For enhanced safety, the front and second-row 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 Volkswagen Atlas doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row 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 Atlas 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 Atlas 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 Atlas 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 Atlas.
The Ascent Limited/Touring’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Atlas doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Ascent and the Atlas have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, around view monitors 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 Volkswagen Atlas:
|
Ascent |
Atlas |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
190 |
307 |
Neck Injury Risk |
21% |
30% |
Neck Stress |
229 lbs. |
412 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
8 lbs. |
59 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
210 |
277 |
Chest Compression |
.7 inches |
.7 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
33% |
39% |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
35/30 lbs. |
297/97 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 Volkswagen Atlas:
|
Ascent |
Atlas |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
37 |
57 |
Chest Movement |
.5 inches |
.5 inches |
Hip Force |
274 lbs. |
345 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
81 |
144 |
Spine Acceleration |
27 G’s |
39 G’s |
Hip Force |
346 lbs. |
527 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
149 |
279 |
Hip Force |
637 lbs. |
800 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Ascent its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 29 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Atlas was last a “Top Safety Pick Plus” in 2019 but no longer qualifies.