2006 Subaru Review

Specifications

New Crossover Stirs Up Mixed Emotions

Finally the automaker that brought us the crossover sport wagon has made a crossover SUV, and if anyone were to take its TV ad seriously, the one that shows the new B9 Tribeca driving past sport utilities and rival crossovers with each competitor dissipating into dust, engulfed in vines or transformed into blocks of scrap metal, youd think that Subaru had reinvented the market segment completely.

Slick DDB New York marketing aside, the simple fact is that the B9 Tribeca isnt a heck of a lot different from other car-like crossover sport utilities already available. In fact, while late to the party, as much as it shines in some respects when compared feature for feature to vehicles such as the Acura MDX, Buick Rendezvous, Chrysler Pacifica, Ford Freestyle or Volvo XC90, it also occasionally misses the mark.

I suppose I wouldnt be so critical of Subarus new crossover if the Japanese automaker hadnt been so brazen with its advertising. After all, some of the vehicles that it dismisses as passé are impressive performers in the crossover SUV category, and Im not just talking about sales numbers. For instance, the ad attempts to make Acuras superb MDX appear like an automotive anachronism. While the current iteration is nearing the end of its lifecycle, the MDX is still a formidable player.

But Im not going to go through each and every model that Subaru attempts to smear in somewhat humorous albeit misrepresentative ad campaign, but rather talk directly about the B9 Tribeca, along with its many attributes and few faults. I will take the opportunity to compare specific features with its main rivals, however, as I think this is only fair given the harsh criticism Subaru has dealt to its competitors.

Lets start with styling. Few vehicles manage to polarize potential buyers as strongly as the Tribeca, with some in love with its daring shape and many laughing all the way to their Toyota dealer. Personally, Im impressed that a company that has shown little creativity with regards to design in the past, Brat and Baja aside, is finally taking a stand to be as unique in appearances as it has always been under the skin.

That in mind, I dont think my opinion with regards to its odd grille treatment is of any value. Im sure that you have come to your own conclusions, and if you like it you no doubt like it a lot, and if not you probably would never buy something as unique as a Subaru anyway. Or have I misjudged Subarus traditional buyer?

I was at the gas station filling up when a mid-30s woman walking from the cashier to her late model Ford Escape turned to me and said, “Whats that? Its gorgeous!” She was looking at the Tribecas rear quarters at the time, so upon telling her it was Subarus new crossover SUV I walked her around the car and asked her if she liked the front end styling too. I told her I was merely testing the Tribeca so that she didnt hold back her feelings in order to save mine, when her immediate reaction was, “How futuristic!” When I asked if she thought it was odd looking, she said, “No. I really like it. How much?” She hardly batted an eye when I mentioned the as tested price of about $52,000. As she drove away she kept looking back, obviously enamored with the new Tribeca. No doubt, Subarus daring has just won a fan that may never have noticed the brand before.

And even before this woman at the gas station had me questioning my own vehicular design tastes, I was starting to find the Tribecas front end styling, that incidentally is supposed to depict an airplane fuselage and wings in tribute to Subaru/Fujis history in aviation, was growing on me, but mind you some of my colleagues think Im nuts to admit it.

One such employee said that he could see GMs influence over Subaru coming through in the new crossover, as it mirrors the outgoing Pontiac Aztek. Thems fightin words among Subaru faithful, no doubt, but on closer inspection of its tall, snub-like nose, headlight clusters which sit atop the fenders, and horizontal secondary grilles, I can see what he means. And my colleague is not alone. There are online forums dedicated to this very subject, with most scribes saying that they think the Tribeca looks better. Although I never hated the Azteks front end design like some others, but rather felt that its tail end was the most awkward angle, agree with those that feel that the Tribeca looks better than the ill-fated Pontiac.

Unlike the Aztek, the rear end is one side that Subarus design team got right. But while Im a big fan of the Tribecas rear styling, Im a little peeved at Subaru for making it look so similar to that of my favorite carmakers, Alfa Romeo. While an argument could be made for it not being Subarus fault entirely, as the man behind the Tribecas exterior design, and also the chief designer for Subaru at Fuji Heavy Industries Tokyo Studio, is none other than Andreas Zapatinas, an ex-Alfa designer who was at least partially responsible for the Fiat-owned Italian brands stylish new duds. Still, someone high up the food chain was willing to sign off on a design that looks a great deal like an Alfa Romeo 147 from the hind end and side profile.

