# 2020 Subaru Ascent - Towing champ? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Tags:** subaru\ **Created:** [November 4, 2019, 2:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-subaru-ascent-towing-champ/152092 "2019-11-04T14:52:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alan24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Alan24](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Alan24)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 2:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-subaru-ascent-towing-champ/152092/1 "2019-11-04T14:52:26Z")
Is a Subaru Ascent Premium good for pulling a 2,500 lb trailer? ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 2:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-subaru-ascent-towing-champ/152092/2 "2019-11-04T14:58:17Z")
If you would have gone to the Subaru web site you would have discovered the towing weight in a matter of seconds. But since you did not it says it will tow that . But a dealer will verify that and also know if any other things need to be added to the vehicle for safety. ---
**Author:** ![Alan24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Alan24](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Alan24)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 3:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-subaru-ascent-towing-champ/152092/3 "2019-11-04T15:13:30Z")
Thanks. I have gone to the Subaru website but ratings don’t necessarily reflect how a car handles a trailer in real life, especially here in the mountains of Colorado. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 3:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-subaru-ascent-towing-champ/152092/4 "2019-11-04T15:23:56Z")
> [@Alan24](#): > > ratings don’t necessarily reflect how a car handles a trailer in real life Actually they do. The ratings are based on braking, cooling, handling and other engineering specifics. But if you want a better assesment, seach Subaru forums or RV forums. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s-Me](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/it_s-me/32/12660_2.png) [@It\_s-Me](https://community.cartalk.com/u/It_s-Me)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-subaru-ascent-towing-champ/152092/5 "2019-11-04T15:27:23Z")
A properly equipped one will. From the owners manual for a 2020 Ascent Premium. ![Capture](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/8/5/85e578e73478f67c9051b15ec584447b4fe14fae.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![GorehamJ](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/gorehamj/32/24103_2.png) [@GorehamJ](https://community.cartalk.com/u/GorehamJ)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 4:34pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-subaru-ascent-towing-champ/152092/6 "2019-11-04T16:34:23Z")
We did not tow with it, but if you’d like a minimally biased review, here is one for the [2020 Ascent](http://bestride.com/news/review-2020-subaru-ascent-premium-top-of-the-class-in-a-surprising-way) the Car Talk staff participated in. Minimally biased because we own Subarus and have some strong opinions on the brand. Note that you need to configure your new Ascent for towing to handle more than 2K pounds, including specifying a trans cooler (towing prep package). The one we tested didn’t even have a hitch that we recall seeing. ---
**Author:** ![wolyrobb](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/wolyrobb/32/45497_2.png) [@wolyrobb](https://community.cartalk.com/u/wolyrobb)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 5:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-subaru-ascent-towing-champ/152092/7 "2019-11-04T17:31:30Z")
The limit with the transmission cooler and a braked trailer is 5,000lbs according to the manual for a 2020 Ascent Premium… It apears that Premium trim and up have the cooler. 1,000lbs for a trailer without brakes. Seems to have done well with a 4,300lb trailer on the back ---
**Author:** ![vipergg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/50afbb/32.png) [@vipergg](https://community.cartalk.com/u/vipergg)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 12:39am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2020-subaru-ascent-towing-champ/152092/8 "2019-11-05T00:39:50Z")
Hopefully their CVT is up to towing 5000 lbs. A whole discusssion on the cvt failure in Ascents. [https://www.ascentforums.com/threads/transmission-failure-statistics-from-the-forum.8909/](https://www.ascentforums.com/threads/transmission-failure-statistics-from-the-forum.8909/) > **[Major Transmission Problem](https://www.ascentforums.com/threads/major-transmission-problem.4809/)** > > Ordered a Magnetite Gray Ascent Limited on June 23rd. Picked the car up on Sept. 7th, 10 weeks later. Noticed a few instances of "slipping" in the transmission. About a week ago, wife was driving with our autistic son when multiple warning lights...