 What is up you guys, I'll be back to another one. If you're new to the channel, I'm Goldpony, at the new car truck SUV reviews on YouTube. And today, we are in the brand new 2023 Subaru Ascent courtesy of Apple Subaru in York PA. For more information on their inventory, please feel free to check out the link in the description box below. And so, we're in this one today because I think we all know Subaru has incredible resale values. Not only that, it has the very best all-wheel drive system in existence. I still remember seeing a video from back in the day where they tested all the all-wheel drive systems in the snow and every single time the Subaru is with the furthest. But also the Ascent, of course, has a new exterior design and there are some new standard features as well. So, ultimately in this video, we will be testing out and going over everything about this one from acceleration to braking, steering feel, ride quality, sound system, exhaust clip, all that fun stuff. So, having said all of that, what do you guys say? Let's just go ahead and jump right into it. And as always, let's start with pricing. All right, and so when it comes to pricing for the 2023 Ascent, there are plenty of different trim levels available for this one. So, I'm simply gonna put them on the screen and say that it starts at $33,895, but top trim level being the Touring can go up to $48,195, but it does get simpler when it comes to the power plant, regardless of trim level, that is going to be the same. Powering the Ascent is a 2.4 liter turbo charge four cylinder boxer engine, putting out 260 horsepower at 5,600 RPM, 277 pound feet of torque coming in at 2,000 RPM, that power being sent to all four wheels through Subaru's legendary symmetrical all wheel drive system, power being sent to the ground through a continuously variable transmission, zero to 60 time coming in at approximately 6.9 seconds, which we will be testing out here in a little bit. FPG numbers then coming in at 20 in the city, 26 on the highway for the base and premium, 19 city, 25 then on the highway for the Onyx edition and up taking regular unleaded fuel. And so before we do that acceleration or paddle shifter test, because there are paddle shifters as well, do what I mentioned to you guys, the drive modes, essentially there is an X mode, it's not so much for on-road, but rather for off-road. So essentially what X mode does is it adjusts the engine output and transmission settings, but it also increases all wheel drive system engagement and there's some other modes like dirt and snow and things like that as well available and all of that can be controlled through the infotainment screen, but that's essentially for your off-road use case, but now having got all of that out of the way, what do you guys say? Let's go ahead and find a straightaway, let's put the ascent here to the test and let's test out the acceleration on the 2023 Subaru Ascent. All right, you guys in three, two, one, go. There it is, there it is, it's not bad. That is not bad at all, man, that is decent. So definitely not gonna have any issues emerging onto the highway. I actually kind of like that acceleration, that worked out for me, but anyways, to go along with that acceleration as always, braking is equally important. And so upfront you will find 13.1 inch ventilated front discs, in the back 13 inch ventilated rear discs, as far as that 60-zero stopping distance goes, it actually comes in at a very impressive 117 feet. But I will say when it comes to the braking feel of the Ascent, it is definitely on the softer side and it is kind of a squishy braking feel as well. So it's kind of like you hit the brakes, it's soft and it's just kind of squishy at lower speeds too. So it's a little bit different than I'm used to. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it's just probably just something I would have to get used to, that's all. But so then touching on suspension and handling, up front you're gonna get a McPherson strut front suspension, in the back, independent double wishbone type rear suspension, front and rear stabilizer bars. So as far as ride quality goes, it's been all right in my short little test drive here today, well, so we got a manhole coming up, so let's just hit that. Yeah, I will say it's not as smooth as the Traverse, I just got done driving, I guess I'm comparing it to that in my mind, because it's fresh in my mind, but yeah, it's not the smoothest ride. It's kind of what to be expected with Subaru. You do tend to feel a little bit more of the road. It's probably not something that would bother me personally, but there are smoother rides out there. I'll just put it that way. As far as steering feel goes, definitely on the looser side of things, a lot of SUVs will have that loose steering feel. So wouldn't have minded if Subaru maybe put a little bit firmer, a little heavier of a steering feel in the ascent as well. And touching on Cabanoise, that has been perfectly fine. That's definitely not something that has bothered me in my short test drive here today. So Cabanoise is perfectly fine in this, and touching on visibility, that is 100% on point. Quite honestly, it's probably best in class visibility, if I'm being honest, because just because of the shape of the ascent, looking at my rear view mirror here, I could see everything, so 100% on point there. To put that around, let's let the performance segment of this review, guys, let's not go ahead and take a look at the exterior of our brand new 2023 Subaru Ascent. All right, you guys, so here she is, the new 2023 Subaru Ascent, with brand new styling for 2023, the main change for the 2023 model year. So let me know in the comments whether you like this styling better than the previous design. I'm curious to see what you guys think down there. But anyways, let me go ahead and start by saying 8.7 inches of ground clearance, which is a bit more than you traditionally find in SUVs, because of course, Subaru being a more off-road brand, it does come