This said, most North Americans wont know such a trivial bit of designer inside information being that Alfa doesnt even sell cars here anymore, at least not yet, and therefore such a thought wont influence the decision to purchase the Tribeca if their personal sense of style happens to allow them into the “love it” camp.

Styling aside, the fit and finish of body panels is top grade, as good as any premium player and better than some. The large chrome door handles dont feel quite as substantial as those on some rival crossovers, but theyre firmly held in place unlike the wiggling, jiggling latches found on the current Jaguar XJ or new Hummer H3, for instance.

Open up those doors and an extremely inviting cabin awaits, filled with high quality plastics, stunningly detailed center stack switchgear and near perfect fit and finish tolerances. Actually, the buttons on the console are so well executed, with the most precise tolerances and top-tier home audio feel that I found myself clicking away just because they felt good. Weird? Probably, but thats what I get paid to do. The large metal volume button in the center is nicely weighted too, with sharply defined increments.

The glowing red rings which circle the tachometer and speedometer initially took my breath away, joining additional backlit red switches and knobs to endow the vehicle with a space craft theme. The heating, ventilation and air conditioning controls, three dials that feature high quality metal rings surrounding LCD displays, are especially creative and beautifully executed. My wife, however, found them completely tacky, and shes normally a big Subaru fan. Oh well, you cant please them all, and if Subaru were to try to it would end up with another bland vehicle design.

But Jennifers opposition to the design is something to consider. After all, being a traditionally conservative Subaru-like customer, she has always appreciated the Japanese brands subtle, well executed goodness. Therefore, its understandable that the somewhat audacious Tribeca might offend her. After all, shes still reeling from Volvo adding curves to its modern design language. But this considered, could Subaru be alienating its traditional buyer by bringing such a bold model to market? Such could very well be the case, and only time will tell if those who appreciated the previously subdued Subaru for delivering reliable quality, enjoyable performance, yet understated styling, will buy into the new look.

I should mention, however, that it wasnt merely the styling that turned Jennifer off of the Tribeca. I suited the new crossover up with both kids child safety seats and the days gear stuffed into the diminutive rear cargo bay, loaded the family onboard with my 12-year old having to climb into the third row seat via the rear hatch, being that the second row was filled with the aforementioned child seats and there was only a sliver of room to get into the back even if it was possible to flip the second row forward for access, more on this in a minute, and only moments after sending them on their way for the day, I received a call with a troubled voice on the other end.

“You know I normally love Subarus right? But youre not going to make me drive this all week are you?” she said. “The drivers seat is uncomfortable. The controls are hard to get used to and the steering wheel audio buttons wont even allow me to flick between pre-set radio stations.”

Heavenly days! Well, I can appreciate why she might feel this way after just
giving back a Volvo XC70, which offers the most comfortable front seats in the industry, as well as a Chrysler Pacifica that we had during the same week-long testing period, which exemplifies the domestic brands many years of experience building people haulers - its a superbly designed crossover by the way. But Jennifer stipulated that she needed a seven-occupant vehicle for this week, as her sister and two nephews were in town, so therefore she was stuck with the Tribeca, like it or not. Being that we had multiple trips to her mothers, taking about an hour each way, plus one to her step dads, at about an hour and a half, I knew Id get plenty of time behind the wheel too, so I felt she could manage OK. I told her to give it some time, and maybe she would grow to like it.

