2008 Subaru Review

Specifications

The 2008 Subaru Tribeca grille is one big confession. It says, “Yes, we werewrong, and we’re not even sure what we were thinking.” A car can be polarizing and succeed, like BMW’s 7-Series, which was derided for having monstrous bulges on the flanks of its trunk, among other things. While many in the press were screaming bloody Bangle, BMW’s customers didn’t seem to mind, and bought more of them than ever before, and now it’s practically a prerequisite in the luxury sedan category. Many complained about Audi’s horse collar one-piece grille, but Audi is selling more and more cars with every passing year. Subaru’s new corporate grille? Well, that was just wrong, and the sales failed to materialize to back up the stroke of boldness that Subaru’s design team initially felt was genius.

The interior, well, the interior was genius and they haven’t really changed a stitch of it. As much as I want to get to the interior and its alien technology influences, there is still one big grille to dissect, instead of three smaller grille pieces that seemed ready to spread out into a giant Moth-ra. Not to be overlooked is the effect that the three-port grille turned the headlamps into monstrous bug eyes that seemed lost up on the hood.

The congenial new slatted grille is very passive, neutral and somewhat unoriginal; in other words perfect for this segment. Mind you, Acura went all Star Trek on us with the MDX and that seems to be working out well for them; then again, if you drive it, you’ll instantly understand why it’s doing so well. If the original Tribeca handled as well as the new MDX, then it would have put the truth to those commercials they made suggesting that the Tribeca was about to reinvent the SUV as a crossover. Two years later, Subaru has reinvented the Tribeca, less its mysterious B9 designation, and they’ll do all the better for it.

Sure Subaru owners are known to be a little ‘different,’ perhaps a touch eccentric in their commitment to a brand that many who don’t get it see as overpriced for a bit of extra traction and little else to justify thatpricing. But if you get Subarus, you get them and you keep getting them because they are tough as nails and as trustworthy as good sled dogs when it comes time to get you up to the slopes in the middle of a winter blizzard. Apparently, Subaru loyalists aren’t much for eccentric design, so now they have a very sharp (though not so daring anymore) SUV that can be optioned out to seat seven in a cabin that is visually a quantum leap from generations of Subaru’s unrelenting practicality.

As much as it qualifies as an SUV in some departments, it is still truly a crossover, and if you park it in a grassy field as I did, you will get the distinct impression that it is more bulky wagon than racy crossover. Its swooping windows and bulging hip accents give it enough character of its own where the nose now blends into the crowd. The back end is very appropriately Subaru, with the bumpers and lights reminding me of the back end of anOutback for some reason, even though don’t really look alike. The tailgate opens up to a very spacious cargo area, because in the case of the Tribeca I drove, it was not burdened with a set of knee-capping third row seats. For cargo area adaptability, the second row is divided 40/20/40 for splitting and folding in a variety of configurations, and the seats even recline a bit for a touch of added passenger comfort. Lack of a third row also means the second row is spacious and fit for adults of all sizes, and the new engine means it’s got the guts to haul five adults and all their gear.

The Tribeca originally debuted with a 3.0L 6-cylinder boxer engine making 245 horsepower and 215 lb-ft of torque, but Subaru’s engineers bumped it up to 3.6 liters of displacement to get it pumping out a very respectable 256 hp and a much more substantial 247 lb-ft of torque. While I can only goby other’s words regarding the previous engine, many reported it lacking under full load and sluggish at low revs. Problem solved. The reinvigorated horizontally opposed six is now well up to the task of getting this CUV going, hustling it up to speed and always keeping a bit of power to spare when it encounters a hill or needs a little extra juice to get by a truck on the highway.

The quality of this engine, its complete confidence and ability, led me to wonder how many people arrived at Subaru dealerships willing to embrace its new nose and walked away disappointed with a lack of grunt. While there aren’t an overwhelming number of B9s on the road, there are enough to show that Subaru designers were not alone in appreciating a very different aesthetic. No matter, the new engine and new grille are here to stay, and Subaru didn’t stop there. The Tribeca’s boxer engine is fitted with Active Valve Control System (AVCS), Subaru’s variation on variable valve timing, which changes how long the exhaust and intake valves stay open, wherebefore it only varied the intake valves.

Capping the engine improvements is a transmission that has been rethought and reprogrammed. The revised gearbox aims at quicker, smoother gearshifts, and it succeeds admirably, launching the Tribeca without any lurching or fuss and always keeping the engine in its power band no matter the grade. With Sportshift manual mode, you can take over control and hold it in the gear of your choosing, but I found the automatic mode performed to all my expectations, never causing me to go looking for a different gear. Along with a few more mild changes to quiet the drivetrain, the H6 engine and 5-speed transmission combo also improves fuel economy, and the engine now only requires regular-grade fuel rather than the premium it demanded previously.

