2019 Subaru Ascent vs. 2018 Honda Pilot: Faceoff Comparison

The 3-row crossover market is booming right now and Japanese companies like Honda Toyota and Nissan have benefited the most. Subaru, on the other hand, although they have been selling tons of smaller crossovers, they have left the three-row market that is Subaru up until now vacant. applied its successful crossover formula to its biggest application yet, the all-new Ascent. This is a model aimed squarely at segment leaders like the Honda Pilot we're comparing it to today, so let's go ahead and see if the new kid on the block can handle it. Choose an established leader that you always like, the first thing on the agenda is to establish the prices and equipment levels we are dealing with, starting with the

pilot

, we have the fully loaded Elite version whose MSRP is forty-seven thousand four hundred and seventy dollars with fully equipped standard. wheel drive, since the Hunter doesn't really offer options, all we have to add is the destination charge to reach a total of forty-eight thousand four hundred and forty-five dollars for the Subaru, immediately there is an advantage since it always will cost less and comparable equipment levels.

At the time of this video, the Ascent is not on sale, so this limited model is the only one we could have access to; However, since we have the technology package, we have almost all of the same features as the Touring, by my calculations there are only six small ones. differences between the models, so to be fair, we'll count those features and rate it as if it were the top-tier touring, even that model sounds significantly cheaper than the

pilot

at forty-five thousand six hundred and seventy dollars with destination, for what our officer the price difference between two fully loaded will be two thousand seven hundred and seventy five dollars the promotion will receive 1 point for every thousand dollars of price advantage starting with two anyway, leaving that aside, let's get into the meat and the potatoes.

Starting the

comparison

, both have smart entry systems and key fobs with a nice solid feel, the difference here is that in the Subaru you have to buy a fob separately or subscribe to an app to use the remote start, the doors will unlock automatically through sensors behind the drive As in our reviews, we'll start by comparing the electrical settings, so under the hood these two couldn't be more different, while Honda went the traditional route of using a three-liter Subaru v6 and means of natural aspiration. Instead opting for a new turbocharged four-cylinder engine, this turbo boxer makes plenty of power with 260 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque, but the Pilot still has pace with 280 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. -foot of torque in terms of power.

Down to the ground, the Subaru has the advantage with all-wheel drive with symmetrical torque vectoring and a dedicated X mode for off-roading; however, it has a CVT with eight simulated gear changes instead of an actual 9-speed automatic transmission. Most people prefer the feel of a traditional automatic so I'll give the point to the pilot, the only real similarity here is the combined fuel economy, both are rated at 22, which covers the basics of fuel economy systems. propulsion, so now let's move on to the exterior designs and features, although This

comparison

is mainly objective. I'll evaluate the overall front and rear styling, starting with the Subaru.

You have your typical design language just expanded upon. He looks quite aggressive. They both look too similar to some rivals. It may be the pilot, on the other hand, it has a very non-aggressive grille that unfortunately looks a lot like the latest generation CRV. The grille integrates very well into the headlights, which are LED low beams with LED daytime running lights. The Ascent has LED running lights. dynamic turn plus it has LED fog lights where the pilot has halogens So overall the look of the climbs is more aggressive and unique so you get the point. It's the same kind of deal.

Both have LED taillights, but the taillight design is extremely dull compared to the Subaru, lacking any chrome or exposed exhaust pipes. Spicing things up on the climb will also take the back point while we're back here. I will mention the towing, both can handle up to 5,000 pounds as equipped, which is basically the same as everything else in the class. Now back to everyone. Target points starting at the front, the Ascent has significantly more ground clearance as you'd expect, eight point seven inches versus seven point three, which may not matter to the average consumer, but it does matter to Subaru owners.

The climb can also make a U-turn. With about a foot and a half less wheel clearance, both SUVs have attractive 20-inch contrast alloys with designs that are, honestly, very similar for the mirrors. Both are body-colored, power-adjustable, heated, and have LED turn signals. They have blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert that can only be seen from the inside as far as warranties go. Both have the same three-year 36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and five-year 60,000-mile powertrain warranty. Neither comes with any free maintenance, but more important than that is safety and both vehicles are treated as a top priority.

We do not yet have any official qualification for promotion. Both it and the Pilot come with a suite of active safety technologies including automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, and adaptive cruise. control and automatic high beams, just note that three of those four systems come standard on all trims of the Ascent, compared to just the top two trims of the Pilot. What's worth mentioning is the fuel tank, the Honda is nineteen and a half years old. gallon tank and a Subaru 19.3, so since they have the same combined fuel economy, the pilot has a slight advantage in fuel range.