with a raised suspension. So I do like that. But to the sides, LED steering responsive headlights do come standard across the board. And that's a feature you often will see on luxury vehicles, but very rarely on traditional brands like Honda and Toyota and things like that. So I love seeing that. And essentially what the steering responsive means is when you're going around a bend and night, the headlights are going to swivel based on the direction of your steering angle, better help on illuminating what is around that bend. So you're less likely to hit a deer or a cyclist or really anything. So I'm definitely a big fan of that one, but you do get LED daytime running lights, the automatic feature as well. I mean, the headlights will turn on automatically before they're also automatic high beams. So if you have your high beams on a night and it senses a vehicle coming in the opposite direction, it's going to automatically dim them back to low beams and when the vehicle is gone, it's going to automatically then bounce it back up to high beams. So I love that. And down below, if you go with the Onyx edition and up, you will get LED fog lights to go along with all of that. But that pretty much rounds out the front. Let's now go ahead and make our way to the side. So let's go ahead and start up top of the ascent here. Raised roof rails do come standard for all trim levels. Chrome windows surrounds will come standard along with rear privacy glass as well. Taking a look at the side mirrors, there will be a crystal black finish for the base setup or the Onyx edition. Body colored side mirrors then coming with the premium and limited. And if you were to go with that touring, you will find satin chrome side mirrors then. And if you were looking for those integrated turn signals that will come standard on all trim levels, but the base trim level and then power folding side mirrors will come with the touring. But now let's go ahead and take a look down at the wheel setup 18 by 7.5 inch aluminum alloys for the base and premium. And then 20 by 7.5 inch aluminum alloys for the Onyx edition end up. So having said that, that pretty much rounds out the side profile. Let's now go ahead and make our way to the back of the ascent. So starting up top yet again, rear spoiler with an integrated brake light does come standard rear window wiper just below that. We'll find some trim level badging back there as well. And just below it all, I still love that Subaru exposes the exhaust because the trend is not too right now. So having said that, I love the dual exhaust outlets with chrome tips. So I do believe you guys know what we have to do next. As always here is that exhaust clip. And so now since we are around to the back, there is a button on that rear tailgate. If you wanted to press that, that's one way to go ahead and open it up. There's a button on the tailgate itself as well. But it is a powered tailgate essentially for the premium seven passenger trim level end up. But once opened up, cargo capacity comes in at 17.8 cubic feet behind that third row. If that was not enough space, the third row of course does fold down bumping that up to 43.5 cubic feet. And then with all various folded 75.6 cubic feet behind that first row. But you can also find grocery bag hooks back there. There are tie down anchors. There's a 12-volt power outlet actually as well. But what really impressed me on the ascent is if you were to lift up underneath of that cargo floor, you will find some in-floor storage. But it is actually a good bit of in-floor storage. Not just a little bit. There is a ton of in-floor storage in the ascent. So I absolutely love that. But then making our way to the third row legroom that comes in at 31.7 inches. For reference, I mean even six feet tall. This is how much space I have back there. Second row seats do push forward and back. So you got a little bit of give there. So for reference again, I was able to fit but definitely gonna be more comfortable for children or small children back there. But I did like the third row. Here's the reason why. You have three cup holders on each side, which is definitely more than the traditional one or two that you typically find in that third row. You also have a little bit of storage. And my favorite part, dual USB charging ports. Now that's something that a lot of times third row passengers won't get. The second row always gets it. But third row, it's rare and the ascent has it. So big fan of that. But then making our way up to the second row legroom that comes in at 38.6 inches. Again, for reference, I mean even six feet tall. This is how much space I have there. Rear ventilation can be found by the way for all three rows. It's gonna be found kind of on the ceiling or roof of this thing. So I like that. Heated second row is gonna come with a limited and touring. And again, you can get either bench sheeting or captain's chairs. So you can get space for three second row passengers or two second row passengers with a little walkthrough area in the middle. So that's your choice. And you get dual USB charging ports, of course, for those second row passengers then as well. So then making our way up to the front seats, manually adjustable front seats do come with the base trim level, eight-way power driver seat coming with all trim levels but the base trim level, power adjustable passenger seat them for the limited and touring heated front seats for all trim levels but the base and then ventilated front seats coming with the touring trim level. Overall though, seating was plenty comfortable for me, definitely no issues there. So then taking a look at the steering wheel. It is tilt and telescoping. It will be heated for the Onyx edition trim level and up and then leather up for the premium trim level and up. Now making our way to the startup. Let me start by showing you guys the key. It's essentially you got your lock, unlock, but the pop the rear tailgate there but it is a keyless entry with a push button start if you go