Compare the2022 Subaru AscentVS 2022 Ford Expedition

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission and Drivetrain
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages

Safety

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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 Ford Expedition doesn’t offer pretensioners for the middle seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Ascent are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Expedition doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Subaru Ascent has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Expedition doesn’t offer knee airbags.

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 Expedition 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 Expedition.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Ascent uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Expedition uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Ascent and the Expedition have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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 Ford Expedition:

	Ascent	Expedition
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	21%	32%
Neck Stress	229 lbs.	361 lbs.
Neck Compression	8 lbs.	147 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	210	326
Neck Injury Risk	33%	35%
Leg Forces (l/r)	35/30 lbs.	271/178 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, results indicate that the Subaru Ascent is safer than the Ford Expedition:

	Ascent	Expedition
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.5 inches	.5 inches
Abdominal Force	73 G’s	108 G’s
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	27 G’s	27 G’s
Hip Force	346 lbs.	434 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Ascent is 2.3% to 3.8% less likely to roll over than the Expedition.

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 Expedition has not been tested, yet.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Subaru 17th in reliability. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles, Ford is ranked 22nd.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Subaru 14 places higher in reliability than Ford.

Engine

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Ascent lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability without compromising ground clearance. The Expedition doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Ascent gets better mileage than the Expedition:

			MPG
Ascent
	AWD	2.4 turbo flat-4	21 city/27 hwy
		Limited/Touring 2.4 turbo flat-4	20 city/26 hwy
Expedition
	RWD	3.5 turbo V6	17 city/23 hwy
	AWD	3.5 turbo V6	17 city/22 hwy

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Subaru Ascent uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Expedition requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

Transmission and Drivetrain

The Ascent has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Expedition doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Ascent has X-Mode, a true all-wheel-drive system, which uses a four wheel traction control system to redirect engine power to the axle and wheel that still has traction to keep the Ascent moving if even only one wheel still has traction. The Expedition doesn’t offer a true four-wheel drive system; it could get stuck while one or more wheels still have traction.

Brakes and Stopping

The Ascent stops much shorter than the Expedition:

	Ascent	Expedition
60 to 0 MPH	114 feet	129 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

The Ascent’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Expedition’s standard 65 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

The Ascent Touring handles at .80 G’s, while the Expedition XLT 4x4 pulls only .76 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Ascent Touring executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Expedition XLT 4x4 (27.2 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 27.6 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Ascent’s turning circle is 3 feet tighter than the Expedition’s (38 feet vs. 41 feet).

Chassis

The Subaru Ascent may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 900 to 950 pounds less than the Ford Expedition.

The Ascent is 1 foot, 1.2 inches shorter than the Expedition, making the Ascent easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Unibody construction lowers the Ascent’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The Expedition uses body-on-frame design instead.

Ergonomics

The Ascent has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank. The Expedition doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Ascent has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Expedition doesn’t offer cornering lights.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Ascent to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Expedition doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The Ascent has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning costs extra on the Expedition.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Ascent owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Ascent with a number “5” insurance rate while the Expedition is rated higher at a number “10” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Ascent is less expensive to operate than the Expedition because it costs $36 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Ascent than the Expedition, including $148 less for a muffler, $439 less for a timing belt/chain and $515 less for a power steering pump.