It's easier to sell what no one else does but harder to make a sale when you haven't got what everyone else has.

Subaru is the only car company that sells only all-wheel-drive cars (well, with one exception: the rear-wheel-drive BRZ sports car). And not just AWD cars but AWD cars that are powered by low-mounted horizontally opposed Boxer engines instead of the usual upright, inline V-type engines everyone else sells.

But the one thing Subaru lacks that almost everyone else has is a full-size crossover SUV with three usable rows and room for eight full-size people. And unlike the full-size crossovers sold by everyone else, the new Ascent comes standard with both AWD and the Boxer engine.

What It Is

The Ascent is a full-size three-row crossover that fits seven to eights passengers (depending on the configuration).

Base price is $31,995, which includes AWD and the turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder Boxer to go with it.

What's New

The Ascent is a new model for Subaru and the first truly full-size model the company has ever sold.

What's Good

It has best-in-class third-row legroom (31.7 inches).

It has best-in-class cargo room behind the third row.

The Premium and Limited trims have a stout tow rating (5,000 pounds).

What's Not So Good

The turbocharged engine wants premium fuel.

Big size equals big appetite for fuel.

Second-row seat tracks are dirt traps.

Under the Hood

This biggest and heaviest-ever Subaru has an engine not much larger than those used in the smallest and lightest Subarus. It has just 2.4 liters, only slightly more than the 2.0-liter four-cylinder used in the Impreza and BRZ sports car. But the Ascent engine is turbocharged, and when boosted, the output of the little four cylinders is about what a 3.5-liter V-6 without turbo would make: 260 horsepower and 277 foot-pounds of torque.

But gas mileage is also about what you'd get with a comparably powerful V-6: 20 mpg city and 26 highway.

On the Road

Though this is the biggest and heaviest Subaru ever, it is designed to not feel like it is. The hood slopes down and away, and the steering is very quick.

It has visibility and maneuverability.

As in most Subarus, you sit higher up, and so does the Ascent itself. It has 8.7 inches of ground clearance. Combined with the AWD system, that makes this a snow day-capable crossover.

The AWD system is also capable of vectoring torque to individual wheels rather than pairs of wheels (i.e. the inside right rear wheel rather than both rear wheels). This is a trick it learned from its high-performance cousin the WRX.

The low-mounted Boxer engine — unavailable in competitor vehicles — helps with stability during cornering.

At the Curb

Crossovers are a question of packaging more than anything else. What to emphasize? How much room for people and cargo?

The Ascent's designers didn't compromise any of the essential categories, most notably the third row. It has 31.7 inches of legroom — best in class — as well as adult-viable headroom. A panorama moonroof that extends from the first row all the way to the third row is available in the Premium and Limited models. Moonroofs often cost you an inch or more headroom and make things tight in the second and third rows. That's not the case here.

There is also best-in-class cargo room in both categories: 17.8 cubic feet behind the third row and 86.5 cubic feet with the second and third rows folded flat.

The Rest

If you slide the second-row seats forward, you will discover the tracks in the floor are recessed into the floor and exposed. There is no shield or cover to prevent the inevitable dirt and kid debris from accumulating and gumming up the works. Vacuum here regularly!

Also, the engine is a premium fuel engine. It's not required but recommended. That means you can use regular 87 octane unleaded and not hurt anything — other than the maximum power produced by the engine.

If the computer senses gas other than premium, it dials back the power just a bit to accommodate the lower-test fuel.

The Bottom Line

The Ascent gives Subaru what was lacking packaged with what others aren't offering. Odds are it will sell.

Eric's new book, "Don't Get Taken for a Ride!" is available now. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

View the Subaru Ascent this week.