2022 Subaru Ascent Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Trends come and trends go, but the one that blacks out all of a vehicle’s shiny exterior trim appears to have staying power. For 2022, the Subaru Ascent now offers this look as part of the new Onyx Edition trim level, which lives smack in the middle of the Ascent lineup.

Ascent buyers can choose between Convenience, Touring, Onyx Edition, Limited, and Premier trim levels. Pricing at the start of the model year ranges from MSRPs of $37,295 to $51,795. Subaru charges a destination fee of $1,875 in Canada, which is not included in these prices.

Our test vehicle for this review was the new-for-2022 Subaru Ascent Onyx Edition. It includes blacked-out exterior trim and badges, black 20-inch aluminum wheels, a unique grille design, and special interior trim. Subaru also wraps the seats in its water-repellant StarTex synthetic leather. You’ll pay $44,995 for the Onyx Edition (plus destination).

You’ll need to make up your own mind about the Ascent Onyx Edition's styling. We’ll grant that the blacked-out treatment gives this SUV a sporty appearance it previously lacked.

Inside, the StarTex upholstery comes only in a gray two-tone scheme with light gray stitching. This is preferable to a black interior, which, unfortunately, is often the only choice when an automaker blacks out the exterior. Metallic trim on the Ascent Onyx Edition’s dashboard and door panels sets an appropriate mood.

While the gray interior colour is nice, we do take issue with StarTex’s tendency to trap sweat against your body. On a hot day, if you get into the Ascent Onyx Edition with damp clothes on, they’re going to remain that way even after hours of travel, and that is simply no good. Ventilated seats seem like a good idea with the StarTex material, but Subaru offers them only on the Ascent Premier.

Subaru equips every 2022 Ascent with a turbocharged 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine. It makes 260 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque. A continuously variable transmission (CVT) and all-wheel-drive (AWD) are standard as well. Natural Resources Canada rates the Ascent at a fuel consumption of 10.5 litres per 100 kilometres combined (11.7 city, 9.0 highway). We averaged 11.5 L/100 km on our testing loop.

Featuring Subaru’s traditional horizontally opposed layout, the engine’s cylinders lay flat and the pistons within them jab outward from the centre crankshaft. This type of engine is also called a flat-four or boxer engine. It is more compact than a traditional inline four-cylinder engine, and boasts a lower centre of gravity for improved handling.

The CVT is remarkably good. Featuring eight programmed ratios and manual shift control using paddles on the steering wheel, it keeps the turbo-four in the thick of its broad torque band while reducing engine revs for quiet coasting and cruising. It also allows the Ascent to have a towing capacity of up to 2,270 kilograms (5,000 pounds), per Subaru. Acceleration with this powertrain is brisk, and passing power is commendable.

Subaru’s X-Mode off-road traction control system is standard, offering the driver different settings depending on the road surface and situation. Hill descent control and 22 centimetres of ground clearance ensure the Ascent supplies more off-roading capability than many of its competitors.

In urban and suburban driving situations, the Ascent’s responsive acceleration, agreeable CVT, excellent outward visibility, available 20-inch wheels and tires, and absorbent suspension make it feel nimble, maneuverable, and impervious to speed bumps, speed humps, and frost-heaved pavement. Sometimes, though, when you need to suddenly brake, it is too easy to add too much braking response for a situation.

These same traits carry over to driving on country and mountain roads, where the Ascent feels unexpectedly athletic. Its rather compliant suspension tuning conspires with its appreciable curb weight and tall height to produce more body motion than you might like, and if you drive with too much enthusiasm the brakes can heat up and fade a little. But otherwise, the Ascent demonstrates competence when you hustle it.

On highways, driving satisfaction is dependent on whether you’re using the SUV’s lane-keeping and lane-centring assistance technologies. With these engaged, the Ascent has an uncertain and sometimes unstable feel from behind the wheel because the tech makes continuous adjustments that may not correlate with your inputs at the steering wheel—or what you might think is necessary. Turn these off, and the Ascent is far more enjoyable to drive.

Subaru says the 2022 Ascent carries up to eight people, and that’s true when the SUV has a second-row bench seat. But they won’t all be of legal age to belly up to a bar, let alone drive. If you want to use every seatbelt, you’ll need to evenly split passengers between grown-ups and pre-teen children. Third-row comfort eludes taller adults, even if second-row occupants are willing to slide their seats forward a little bit. The rear seats are best reserved for kids.

It’s at least easy to find a comfortable and commanding driving position behind the Ascent’s steering wheel, and the Ascent Onyx Edition is clearly ready for foul winter weather. In addition to the water-resistant seat material, it includes triple-zone climate control, heated front seats, heated side mirrors, and a wiper de-icer, with all but the seat material being standard features in Canada. A heated steering wheel is standard on every trim but Convenience.

