Compare the2024 Subaru AscentVS 2023 GMC Yukon

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
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 GMC Yukon 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 Yukon 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 Yukon 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 Yukon.

The Ascent’s optional 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 Yukon doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

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 Yukon uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Ascent and the Yukon 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 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 GMC Yukon:

	Ascent	Yukon
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	21%	23%
Neck Stress	229 lbs.	312 lbs.
Neck Compression	8 lbs.	51 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	210	233
Neck Injury Risk	33%	47%
Neck Stress	197 lbs.	272 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	35/30 lbs.	333/811 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 GMC Yukon:

	Ascent	Yukon
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.5 inches	.7 inches
Abdominal Force	73 lbs.	111 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	81	88
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	149	239
Hip Force	637 lbs.	764 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 4.2% to 4.9% less likely to roll over than the Yukon.

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 Yukon has not been tested, yet.

Warranty

The Ascent’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Yukon’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

Reliability

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the Ascent has an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of some of the engines in the Yukon.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Ascent’s reliability 12 points higher than the Yukon.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Subaru 14 places higher in reliability than GMC.

Engine

As tested in Motor Trend the Subaru Ascent is faster than the GMC Yukon 5.3 V8:

	Ascent	Yukon
Zero to 60 MPH	6.9 sec	7.2 sec
Quarter Mile	15.2 sec	15.5 sec

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

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Ascent
	AWD	2.4 turbo flat-4	20 city/26 hwy
		Limited/Touring/Onyx 2.4 turbo flat-4	19 city/25 hwy
Yukon
	RWD	5.3 OHV V8	15 city/20 hwy
		6.2 OHV V8	14 city/20 hwy
	AWD	5.3 OHV V8	15 city/20 hwy
		6.2 OHV V8	14 city/18 hwy

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Subaru Ascent uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Yukon with the 6.2 V8 engine 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 Yukon. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

Transmission

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 Yukon doesn’t offer a CVT.

Brakes and Stopping

The Ascent stops much shorter than the Yukon:

	Ascent	Yukon
70 to 0 MPH	176 feet	183 feet	Car and Driver
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 Yukon SLE’s standard 65 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

The Ascent Touring handles at .80 G’s, while the Yukon Denali 4x4 pulls only .73 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Ascent Touring executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 3.4 seconds quicker than the Yukon AT4 4x4 (27.2 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 30.6 seconds @ .51 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Ascent’s turning circle is .1 feet tighter than the Yukon’s (38 feet vs. 38.1 feet). The Ascent’s turning circle is 1.7 feet tighter than the Yukon w/20-22 inch wheels’ (38 feet vs. 39.7 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Ascent has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Yukon (8.7 vs. 8 inches), allowing the Ascent to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The Subaru Ascent may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1050 to 1350 pounds less than the GMC Yukon.

The Ascent is 1 foot, 1.2 inches shorter than the Yukon, 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 Yukon doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

Passenger Space

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Ascent’s middle and third row seats recline. The Yukon’s third row seats don’t recline.

The front step up height for the Ascent is 5.5 inches lower than the Yukon (17.7” vs. 23.2”). The Ascent’s rear step up height is 5.4 inches lower than the Yukon’s (18.1” vs. 23.5”).

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 Yukon’s liftover is 37 inches.

Ergonomics

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Ascent’s available exterior PIN entry system (not available on Ascent Base). The Yukon doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its OnStar® can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

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 Yukon 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 Yukon 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 Yukon is rated higher at a number “6” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Ascent is less expensive to operate than the Yukon because it costs $218 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Ascent than the Yukon, including $55 less for a water pump, $803 less for a muffler, $21 less for front brake pads, $148 less for fuel injection, $199 less for a fuel pump, $957 less for a timing belt/chain and $292 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

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