Overall, the Tribeca was a very undemanding companion for the week. It’s easy to step into the driver’s seat, or any seat for that matter, and get immediately comfortable. A turn of the key and the subdued drivetrain is ready for any mission, and Subaru’s symmetrical all-wheel drive is always on, distributing power to all four wheels for optimum traction and balance, in this case with Variable Torque distribution allocating power to the front and rear axles to maintain optimum grip. The low mounting position of the boxer engine also helps keep the center of gravity low, maintaining that signature Subaru stability, with little body roll even for Subaru’s largest creation. Of course, body control is well managed and handling is sure while offering a luxuriously comfortable ride, but you will not mistake it for a sports car, because the steering is both light and elastic—great for navigating tight car parks and confined spaces, but also keeping you from gaining too much confidence around on-ramps. Really, it’s just not a particularly fun car, so it is unlikely to encourage any immature (i.e. fun) behavior.

Keeping momentum under control are 12.3-inch ventilated front discs and 12.4-inch ventilated discs in back, all equipped with ABS, brake force distribution, brake assist and Subaru’s traction and stability control system. Despite its inherent balance, the Japanese brand offers every trick in the book to make sure drivers have every chance of recovery within their means. When recovery is not possible, Subaru also provides one of the best safety standards available with six standard airbags (2 front, 2 side front, 2 curtain), but more importantly, a solid body structure with Subaru Ring Frame Reinforced architecture, which helps protect all occupants and disperse energy away from passengers in the event of a collision. These safety features help it earn 5 stars (out of 5) in both side- and front-impact crash tests conducted by the NHTSA, and judging bySubaru’s safety record (Impreza, Legacy and Forester all IIHS Top Safety Picks in their respective categories), they would do just as well on anybody’s crash tests.

Most of your time spent in the Tribeca will likely be when commuting or traveling peacefully along, not as an observer in a crash test, so to that end Subaru has created a visually arresting dash layout. It’s like nothing I had ever seen before, with a bright, metallic trim piece across the dash from the passenger mirror swooping down, then under the large info screen (top models house a nav screen in this upper deck area) and back up into the gauge cluster. Above and below the graceful accents are earth-tone plastic panels of dubious quality, but it’s hard to pay any attention to them except as wonderful contrast background because my eyes kept following the lustrous panel as it dipped down to the radio and HVAC control interfaces, the latter of which boasts sculpted metal-look dials with little LCD readoutsin their hubs. It’s fantastically futuristic looking, yet incredibly easy to use since the primary controls are exactly where you would expect them to be — it’s just everything around them that is shaped dramatically differently.

Aside from the aesthetic aspect, the Tribeca offers a wealth of standard equipment even in base trim. Some might not find it premium, but I enjoyed the cloth seats because I find them more breathable than leather, while the front seats are power adjustable with lumbar support. The HVAC controls with readouts in the dials control a fully automatic dual-zone climate control system, including air conditioning and air filtration. The stereo is a fairly simple 6-speaker sound system with AM/FM/CD/MP3 capability, auxiliary input jack and satellite radio wired, with redundant steering wheel controls on the nicely sculpted three-spoke leather wrapped steering wheel.

Exterior features are also generous on the base Tribeca, with 18-inchaluminum alloy wheels, fog lamps, and power-adjustable, foldable heated mirrors with integrated turn signals. Finishing touches are the engine immobilizer and anti-theft security system and an aluminum hood with a self-supporting gas strut. All that’s just a base Tribeca, coming in at $29,995, which is quite a bit higher than many 5-seater competitors like the Ford Edge or Mazda CX-9, but it’s hard to match the Subaru’s sureness of foot and stability, not to mention an interior that is light years ahead in design.

However, even stepping up to the Limited package, which adds a 6-CD stacker, a pair of speakers, subwoofer, seat heaters for winter mornings, a power tilt/slide sunroof for a bit of natural weather, roof rails for extra-vehicular cargo solutions, two-position memory driver’s seat and leather upholstery, the price quickly climbs to $32,595 (only $2600 more, but still breaking that $32K barrier). It’s very much a middle child of pricing, because going up to the fully loaded Limited 7-Passenger with Rear-seat DVD Entertainment System and Navigation Package gets all the goodies, like the DVD video player with 9-inch screen and wireless headphones (that you can watch up front when parked), GPS nav system with touch screen display, backup camera, third row seating, plus everything already included in the Limited. At $37,795, I wouldn’t exactly call it a bargain, but it seems to pack a little more punch on the techno-goodies front.

Subaru is such a unique company, with a tried and tested formula that isn’t really comparable to any other manufacturer’s (except Porsche, perhaps, in that they are similarly dissimilar from any competitor and both love their horizontally opposed boxers). I can’t really imagine shopping a Tribeca against a Highlander or Pilot, nor does it really seem to compete with the XC90s, MDXs or X5s of the market. It might be interesting to compare it to the Ford Edge in 5-seat trim, or the larger GM crossovers like the Acadia, Outlook and Enclave, not to mention Hyundai’s new Veracruz, because they are all truly modern crossovers with car-like behavior on the road, minivan capacity for growing families, and distinctive styles that will speak to young adults just coming into their family years with enough buying power to afford a style statement as part of their transportation budget.

But really, it seems to me just an SUV for Subaru lovers who have grown out of their Outbacks, or a way for a Legacy or Impreza owner to cross over into family friendly transportation, and this year, they don’t have to make quite so bold a fashion statement. With a toned down grille, the right powertrain for the job and that signature symmetrical all-wheel drive, it’s a perfect fit for Subaru to keep its faithful happy while expanding its appeal to an ever growing market.