Key Points
- The $54,000 Subaru Ascent Onyx Touring offers luxury features, standard AWD, and ground clearance.
- Toyota’s Grand Highlander Hybrid provides better fuel economy, more cargo space, and comparable equipment.
- Honda’s Pilot TrailSport adds genuine off-road hardware, while Hyundai’s Palisade XRT Pro costs less.
A $54,000 Subaru Ascent Onyx Edition Touring is the model’s top trim level. It’s packed with tons of great feaatures and also comes with standard all-wheel drive, generous ground clearance, and upscale equipment remain appealing. The Ascent, however, is aging. After a 2023 mid-cycle refresh, the Ascent is about to enter its ninth year in production.
The Onyx Touring starts at $51,995, adding premium paint and destination takes it to nearly $54,000 before taxes. At this price, buyers should demand more than familiar Subaru virtues and blacked-out trim. A closer look at the three-row SUV segment shows more appealing options this price point.
What Does the Ascent Give You?
Kristen Brown
The Onyx Edition Touring is more than an appearance package. It adds black exterior details and 20-inch black wheels, along with Nappa leather upholstery, navigation, Harman Kardon audio, and a panoramic moonroof. Its seven-passenger configuration includes second-row captain’s chairs. This is Subaru’s family SUV with more stealth and more luxury.
Nevertheless, the underlying mechanical package won’t blow your hair back. Every Ascent gets one powertrain: a 260-horsepower turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder and continuously variable automatic transmission. The Onyx Edition Touring returns an EPA-rated 21 mpg combined. Neither its output nor its efficiency provides an especially persuasive reason to spend this kind of money when there are better choices out there.
The Subaru still deserves consideration for those who love the brand and the accompanying safety and standard all-wheel drive. But those strengths don’t automatically make its most expensive version the smartest purchase.
Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid Limited
The Grand Highlander Hybrid Limited trounces the Ascent in the fuel efficiency department, for starters. the Grand Highlander Hybrid earns an EPA-estimated 34 mpg combined. That’s a substantial improvement over the Subaru’s 21 mpg. For families piling on school-run, commuting, and vacation mileage, the difference adds up quickly. It’s reason alone to move away from the gas-only Ascent.
This near top-trim Highlander Hybrid Limited’s starting price is $53,110, and the total comes to $54,705 with destination. Its standard equipment set is comprehensive for this price and comes with the right equipment to go toe-to-toe with the Ascent Onyx Edition Touring. All-wheel drive, 20″ wheels, leather seats, heated/ventilated front seats, heated second row outboard seats, tri-zone automatic climate control, a JBL premium sound system, and the list goes on.
The Grand Highlander Hybrid Limited’s 12.3″ is larger, and its interface is more modern with better responsiveness. The Ascent also lacks the superb switchgear found in the Grand Highlander, one of its standout benefits. On top of that, the Toyota also supplies 20.6 cubic feet of cargo room behind its third row, compared with the Ascent’s 17.8. That additional space is particularly useful when passengers occupy every row and folding seats isn’t an option. Total cargo space in the Grand Highlander is 84.3 compared to the 75.6 in the Ascent. It’s more family-friendly and road trip ready.
Honda Pilot TrailSport
Honda
If the Ascent Onyx Edition Touring’s dark trim appeals to your outdoorsy side, the Honda Pilot TrailSport puts considerably more substance behind it’s blackened trim bits. Honda’s current configurator lists the 2026 Pilot TrailSport at $50,595 before its $1,595 destination charge, bringing the starting total to $52,190. That undercuts the flagship Ascent trim by a couple grand, while preserving standard AWD and seven-passenger seating.
Honda
More importantly, the Pilot TrailSport includes 18″ alloy wheels, all-wheel drive, all-terrain tires, an off-road-tuned suspension, two skid plates, a multiview camera system helps with TrailWatch, and recovery points, These are functional upgrades, not simply visual suggestions of adventure. Creature comforts that come standard include rugged synthetic leather with orange stitching, heated front seats, a 12.3″ color infotainment touchscreen, 2nd row sunshades, 2nd-row Captain’s Chairs, tri-zone automatic climate control, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, and a CabinTalk intercom system.
A 285-horsepower V6 and 10-speed automatic provide another benefit for buyers who would rather skip the Subaru’s turbo-four/CVT combination. The Pilot isn’t the fuel-saving choice here, but it offers a more satisfying driving experience and off-road capability that the Ascent can’t match.
Hyundai Palisade XRT Pro
Hyundai
The redesigned 2026 Palisade XRT Pro offers another way to buy a family SUV with an outdoors-oriented personality. The styling is more rugged and more cohesive than the Ascent’s and it looks significantly more modern thanks to its full redesign for the 2026 model year. Its $50,170 base price plus $1,600 freight comes to $51,470 total, well below the Ascent Onyx’s $54,000. The Palisade XRT Pro comes standard with a 287-horsepower V6 mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission, all-wheel drive, Terrain Mode Select (Mud, Snow, Sand), and Tow Mode. Hyundai backs the styling of the XRT Pro with all-terrain tires and increased ground clearance.
Hyundai
In terms of interior tech features, the Palisade XRT Pro handily beats the Ascent with a responsive and cutting-edge 12.3″ touchscreen and matching instrument display, and a 14-speaker Bose premium audio system. The Palisade also offers 43 inches of 2nd row legroom and 32.1 inches of third row legroom, more than both rows in the Ascent. 19.1 cubic feet behind the third row and 86.7 cubic feet with both rows folded flat, giving it a luggage-space advantage over the Subaru.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, the Ascent Onyx Edition Touring makes sense for someone who specifically wants a fully equipped Subaru. The price, however, is hard to justify when these three alternatives provide more modern styling, more interior space, and more convincing standard feature sets. Toyota offers stronger efficiency, Honda supplies more purposeful trail hardware, and Hyundai delivers rugged appeal at a lower starting price. At $54,000, brand loyalty feels like a cruel mistress for a model that needs a redesign.
About the author
Amos Kwon
Contributing Writer, Autoblog