Ascent is a solid product from a surging brand. It moves them into a new space (not really counting the B9 Tribeca attempt), and customers that have since left the brand for their 3-row vehicle needs can now come back, as well as catering to new customers that want to join the Subaru wave. My brother went with an Outback 2 years ago, but had this been available, they would have opted for the Ascent given their having 3 kids in car seats/boosters. The early sales of uplevel trims is nothing new, that's quite common among early shoppers/adopters of nearly any product.

The 2.4L turbo is more of a replacement for the 3.6L 6-cylinder that the Outback and Legacy currently offer.

 

interesting, thanks. i wonder when toyota will just buy subaru.

 

Does Subaru want to be sold? Subaru (formerly Fuji Heavy Industries) is not just an automaker but also in aerospace.

 

i saw my first one the other day. It is huge -- very tall. VW North America may finally have the 6/7/8-passenger people mover they have wanted for the last 20 years.

 

You may not like hybrids, and true, they may not be selling that well in North America's environment of low fuel prices, but the do sell in other countries. And they are starting to replace diesels.

 

Toyota owns 17 percent of Subaru

 

Ascent is def. on my list of vehicles to look at. We did look at Atlas. It had a lot of space, especially the third row.

 

I'm not talking about my own personal likes or dislikes here....that's not the issue. I'm talking about what actually propels the sale of hybrids in the U.S. With the possible exception of the Prius and its long-standing cult-following, it's generally government action, not necessarily consumer choice. Sure, the consumer/auto-buyer himself or herself, makes the final choice in the matter, but often that choice is strongly influenced by government-bribes.