LA MOTOR SHOW: Subaru lands flagship SUV

Subaru has finally revealed a belated replacement for its long-gone Tribeca, at least for North Americans, in the form of the all-new Ascent seven-seat SUV.

The subject of a drawn-out teaser campaign before its world debut at the Los Angeles motor show overnight, the Ascent is claimed to be Subaru’s biggest ever production model.

At this stage it’s also set to be produced only in left-hand drive form only at Subaru’s US plant in Indiana, but the Ascent could one day come to Australia if Subaru can convince its parent company to commence RHD production.

Based on the latest Impreza’s new Subaru Global Platform but riding on a sizeable 2890mm wheelbase and displacing a huge 4350 litres of passenger volume, the Ascent would be a direct rival for large crossover wagons like the Toyota Kluger and Mazda CX-9.

Three rows of seats are fitted as standard, with the option of up to eight seats, although upscale versions come in seven-seat form with two individual middle-row pews.

Other key features include rear doors that open up to 75 degrees to aid rear ingress/egress, up to eight USB ports, a 120-volt power outlet, 19 cup and bottle holders, roof rails and three-zone climate control air-conditioning with vents for all three rows.

Also standard is Subaru’s EyeSight safety suite including autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and head-up display, plus a 6.5-inch touch-screen infotainment system.

Upstream models score an 8.0-inch display, plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, satellite navigation and radio, Wi-Fi hot spot and 14-speaker Harmon Kardon sound.

On the options list is blind spot monitoring, lane change assistance, ‘steering’ headlights, auto high-beam, powered and cooled front seats, heated front and middle-row seats, and a 180-degree front view monitor.

Perhaps most importantly, the Ascent is powered by Subaru’s new 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder boxer engine, which offers 194kW and 376Nm (more than Subaru’s existing 3.6-litre boxer six).

Fitted as standard with all-wheel drive and a CVT auto with paddle shifters, eight gear ‘ratios’, X-Mode low speed assistance, hill descent control and trailer stability assist, it comes with a 2.3-tonne towing capacity.