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2019 Subaru Ascent Drivers' Notes Review | Subaru redux

The 2019 Subaru Ascent is the follow-up to the odd and slow-selling Subaru Tribeca. From 2005 to 2014, Subaru sold just 76,774 Tribecas in the U.S. at a time when the company's sales as a whole were on a climb. As we put it in our first drive review, the Ascent can be considered a sort of mulligan. The new model comes out hot and heavy against strong three row competitors like the Honda Pilot, Toyota Highlander, Mazda CX-9 and American offerings like the Chevy Traverse and the Ford Explorer. Our tester is the top-shelf Touring trim. Standard features on the Ascent include Subaru's EyeSight driver assist technology, adaptive cruise control with lane keep assist, keyless entry, three-zone climate control and a turbocharged 2.4-liter flat-four mated to a CVT. Power, like nearly every Subaru, is sent to all-four wheels. For $45,670, the Ascent Touring nets you features like leather trim, power-adjustable front seating, a panoramic moonroof, LED lighting, a power opening rear gate and an upgraded audio system with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system. Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore: I found myself liking the Subaru Ascent much more than I expected. The turbo four and light steering made it surprisingly engaging to drive. I enjoyed how this one was trimmed out, and the cabin managed to be both woodsy and elegant. It also offered an excellent view of my surroundings, which is not a given for a beefy SUV. Style-wise, I don't love it. I think it looks better in pictures than in person. It seemed a little overwrought in my driveway. If you need a people hauler, and specifically, you need three rows, this one is worth a look. If you don't need three rows, I'd go with an Outback or Forester. That being said, this is the vehicle Subaru absolutely needs in order to have a more complete presence in the U.S. market. It's highly competitive with the VW Atlas, and it should add some solid incremental sales to Subaru's volume. Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski: I've logged more time in the Subaru Ascent than any other staffer here at Autoblog, having attending the automaker's initial drive event a few months ago and then signing a different one out to schlep my family on a couple of long drives in and around Seattle, Wash. Sometimes it takes a good, long drive to really figure out a car's merits and demerits. Other times, though, initial impressions are confirmed.

2018 Subaru WRX STI Type RA First Drive Review | A taste of Japan

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Last year, Subaru set a record for the fastest sedan lap at the 'Ring in a race-spec STI Type RA, which completed nearly 13 miles in less than seven minutes. The new 2018 Subaru WRX STI Type RA is inspired by that record-breaker (and those before it), and it will finally come to the United States as a special edition limited to just 500 units. We traveled out to the California desert to test it on mountain roads, as well as a recently built private race track at the Thermal Club. Record Setting Pedigree Subaru built its first "Record Attempt" (that's what the RA stands for) vehicle in 1988, a Subaru Legacy that drove more than 62,000 miles over 18 days at an FIA track in Phoenix. Since then, Subaru has introduced a number of WRX/STI Type RA models, with several attempts to set record laps at the Nurburgring. While Japanese customers got the opportunity to buy consumer versions of the Type RA, fans in the United States never did. Until now. The nameplate finally comes to the rest of us, improving upon an already potent, all-wheel-drive performance sedan for the everyman. The STI already offers 305 horsepower, a forgiving torque vectoring system, and that big, beautiful wing to set it apart. The Type RA takes this even further, providing more refined performance from a familiar package. The cars are currently being built, and will arrive in dealerships soon. Special Equipment Compared to the standard STI, the Type RA is about 68 pounds lighter thanks to a carbon roof and rear wing, BBS 19-inch forged aluminum alloy wheels, the deletion of the rear armrest and swapping of the spare for a tire repair kit. The lighter roof also helps to lower the center of gravity by a fraction of an inch. Other exterior changes include signature STI Cherry Blossom Red highlights on the grille and rear bumper, a front spoiler, black mirrors and Type RA badging. It only comes in three paint colors: WR Blue Pearl, Crystal Black Silica and Crystal White Pearl. Inside, it gets an ultrasuede steering wheel, short-throw shifter, red push-button ignition and a serialized plate to indicate its rarity. Under the hood, the Type RA benefits from strengthened pistons and sodium-filled exhaust valves that better withstand high temperatures, which is important as the number of laps ticks higher on track day. It gets revised ECU tuning, and lower-restriction air intake and exhaust. Finally, it has a 4.5 percent lower third gear ratio.

We race a 2019 Subaru WRX STI up the Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb

SHELSLEY WALSH, U.K. — Keep your foot down, I tell myself. Easier said than done in a 2019 Subaru WRX STI on the narrow and treacherous Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb. Right away, thereÂ’s a very hairy fast left sweeper the STI takes in third gear, leading into another left that requires even more bravery: lifting just before entry without braking. The STIÂ’s all-wheel drive helps to pull us up and out of the corner, on the way to the fast straightaway up a steep hill. Abrupt berms, vegetation and walls line the right side, while the left has a poor excuse for a guardrail and a long drop past that. The road itself is extremely narrow – only big enough for one STI at a time – but smooth, picturesque. The prototypical meandering British B-road. An obligatory herd of sheep mill about in the distance partway up the hill, and a few cows watch the STI careen over the finish line.  This is the essence of the British hillclimb, an archaic form of motorsport that has survived to this day. In this pastoral setting, Shelsley Walsh happens to be the oldest continuously running (well, save a break for two world wars) hill climb event in the world, with the first official event being held August 12, 1905. It is, like many British hillclimb courses, almost comically short – just over half a mile, so thereÂ’s not much to memorize. Cars from the early 1900s (when it was still paved with stone) struggled to even make it to the top. Part of that struggle can be attributed to the rule that you must race with a full car of passengers, no less than the number of seats available. Besides that, cars just werenÂ’t very powerful back then, and Shelsley is a steep course. It peaks at a 16 percent grade. The course record belongs to a Gould GR55 NME open-wheel single-seater racecar at just 22.58 seconds. I managed to break into the mid 37s for my fastest run in the STI, but there was still a fair bit of time to be had in the course. Car preservation was much more important than chasing lap records — it was an hour drive back to our lodging that night, and the STI was our ride. There were two flavors of Subarus available to us for the hillclimb, and motoring around the British countryside after. One was the regular WRX STI, and the other was the shockingly expensive (and limited to 500 examples, long sold by now) Type RA. All the minor tweaks and upgrades made a tiny, tangible difference in my hill climb times.