Compare the2024 Subaru AscentVS 2023 Ford Expedition

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

Safety

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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 Ford Expedition doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

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, 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, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

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 lbs.	108 lbs.
	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 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 Expedition has not been fully tested, yet.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are better in initial quality than Ford vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Subaru above average in initial quality. With 16 more problems per 100 vehicles, Ford is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Subaru 11 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	20 city/26 hwy
		Limited/Touring/Onyx 2.4 turbo flat-4	19 city/25 hwy
Expedition
	RWD	3.5 turbo V6	17 city/23 hwy
	AWD	0	15 city/ hwy
		3.5 turbo V6	16 city/22 hwy
		Timberline 3.5 turbo V6	16 city/19 hwy
		Timberline 3.5 turbo V6	15 city/19 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 on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Ascent has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Expedition. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

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 Timberline’s standard 70 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 950 to 1050 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 doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Ascent easier. The Ascent’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 32 inches, while the Expedition’s liftover is 34.7 inches.

Ergonomics

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.

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.

Recommendations

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

The Subaru Ascent outsold the Ford Expedition/Expedition Max by 1697 units during 2022.