Buyers have to spend an extra $4,105 to get more colors than just blue, black, white, and two types of gray. Every Subaru Ascent gets the choice of seven paint colors that are all fun and vibrant, like Crimson Red Pearl, Autumn Green Metallic, and more.
Third-row occupants in the Atlas get 54.9 inches of shoulder room, which is very little when you see that Ascent passengers get 57.2 inches of should room.
Volkswagen allows for a maximum payload of only 1,091 pounds, while Subaru makes sure the Ascent can be packed full of people and gear to the tune of 1,410 pounds.
The Volkswagen Atlas gets an EPA estimated 18 mpg (city) and 25 mpg (highway). The Subaru Ascent gets 20 mpg (city) and 26 mpg (highway).
The Atlas has an 18.3-gallon fuel tank, which is less than the 19.3-gallon tank in the Ascent. When you take into account the differences in city and highway fuel economy, the Ascent can travel an extra 57 miles driving through the city and 45 miles on the highway before needing to stop to fill up.
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| Three Row Crossovers | Subaru Ascent | Toyota Highlander | Honda Pilot | Jeep Grand Cherokee L | Volkswagen Atlas |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trims | 6 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 5 |
| Engine | 2.4-liter Turbo | 2.4-liter Turbo 2.5-liter Hybrid 2.4-liter Turbo Hybrid MAX |
3.5-liter | 3.6-liter | 2.0-liter Turbo |
| Horsepower | 260 | Gas – 265 Hybrid – 245 Hybrid MAX – 362 |
285 | 293 | 269 |
| Cylinders | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| Torque | 277 | Gas – 310 Hybrid MAX – 400 |
262 | 260 | 273 |
| Transmission | CVT | Gas – 8-spd auto Hybrid – ECVT Hybrid MAX – 6-spd auto |
10-spd auto | 8-spd auto | 8-spd auto |
| DriveTrain | AWD | Standard – FWD Optional – AWD |
Standard – FWD Optional – AWD |
Standard – RWD 4×2 Optional 4×4 |
Standard – FWD Optional – AWD |
| Towing Capacity | 5,000 lbs | Gas, Hybrid MAX – 5,000 lbs Hybrid – 3,500 lbs |
5,000 lbs | 6,200 lbs | 5,000 lbs |
| Fuel Economy (Hwy/City/Combined) | 20/26/22 | FWD – 10/28/24 AWD – 21/27/23 |
FWD – 19/27/22 AWD – 19/25/21 |
4×2 – 19/26/22 4×4 – 18/25/21 |
FWD – 20/26/22 AWD – 19/26/21 |
| Infotainment | Standard – 11.6″ | Standard – 12.3″ | Standard – 7″ Optional – 9″ |
Standard – 8.4″ Optional – 10.1″ |
Standard 12″ |
| Front Headroom | Without Moonroof – 41.2 With Moonroof – 40.4 |
W/O Panoramic Roof – 41.5 W/ Panoramic Roof – 40 |
Sport, EX-L – 40.5 TrailSport, Touring, Elite, Black Edition – 39.1 |
39.8 | 41.3 |
| Front Legroom | 42.2 | 41.7 | 41 | 41.3 | 41.7 |
| Rear Headroom | Without Moonroof – 40 With Moonroof – 38.7 |
W/O Panoramic Roof – 40.2 W/ Panoramic Roof – 38.5 |
Sport, EX-L – 40.2 TrailSport, Touring, Elite, Black Edition – 39.2 |
39.9 | 40.4 |
| Rear Legroom | 38.6 | 39.5 | 40.8 | 39.4 | 37.6 |
| Third Row Headroom | 36.2 | 37.2 | Sport, EX-L – 39.3 TrailSport, Touring, Elite, Black Edition – 39.3 |
37.3 | 38.3 |
| Third Row Legroom | 31.7 | 33.5 | 32.5 | 30.3 | 33.7 |
| Cargo Space Behind 3rd Row Seats | Without Moonroof – 17.8 cu.ft. With Moonroof – 17.6 cu.ft. |
20.6 cu.ft. | Sport, TrailSport – 18.6-21.8 cu.ft. EX-L, Touring, Elite, Black Edition – 18.6-22.4 cu.ft. |
17.2 cu.ft. | 20.6 cu.ft. |
| Cargo Space Behind 2nd Row | Without Moonroof – 43.5 cu.ft. With Moonroof – 42.1 cu.ft. |
57.9 cu.ft. | Sport, TrailSport – 48.5-59.5 cu.ft. EX-L, Touring, Elite, Black Edition – 48.5-60.1 cu.ft. |
46.9 cu.ft. | 55.5 cu.ft. |
| Cargo Space Behind 1st Row | Without Moonroof – 75.6 cu.ft. With Moonroof – 72.8 cu.ft. |
97.5 cu.ft. | Sport – 87 / 111.8 cu.ft. EX-L – 87 / 112.4 cu.ft. TrailSport – 87 / 113.7 cu.ft. Touring – 87 / 112.4 cu.ft. Elite, Black Edition – 87 / 112.1 cu.ft. |
84.6 cu.ft. | 96.6 cu.ft. |
| Base Price | $41,415 | $42,310 | $43,750 | $41,030 | $39,625 |
At Twin Falls Subaru, you will have an automotive experience unlike any other. You can find new Subaru inventory, including the Outback, Crosstrek, Forester, Solterra, and an unmatched collection of used car, truck, van, SUV and crossover inventory at our dealership near you.
Are you interested in leasing or financing your 2025 Subaru Ascent? The Finance Department at Twin Falls Subaru can help you find the right lease offer or finance solution that fits your budget. We cultivate relationships with many banks, lenders, and other financial organizations to provide you with great options in purchasing your new vehicle. In addition to the comprehensive factory warranty that comes with your new Subaru Ascent, we offer extended warranty and protection programs to safeguard your investment.
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