For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Ascent have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Chrysler Pacifica doesn’t offer pretensioners for the middle seat belts.
The Ascent has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Pacifica doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Ascent. But it costs extra on the Pacifica.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Ascent’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Pacifica doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
Both the Ascent and the Pacifica have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Subaru Ascent is safer than the Chrysler Pacifica:
|
Ascent |
Pacifica |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
21% |
29% |
Neck Stress |
229 lbs. |
230 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
8 lbs. |
56 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
35/30 lbs. |
440/251 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Subaru Ascent is safer than the Chrysler Pacifica:
|
Ascent |
Pacifica |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
37 |
72 |
Chest Movement |
.5 inches |
1 inches |
Abdominal Force |
73 G’s |
149 G’s |
Hip Force |
274 lbs. |
395 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
27 G’s |
54 G’s |
Hip Force |
346 lbs. |
764 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
149 |
293 |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Ascent its highest rating: “Top Pick Plus” for 2021, a rating granted to only 73 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Pacifica last would have qualified as only a standard “Top Pick” for 2019.