Loading the second-row seat is easy, thanks in part to wide rear doors that open to nearly a 90-degree angle. Captain’s chairs are available on most trim levels and standard on Premier and the outboard seats are heated on upper trims, and they include what appear to be coat hooks on their inner sides. The available panoramic sunroof extends over the second-row seats, and some models include rear-side window shades.

Everyone enjoys plenty of storage, and Subaru provides a useful shelf that runs the width of the dashboard. In the second row, large and deep cupholders are carved into the door panels, but if your kids put small and sticky items in there, they could prove hard to clean. Ask us how we might know.

Open the power liftgate, and behind the third-row seat the Ascent provides 458 litres of cargo space. There is a shallow storage area under the cargo area floor, and in our test vehicle, it contained the unused cargo cover. Behind the second-row seat, the Ascent holds 1,193 litres of cargo, and the maximum number with both rows of seats folded down is 2,061 litres. The base model without the panoramic sunroof has slightly higher figures at 1,232 and 2,140 litres respectively.

In base trim, the 2022 Ascent comes with a standard 6.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system. It has Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, HD Radio, and satellite radio. There’s even a CD player. Clearly, no matter your favorite source of music, if the medium has been popular during the past quarter of a century, you can play it in the Ascent.

With Touring trim, the Ascent adds an 8-inch display with available Starlink connected services, including remote engine starting with climate control pre-conditioning. Both infotainment systems include volume and tuning knobs, as well as buttons that provide shortcuts to system features.

While this version of Subaru Starlink isn’t the company’s latest infotainment system, which you’ll find in the Legacy sedan and Outback wagon, it is easier to use in some ways. For example, the climate controls are not integrated with the screen.

The system’s voice recognition technology needs improvement. Not only does it take more time to respond to commands than you might prefer, but it also requires a level of specificity that many people who use modern digital voice assistants may not expect. For instance, to find the closest Chipotle, the system required the use of “Chipotle Mexican Grill” to understand the request for directions.

Onyx Edition models use the Ascent’s standard stereo speakers, which are distortion-free but lacking in sonic quality. Given the youthful buyers this version of the Ascent hopes to attract, it would seem prudent for Subaru to expand the availability of the optional Harman Kardon premium sound system to this trim level.

Additional technology features that are reserved for the Premier trim level include a digital rearview mirror and a 180-degree-view front camera.

The Ascent gets a "Top Safety Pick+" award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the highest possible rating in all of the organization’s assessments.

Furthermore, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gives the Ascent five-star crash-test ratings in all evaluations except for rollover resistance, where the Subaru earns a four-star rating.

Obviously, the Subaru Ascent is exceptionally safe. To avoid a wreck in the first place, it also comes standard with the automaker’s EyeSight driver-assist technology. EyeSight equips the Ascent with numerous collision avoidance and driving aids, including an advanced adaptive cruise control system with lane-centring technology.

During testing, EyeSight and its capabilities suffered two flaws. First, when driving west into the late afternoon sunlight, the camera-based technology performed intermittently. This is not the first time we’ve tested a Subaru’s EyeSight system under such conditions only to discover that low, direct sunlight can “blind” the cameras.

Second, the advanced adaptive cruise control and lane-centring technology lack refinement. When engaged, they frequently behave in ways the driver would not. In turn, this creates an unsettled sensation, causing a driver to second-guess the technology. Ultimately, this may result in discontinued use of the system.

These limitations and behaviours aside, EyeSight is effective and the adaptive cruise control does quickly resume speed when traffic ahead clears. In the absence of a head-up display, Subaru provides colour-keyed lighting that shines on the lower windshield to provide status reports. Additional safety features for every Ascent include steering responsive LED headlights with automatic high-beam assist. However, to get a blind-spot monitoring system (which includes rear cross-traffic alert), you must choose the Subaru Ascent Touring trim at a minimum.

Reverse automatic braking is available, as is a Starlink Safety and Security subscription plan that includes automatic collision notification and SOS emergency assistance.

Considering that its competitors often surpass $50,000 in top-spec trim, that every version of this SUV includes standard AWD and EyeSight, and that Subaru claims it did not raise sticker prices for the new model year, there is value to be had in a 2022 Ascent. We have no doubt the Onyx Edition will prove popular, especially since the price remains below $45,000.

Furthermore, thanks to its generous ground clearance and X-Mode traction system, it can go places other crossovers can’t. It’s also exceptionally safe in a collision, according to safety organizations, and offers plenty of room for a family of four. In fact, you can think of it as a giant Subaru Forester, which is one of the most practical and useful compact crossovers you can buy.

But therein lies the rub. Choosing an Ascent is all about satisfying the pragmatic side of your personality, though Subaru's advertising brilliantly roots the selection in love for your family and your pets (dogs in particular). Enter the 2022 Ascent Onyx Edition, which gives this family hauler more attitude and, in the process, at least one emotional reason to select it in addition to all of the practical ones.

Note: Images show a US model.