But I had already become frustrated with the Tribeca for other reasons, and therefore was brewing up my own biases. For instance, I had to outfit it with the two child safety seats, as just mentioned, and in so doing decided it would be interesting to take a seat in the third row. OK, getting back there is no easy task. First, you need to be on the passenger side of the vehicle. Subaru provides a lever on the seatback of the second row passenger side only, which will flick the seatback down a bit while rolling the lower cushion forward, allowing a narrow opening almost large enough to fit a shoe. Prior to stepping into the rear, make sure and move all seats forward so that theres enough room for your feet once seated. And watch your elbows when sitting down. I banged mine on the hard plastic armrest-cum-cupholders, which are too high to rest your arm on yet interrupt the seating area so much that I didnt really have a choice but to stick my elbow in the cupholder itself, and that was uncomfortable. There was plenty of headroom for my 5-foot, eight-inch frame, however, which incidentally is not the case in Chryslers Pacifica, so Subarus crossover should be ample for any of your sub-15 year old kids. The legroom, however, is more than abbreviated unless the second row is shifted forward, which of course, lessens legroom between it and the front seats.

In comparison to the Pacifica, once again, there is nowhere near as much room for feet between all seats. Like I just mentioned, its possible to allow greater legroom in the third row, but to the detriment of those sitting in the second row - my four and a half year old son complained about this later during that same drive and he finds the rear seating compartment of a Porsche 911 to be ample enough. The Pacifica also offers a much easier pass-through to get into the third row seating area, with seats that completely slide out of the way on both sides of the vehicle, and pop back into position without any need to fiddle with the seatbacks. The Tribecas second row seatback wouldnt fully return to the position it was set to prior to flicking it forward to let someone in the back. I had to pull the lower cushion back into position, and then readjust the seatback. How awkward and inconvenient.

To Subarus credit the second row seats can be folded flat to allow excellent cargo storage, 74.4 cubic feet behind the driver and front passenger seats. There is 37.5 cubic feet behind the second row, by the way, and only 8.3 cubic feet available if all seating positions are in use.

On another note, flip up the individual rear seatbacks and the lower cushions that make up the third row are almost completely flat, which means there is virtually no support for the thighs. My daughter complained about this during that same drive too. Talk about a family of complainers, but to their credit this almost never happens.

About ten minutes after my wife left, there was another call. “Im just down the block trying to get this DVD player to work, and it isnt responding.”

Out to the street I walked, knowing that if Jennifer couldnt make it work there wasnt much of a chance I could either. This is where I cant help but say that every automaker should take a lesson from Chrysler Group before installing their DVD entertainment system. First and foremost, the DVD disc should get slotted into the changer up front where the parents have control. Secondly, the remote should work when pointed at the dash from the front seats too, where the parents are seated, instead of only in back where the kids, often too young to make any sense of it, are waiting to be entertained, or there really isnt much use in having a remote at all. To Subarus credit, while nothing happened when pointing the device at the dash, flicking it backwards at the monitor worked just fine, once we resolved the next problem. Yes, thirdly the remote should have a working battery in it when sold as new, so that those same kids arent completely upset that they wont be enjoying a movie on that slick widescreen that Subaru provides. Next, automakers should make sure and include fixed controls for playing movies, in addition to those on the remote. Again, dead batteries can ruin a road trip and/or the remote could become lost in the mayhem that usually accompanies any sort of family outing.

Once again I refer to the Pacifica, which borrows its DVD entertainment system from Chryslers class-leading minivans. What a superb system. Its idiot proof, which is ideal for parents that may not have grown up with as many electronic gizmos as their kids, plus it features those fixed buttons that I was referring to a minute ago, on the side of the monitor and up on the center stack where the six-disc DVD changer is located - another major convenience benefiting the Chrysler setup as Subarus will only allow one DVD disc to be slotted into its player at a time, and that process requiring a bit of contortionism if done from the front seat, or the need to get outside the vehicle, open a rear door and stretch across one of the rear seat passengers to do so.

I have to commend Subaru on the esthetics of its DVD system, however, as it looks fabulous. The screen looks terrific too, with rich colors and that wide screen capability I spoke of previously. Of course, all that I initially saw of it were the previews that Dreamworks Studios included and the menu screen of fish swimming around (can you guess the movie?) that we couldnt get past without a working remote control. Once Jennifer had purchased a new 3-volt battery (one of those tiny nickel sized units), the remote worked fine and the kids were able to enjoy a movie. One item of note is that its possible to view a film on the front infotainment screen as well as the one hanging from the ceiling, as long as the car is in park and the parking brake is on. Pretty cool!

Note: Make sure and come back tomorrow for the road test portion of Subarus B9 Tribeca