The real numbers are 429 miles of range for the pilot and 425 miles for climb. That's all for the exterior, but the reason you buy a vehicle like this is for the interior, so let's go ahead and check that out at first glance, it's immediately obvious that these two were made for maximum versatility. Our pilot has a light colored beige interior and an ebony interior and rise, but both still. use a good mix of dark and light materials throughout. I will mention that the Touring Ascent comes with a brown interior instead of some fake wood trim, the seats themselves are made of real leather and have 10-way power adjustment on both, said the Subaru still has the advantage as it also includes extension manual thighs, in addition, both have heating, three-stage ventilation and two-stage memory.

First, look around, the designs look quite rich, although the pilots look a little more aged, the actual quality of the material on both. It's good on the rise, all the top areas are made of soft touch plastic with nice stitching details and then in the middle you have a strip of stitched leather to class things up even more; Otherwise everything else feels very soft to the rider, you have very similar materials. with soft touch stitched plastic on the upper parts in the middle, Honda gives you piano black trim and once again the lower areas are hard to the touch but feel solid and durable;

However, for the door trim there is a substantial difference with the Ascent using contrast stitching and perforated leather. To cover almost everything, the pilot uses mostly padded plastic, so for this area the Subaru is the Glitter winner because they both press the button to start when you do. Each has an eight-inch screen that will boot. I'll evaluate the software a little later. the video cuts to the gauges, this is another area, the two are very far apart, the pilot opted for a high tech look, while the Subaru opted for tradition, both screens are 4.2 inches and contain the information of usual driving for the steering wheels, they are made of leather. wrapped and controlled, the rack and pinion electric power steering, are loaded with buttons, even for the standard heating, but none have electric tilt or telescoping, of course, one of the main reasons you would buy something this big is to have Lots of storage space and they both have it. in spades, the pilot actually uses the minivan's armrest to allow things to be placed on top of and inside the Subaru, which is extremely deep, not as versatile, and then in the front you have another phone size, Bend , with USB charging ports and others. connections, the climb has a small shelf, but overall the pilot still wins in this area, moving to the gear levers.

Subaru went traditional and Honda went futuristic again. Normally I have a strong preference for normal shift paddles, but in this case the Honda one is quite easy to use and the Subaru is really ugly once you put it in reverse. Both have high-quality rearview cameras with trajectory and parking sensors. Subaru, however, also gives you a separate 180-degree front camera that appears on the overhead auxiliary screen, so I'll give it a point here. Both models have three-zone automatic climate controls, although they look different, the functionality is almost identical and I appreciate that both use physical controls rather than hiding functions within the infotainment screens.

Now let's go ahead and test the audio systems while the pilot system is decent. It's no match for the Subaru's truly impressive setup, plus not having volume control is annoying. That brings us to the infotainment systems, so let's take a quick look starting with the pilot. It still has the older Hondalink system rather than the newer one like in the Odyssey. The functionality isn't necessarily that different, but the new system makes things easier to understand and increases processing power. We have both Android auto and Apple carplay or you can use the integrated navigation if you prefer.

One downside is that the screen is a bit insensitive, the Subaru also had some issues with touch sensitivity but not swipe, although the system is cleaner looking than the Honda's, but all functions are pretty much the same . It also has Android Auto Apple Carplay and integrated navigation, so overall. We'll call this area the draw To conclude, both vehicles come with auto-dimming rearview mirrors, but the draw is a smart camera in the Touring that allows you to see the rearview without being hindered by passengers or cargo. The last difference worth mentioning is the panoramic sunroof on both.

Obviously we have one, what's worth noting is that the climb is one continuous piece that pretty much wraps around everything there is to see inside, so now let's look at the most important areas for your areas, starting with the edge of the door rear. Fortunately, none of the brands stuck with it. The same leather upholstery as the front, both also have sunshades for maximum comfort, directing our attention to the rear seats. They both have almost exactly the same legroom, thirty-eight point four and thirty-eight point six inches respectively, however, the pilot does. It has significantly more headroom with about two extra inches, by the way, you can get captain's chairs on the upgrade as a no-cost option when it comes to rear amenities, they both have their own climate settings back here and seats too rear with multi-stage heating.

On these top-of-the-range models below, the pilot has many more connections, including a very useful household power outlet, some of those connections are associated with the rear entertainment system. Honda gives you a full setup with wireless headphones, while Subaru will just tell you an iPad that you've probably already gotten into the third row is easy on both, but only Honda makes it hands-free with just a button once in the back. , you get a decent amount of space, but I won't go into the official numbers as it's kind of like. It doesn't make sense that both have dedicated cupholders and vents, but only the upgrade gives you two smart charging USBs that move to the rear. .

Both crossovers have power rear doors, but neither have foot activation once they open. The Subaru surprisingly outperforms the driver in all seating configurations with third. rows up we have seventeen point eight cubic feet of space in the SU B and sixteen in the Honda with those seats folded it's forty-seven point five versus 46 and with the second row folded it's eighty-six point five versus eighty-three point eight good With this we conclude this in-depth comparison video, while the points show a winnerdefinitive. I will say that as an overall package, the two are quite similar. If you really want to buy them, definitely check them out in person.

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