Dogs have driven Subaru's new SUV before us

Subaru has unveiled a new eight-seat SUV at the LA motor show. It’s called the Ascent and, truth be told, it’s not hugely interesting. It’s not particularly exciting to look at, and it’s unlikely to come to the UK.

Yet it absolutely has our attention. That’s because it was apparently driven onto the LA show stage by a dog, before said dog's whole family clambered out to show how cavernous the new Ascent – available with seven or eight seats – actually is.

“The dogs exited the vehicle to greet Tom Doll, president and COO of Subaru of America and pose for photos with the surprised crowd,” Subaru tells us. “Dogs are a major pillar for us as more than half of Subaru drivers are pet owners, with over 48 per cent of them owning at least one dog.”

Despite being a far cry from an Impreza bwah-bwah-bwah-ing its way around a rally stage, the Ascent has lots of Subaru hallmarks: a 260bhp boxer engine drives all four wheels through an all-wheel drive chassis, and there is a ton of active safety tech. Systems seemingly so clever, even dogs can safely drive it…