Comments by "Stephen Hendricks" (@stephenhendricks103) on "" video.
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Sales of the Ascent have been disappointing for Subaru. When it was first introduced it was Subaru's hope to make a major splash in the midsize 3 row SUV market category. The only worry was that it would cannibalize sales of Subaru's best selling Outback. In fact that hasn't occurred. Sales of the Ascent have been mediocre and while Outback sales are down substantially in 2020 it still outsells the Ascent two to one. (62,305 vs 31,397 in the US.)
There appear to be several reasons. First, of course, is the competition. Sales of the Palisade and Telluride since the start of 2019 have seriously impacted the Ascent (along with other rivals.) In the first half of 2020 the combined sales of the Palisade and the Telluride, essentially the same vehicle, are twice those of the Ascent (36,000 and 25,000 respectively) and each, especially the Telluride, have been limited by production shortages as a result of COVID-19, not by demand.
Furthermore, the Ascent along with the Mazda CX-9 are currently the only midsize three row crossovers not to offer a standard or optional V6 engine. It's less an issue of performance, not a high priority among most consumers in this segment, than of long term durability in a vehicle that weighs over two and a half tons. Furthermore, the Ascent offers only a CVT transmission. Again, it's likely to be a deal breaker for only a minority of consumers but Subaru has recalled 77,000 2019 Ascents for a variety of transmission problems. It's one thing to have scattered, unconfirmed reports of reliability issues; it's quite another for an automaker to issue a significant recall based on issues in a major component.
Finally, it's noteworthy that Subaru's own Outback XT offers the same turbo4 engine in a vehicle that weighs at least 666 lbs (!) less than the Ascent. What it comes down to is why would a Subaru fan choose an Ascent rather than an Outback XT that has better performance, a less stressed engine, and a price thousands of dollars less unless three row SUV is a very, very high priority. And why would consumers not already committed to owning a Subaru choose an Ascent rather than a competitor.
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