Subaru Japan is now looking to introduce the Ascent/Evoltis to its home market

Just as Toyota and Nissan are starting to bring in the large, American-made models to the Japanese market as part of a new Japan-US trade agreement, in a seemingly similar strategy, Subaru is now also looking to reverse import the Ascent/Evoltis to its home country.

READ: Nissan Japan is reverse-importing the US-built 4th-generation Murano, should we get it?

This will be the first time in a while that Subaru will be offering a three-row vehicle in its home market, as it never offered the three-row Tribeca, with the Japan and Australia-only Exiga MPV being canned back in 2018.

The Ascent/Evoltis is being manufactured in the Indiana plant and has been primarily sold in the US market alongside ours, as it has been a staple of Motor Image Pilipinas’ (Subaru’s Philippine distributor) lineup, as it fills the role of a large three-row premium offering that retails for Php 3.780-million.

The SUV comes with an non-electrified 2.4-liter turbocharged Boxer engine with 260 horsepower and 375 Nm of torque, Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive with dual X-Mode, and a luxurious interior with Nappa leather upholstery, and a Harman/Kardon sound system. All that is packaged in a form factor that can comfortably seat seven people with two captain’s chairs in the middle and a bench seat that can carry three people, and the EyeSight suite of advanced driver assistance systems.

Now, this model is still under consideration as Subaru Japan is still studying its feasibility, but it’s genuinely exciting to see the Japanese market get shaken up with more models from across the world. Though if the introduction of the Ascent/Evoltis doesn’t push through, perhaps Subaru could look at the fully electric Getaway as an alternative, and hopefully, entice other markets in the region to introduce it as well?

^{Photos from Subaru}