Ascent seems an apt name for Subaru's new three-row SUV.

It not only gives Subaru an entry in the important mid-sized sport-utility segment but could also describe its growing popularity in North America.

Canadian and U.S. sales are in record territory – more than 50,000 to the end of November in Canada, up 9 per cent year over year, and almost 600,000 in the U.S.

The auto maker's Canadian market share has edged up to 2.6 per cent, still well behind heavyweights such as Toyota (9.9 per cent), Honda and Hyundai but closing in on Mazda (3.6 per cent) and Volkswagen (3.4 per cent), which all have larger product lines.

Subaru has nurtured an image as a maker of quirky but reliable all-wheel-drive transportation, pioneering the small SUV and crossover segments with its Outback models in the 1990s.

Subaru Canada vice-president Ted Lalka balks at suggestions the company now should be lumped in with other volume producers.

"I don't think we've gone mainstream at all," Lalka, who heads up marketing, product management and customer experience, told Globe Drive at the Los Angeles Auto Show, where the Ascent was unveiled. "I think what we provide is an alternative to mainstream brands."

Not counting Ascent, which rolls into its 93 dealerships next summer as a 2019 model, Subaru fields seven model lines, from the entry-level Impreza sedan and hatchback, to the high-performance WRX STI. The Forester compact SUV and Crosstrek and Outback crossover wagons are the heart of the lineup.

Subaru has always had great word-of-mouth – used Subbies fetch good prices and the STI is a cult favourite – and increased brand awareness recently, thanks to ads that stress its all-weather stoutness and safety.

"Let me give you a stat," Lalka said. "Seventy per cent of the vehicles we sold were people that were new to the brand."

Ascent can only help. Subaru has been without an entry in the mid-size crossover/SUV segment since it axed the slow-selling seven-passenger Tribeca in 2015.

The Ascent looks a little smaller and less brawny than the Viziv show cars that provided design waypoints for the production model. But Lalka said it delivers on elements people liked in Viziv, such as easy third-row access, high comfort levels and enough ground clearance (220 mm) for off-road adventures.

"It was still a vehicle that looked like it would have some fun left in it in terms of driving," he said.

The Ascent is powered by an all-new 2.4-litre turbocharged boxer engine producing 260 horsepower and 277 lb.-ft. of torque, available as low as 2,000 rpm, on regular gasoline. Power runs through a continuously variable automatic transmission and Subaru's trademark symmetrical all-wheel-drive system.

The Ascent has a towing capacity of 2,270 kilograms. When not in use, the hitch is concealed by a flap in the rear bumper.

Built on Subaru's global platform, the Ascent offers eight-passenger seating via two bench seats as standard or seven spots with optional second-row captain's chairs. To emphasize its family-friendly nature, spill-repellant cloth seats will be available even on higher trim levels.

Other features include the EyeSight suite of driver-assist technology such as precollision braking and throttle management, blindspot warning and reverse automatic braking available on all models, wide rear-door openings for easier access to the third row and a compact power-rear gate unit that improves cargo area.

Largely designed in the U.S. and built in Subaru's Lafayette, Ind., plant, the Ascent is crucial to the American market, where executives hope to sell 68,000 in 2018.

Lalka said Subaru Canada hopes to do as well, proportionately, but noted Canadians tend to buy smaller vehicles than their American cousins.

"You have to remember that segment is not as strong in Canada as it is in the United States," he said.

Subaru Canada does share a problem with its U.S. counterparts: Loyal customers with growing families had to shop elsewhere when they needed a larger vehicle.

"So they would leave the brand and so it's hard to know whether they come back to you or not," Lalka said. "The Ascent fits perfectly in our lineup to complement it and provides people in various life stages an opportunity to stay with the brand and enjoy all the things they're familiar with."

Looking ahead, Lalka said a replacement is in the pipeline for the Crosstrek hybrid, which was dropped last year. He would not say when it would arrive, but it has been rumoured for 2019.

"Subaru's definitely working on electrification of vehicles," he added. "We're looking at a combination of plug-in hybrid vehicles as well as pure EVs."

The writer was a guest of the auto maker at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Content was not subject to approval.

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