Compare the2023 GMC AcadiaVS 2023 Subaru Ascent

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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The Acadia Denali’s optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Ascent doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the GMC Acadia are height-adjustable, and the middle seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Subaru Ascent doesn’t offer comfort guides on its middle seat belts.

The Acadia has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Ascent doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Acadia has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. Only the Ascent Premium/Limited/Touring offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Acadia has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Ascent Premium/Limited/Touring offers rear cross-path warning.

Both the Acadia and the Ascent have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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 all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the GMC Acadia is safer than the Subaru Ascent:

	Acadia	Ascent
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	21%	21%
Neck Stress	191 lbs.	229 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 GMC Acadia is safer than the Subaru Ascent:

	Acadia	Ascent
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	243 lbs.	274 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	14 inches	18 inches
Spine Acceleration	36 G’s	52 G’s

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

Warranty

The Acadia’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Ascent’s (6 vs. 5 years).

There are almost 3 times as many GMC dealers as there are Subaru dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Acadia’s warranty.

Reliability

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Acadia has a standard 220-amp alternator. The Ascent’s 190-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Acadia has a standard 660-amp battery. The Ascent’s 530-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Acadia third among upper midsize suvs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Ascent isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that GMC vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks GMC above average in initial quality. With 29 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that GMC vehicles are more reliable than Subaru With 34 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks GMC higher than Subaru.

Engine

The Acadia’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 50 more horsepower (310 vs. 260) than the Ascent’s 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Acadia
	FWD	3.6 DOHC V6	19 city/27 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
	AWD	3.6 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/27 hwy
Ascent
	AWD	2.4 turbo flat-4	20 city/26 hwy
		Limited/Touring/Onyx 2.4 turbo flat-4	19 city/25 hwy

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Acadia’s fuel efficiency. The Ascent doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Acadia 2.0 Turbo’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Ascent doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Acadia’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Ascent doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Acadia AWD’s standard fuel tank has 2.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Ascent (21.7 vs. 19.3 gallons).

The Acadia has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Ascent doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the GMC Acadia higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Subaru Ascent (3). This means the Acadia produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Ascent every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

The Acadia stops shorter than the Ascent:

	Acadia	Ascent
70 to 0 MPH	173 feet	178 feet	Car and Driver

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Acadia AT4’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Ascent (255/65R17 vs. 245/60R18).

The GMC Acadia’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Subaru Ascent only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Acadia has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Ascent doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

The Acadia offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Ascent’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Acadia has variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Ascent doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Acadia Denali AWD handles at .85 G’s, while the Ascent Limited pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Acadia SLT AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Ascent Touring (26.9 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 27.4 seconds @ .63 average G’s).

Chassis

The GMC Acadia may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 50 to 250 pounds less than the Subaru Ascent.

The Acadia is 3.4 inches shorter than the Ascent, making the Acadia easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the Acadia FWD 4 cyl. uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Ascent doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Acadia uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Ascent doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Acadia has 1.1 inches more rear legroom and 1 inch more third row headroom than the Ascent.

Cargo Capacity

The Acadia’s cargo area provides more volume than the Ascent.

	Acadia	Ascent
Second Seat Folded	79 cubic feet	75.6 cubic feet

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the Acadia’s second row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Ascent doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Acadia’s liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Ascent doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Servicing Ease

The Acadia uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Ascent uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

The Acadia (except SLE)’s optional easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Ascent doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Acadia (except SLE) offers an available heads-up display that projects speed in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Ascent doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the Acadia and the Ascent have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Acadia is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Ascent prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Acadia’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Ascent’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Acadia’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Subaru only offers heated mirrors on the Ascent Premium/Limited/Touring.

When the Acadia with available tilt-down mirrors is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Ascent’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

Model Availability

The Acadia is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Ascent doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Acadia is less expensive to operate than the Ascent because typical repairs cost much less on the Acadia than the Ascent, including $190 less for a starter and $371 less for front struts.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the GMC Acadia and the Subaru Ascent, based on reliability, safety and performance.