I drove Subaru’s priciest SUV. It’s perfect for families who outgrow the Outback or Forester — but the safety tech is vexing.

So, what’s it like to drive?

The Subaru Ascent delivers a pleasant and reassuring driving experience. The Ascent stands out for its confident handling and strong acceleration in a segment that doesn’t prioritize driving pleasure.

When it debuted in 2019, I, along with many in the industry, was unsure about pairing a small turbocharged four-cylinder in a 4,600-pound, 8-passenger SUV. However, the Subie quickly proved myself and other doubters incorrect. In fact, it has become a bit of a trendsetter as others, like the Toyota Highlander and Chevrolet Traverse, have dumped their big V6 engines in favor of turbo fours.

The Subie remains peppy around town while providing gutsy acceleration down the highway on-ramps. The Ascent never felt short on power, even when loaded with cargo and people.

According to Car and Driver, the Ascent can make the sprint from zero to 60mph in a more than respectable 6.8 seconds.

However, the Ascent does have its imperfections.

The continuously variable transmission is the weakest point in Ascent’s driving experience and its drive train. The CVTs on earlier Ascents including my own, can feel abrupt or have a tendency to surge when accelerating at lower speeds. That was still the case on our 2024 test car but the effects are far more muted and barely noticeable.

Then there’s the CVT whine. Upon initial startup, the Ascent’s transmission emits a high-pitched whining noise while under acceleration. The noise, reminiscent of a dying torque converter on a traditional automatic, disappears once the vehicle reaches normal operating temperature. Even though the transmission delivers power normally when emitting the disconcerting noise, it feels grossly out of place in a $50,000 SUV.

With that said, Subaru’s Lineartronic unit is one of the most capable CVTs on the market and is able to provide a serviceable approximation of a traditional automatic transmission. The pre-programmed shift points that mimic the feel of an 8-speed automatic did help mitigate the dreaded CVT drone under hard acceleration.