with the premium seven-passenger trim level or up otherwise you get that traditional key start otherwise but anyways, in our case all we are going to simply do here is put our foot on the brake and press that engine start button and so once started up, tachometers all the way to your left, speedometers on your right, there's a small digital display front and center to control what is on that digital display. There are some steering wheel mouth controls of course but gives you things like your outside temperature, trip A, trip B, how many miles you'll have left until you hit empty. So a little bit of a basic gauge cluster. I wouldn't have minded of seeing some full digital gauges in the ascent. I think a lot of the competition is doing that right now would have loved to have seen that here. So then make your way to overall interior quality. There's a panoramic moon roof coming with the Onyx limited and touring trim levels. Homeland controls for the premium seven-passenger trim level end up, tri-zone climate control for all trim levels. There is also an overhead sunglass holder with that kind of a conversation mirror they call it but it's kind of like the school bus mirror where you can spy on the rear passengers. So that's pretty cool. Dual cup holders with ambient illumination. I love that because you don't see that that often. Like even on Mercedes, they don't put the ambient lighting there. So I really liked the look of this. It's got kind of this blue, cool ambient lighting look surrounding the cup holder. So I like that. But anyways, tons of storage within this thing as well. So overall it's a very functional, very practical to the point kind of interior quality. I'll put it that way. But so now let's go ahead and make our way to the infotainment screen because this is different from the last time that I actually reviewed the ascent. So now we have a full 11.6 inch tablet style color touch screen display for all trim levels across the board, Bluetooth and audio streaming coming standard but wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. That's something still most manufacturers aren't doing. It's mostly wired. So I love that wireless comes standard on this thing. That's pretty cool. Factory navigation system for the limited and touring climate control settings up there. There's your X mode adjustments. That's what I was mentioning earlier to you guys. And of course your radio information. So six speakers is gonna be the standard setup for all trim levels, but the limited and touring. Limited and touring are gonna give you a 14 speaker Harman Kardon sound system with 792 watts. So having said that, that's the one we got today. So let's go ahead and turn on the radio and see what we got playing today. And let's test out the clarity of this one. All right, so that was a pretty darn good sound system for the ascent without a doubt ton of bass. I'm sure that bass was coming off with the road mic here on camera. That was a really good sound system like I said, without a doubt. I mean, it's not the very best sound system that I've ever heard, but still it's plenty for the ascent. And so the last thing I wanted to mention to you guys on the infotainment screen is when you do put the ascent in reverse, you will find a rear view camera coming centered across the board, letting you know who or what is behind you, which is always is going to lead us into safety. And so let me start by mentioning IIHS top safety pick plus, which is the very highest rating given by IIHS. That pretty much has it all right there. Front side, side curtain airbags do come standard drivers knee airbag as well. In the back, you're gonna have latch AKA lower anchors, tethers to children for the rear car seats, rear child door locks, tire pressure monitoring system, but then also coming standard, of course, Subaru iSight. So this is their suite of safety features that does come standard on even the base trim. So I like that adaptive cruise control, pre-collision breaking lane departure and sway warning, lane keep assist and automatic emergency steering as well. Then if you were to go with the premium trim level and up, you're gonna get a blind spot monitoring system with rear cross-traff glert. The premium seven passenger trim level and up is gonna give you reverse automatic braking then as well. So overall, when it comes to my final thoughts here of the ascent, it's got the very best all-wheel drive system in existence. That has been proven in the dirt, in the snow and all of the different various tests that you can find online. Subaru symmetrical all-wheel drive system is amazing. Tons of cup holders in this thing and USB charging ports in the third row. I liked that as well. Excellent safety as well. You can't get better than an IIHS top safety pick. Plus, of course, as far as room for improvement goes, I would say it's just the space for me in particular. Maybe it's perfect for you though, but it is a cramped third row and it's not as much cargo space as some of the competition. Like the Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, Hyundai Palisade, Kia Telluride. It will say it has more than the Mazda CX90 now, but the Mazda has always built small vehicles. So I don't know, I'll just say it there, but wouldn't have minded seeing Subaru make this thing a little bit larger just to make it competitive with most of the other competitors. And so, but that is about it for this one, you guys. Thank you so much for watching. Feel free to follow me on social media at the bottom of the screen if you wanted to see what's coming next on the channel. Before it gets to YouTube, be sure to hit the subscribe and the bell notification button if you're into new car reviews because that is what we do here on this channel. After all, do appreciate you guys watching more than you know and I will see you guys all in the next video. Stay Gold. Life could be a dream, sweetheart. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, Life could be a dream, and I think I'm blind.