2023 Subaru Ascent consumer reviews

Constant eyesight failures, infotainment system freezes, cannot adjust heat/AC, nav freezes. Need to pull over, turn off car and restart. Subaru do software update… still does it. Oh and car suddenly brakes on its own with no car in front of me. Had car behind me chase me down accusing me of “brake checking him”…. Subaru of America could care less.

I recently traded in my 2022 Ascent for a similar 2023 model. The 2022 model had brakes issues/noises right from the beginning of ownership. Subaru gave me a great deal on the 2023 model. A number of improvement were found on the 2023 model. Obvious one is the exterior styling with new front grille, headlights and taillights. Interior improvements include updated Eyesight, quieter ride, better steering and brakes, larger multimedia screen including front and backup camera screens, driver profile system. A few other tweaks here and there, making the 2023 Ascent Touring a decent and very safe SUV. Not necessarily sporty or thrilling but perfect vehicle for commuting in town and long road trips.

This is my 4th Subaru and my 2nd Ascent. Overall it is a superb vehicle with minor issues in my view. The Driver Monitoring function is basically annoying. Either it disables itself or doesn’t alert at all (I’m always wearing sunglasses). The infotainment screen, at boot up, is agonizingly slow with some improvement after a couple of minutes. I assume that it is a processor issue. The front camera switch is in an awkward position (on the center console). It should be on the steering wheel or an icon on the screen. Acceleration is very good, brakes and steering as well. It is very quiet. Visibility is outstanding. All of the safety features are major pluses. Seats are very comfortable.

The safety feature saved us before we had 100 miles on the car. A van ran a stop a sign and the automatic braking stopped us 6-12" from being broadsided. Van was going 30 - 35MPH so it was great that we were saved by that.

This is my second Subaru Ascent. My first was the 2019, and when it came time that my son needed a car, we decided to pass that one on to him since I drive a lot and it had almost 100,000 miles on it. We went out and test drove other SUV's, and after doing so, decided on getting another Subaru Ascent because of how much I enjoyed the first one. The 2019 recall kinks seem to have been worked out in the 2023 model. What I can say about even the 2019 though is that the manufacturer stood behind the items that needed to be fixed, even replacing my whole transmission when the recall patch did not work correctly. We are now a Subaru family.