We drove a $42,000 Toyota Highlander and a $46,000 Subaru Ascent to see which is the better family SUV — here's the verdict

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October 14, 2018 2:18 PM

The Toyota Highlander is one of the best selling three-row family SUVs in the US while the Subaru Ascent is all-new for 2019. The base 2018 Toyota Highlander starts at $31,230 while the base 2019 Subaru Ascent starts at $31,995.

The
Through September, Highlander sales are up 14.2% over 2017.
The
The base 2018
The base 2019 Subaru Ascent starts at $31,995, while our top-of-the-line Ascent Touring starts at $44,695.
The Subaru's peppy driving dynamics, gutsy turbocharged engine, superior infotainment, abundant standard safety features, and well-designed cabin tip this scales in its favor over the Highlander.

The Toyota Highlander is a bonafide star in the midsize family SUV market. In 2017, Toyota sold nearly 216,000 Highlanders in the US, making it the third best selling mid-size SUV behind only the Ford Explorer and the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The Highlander's success has rival automakers looking to cash in on the strength of the mid-size SUV market. Last year, Volkswagen jumped into the fray with the three-row Atlas crossover SUV.

However, that hasn't slowed the Highlander down.

In fact, it's doing even better this year with sales up 14.2% through September. More than 180,000 of the Toyota SUVs have rolled out of showrooms in 2018.

Now, another new challenger has arrived in the form of the 2019 Subaru Ascent.

Subaru has been on a roll with nearly seven years' worth of consecutive month-over-month sales growth in the US.

Subaru's Outback off-road wagon along with Forester and Crosstrek crossovers have been hot sellers in recent years. But its most recent midsize SUV, the B9 Tribeca, proved to be a critical and sales flop.

Now, the Japanese automaker is trying to make up lost ground with the larger three-row Ascent.

Earlier this year, Business Insider has had the chance to experience the Highlander in mid-grade SE trim and in top-spec Hybrid Limited Platinum guise.

Recently, we also spent a week with a top-of-the-line Subaru Ascent Touring to see how it stacks up against the Toyota Highlander.

Here's what we found.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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