B9 Tribeca review...ouch

"Not to belabor the point, but who in their right mind would put a vagina on the nose of an SUV..."

Vagina? I think this reviewer has much larger issues than not liking the car.

Steve

Just read some of the reviewer's other overblown prose on that web site. He's a Car and Driver wannabe who is more interested in trying to be clever than in providing meaningful insights to readers.

Who would be pleased with that? Subaru better wise up or they will be bankrupt and out of the US market if they keep trying to unload this crap on us

The only maybe point: 250HP for 410lb. How is it in the practice?

last I heard, their sales were up 6%

Carl

snipped-for-privacy@backpacker.com wrote:

I think in this case, when the review was being done, the vagina was in the drivers seat.

The real skinny:

I agree 100% that the B9 is one ugly piece of shi^. Inside and out.

Honestly, I wouldn't drive that thing even if Subaru gave me one for free.

~~Phil~~

A family member was so thrilled with their new Tribeca, they came by and got us for a weekend trip. The really cool part is that I got to do all the driving to really experience the vehicle. I currently own two Subarus (97 Outback & 2001 Legacy Sedan). I didn't really know what to think of the Tribeca.

Let me tell you, it is one of those cars you fall in love with the longer you drive it. We took the car over Stevens Pass in Washington and then off-roading to get up to some cool hikes. I was allowed to go crazy. Some of my observations . . . The car was very comfortable and never became uncomfortable even though we were traveling for a number of hours. It was very roomy and handled all of us and our gear. One of the most impressive things was the handling. The car's handling felt like a small sporty car. It was hard to stay aware of how fast you were going. We even started to play a game of guessing the speed. Most were guess speeds 10 to 15 mph slower due to how smooth and quite the car runs. The car could bank around

35 mph corners at 55 like it was on rails and there was no noticeable lean. The power was amazing as it climbed up the pass like it was nothing. Another interesting thing is that while descending, it would maintain its speed without having to go to the brake. I then got the opportunity to take it off road. I got to try both gravel and dirt and some very rough roads. The car was sure footed and handled better than my Outback, especially when it came to high-speed cornering on gravel. At spots I had the car up to 45 mph in sharp corners on very loose gravel and it never had any feeling of sliding. At the end I filled it up and calculated the mileage . . . the car got 23 mpg.

I for one have had the opportunity to experience this car and it is pretty impressive!

But how well can I put a caouple of canoes one the roof?

I'm not one that feels compelled to defend Subaru. I've owned all kinds of cars. But, the person that wrote that review is not exactly unbiased. He wrote, "All of these shortcomings could be forgiven if the B9 drove with the =E9lan of the only-slightly-less-ugly and equally cheap-feeling WRX STi." Give me a break -- he obviously has an axe to grind.

BTW, my local dealer in Evanstan has the '05 Outback (w/ auto and 4 cyl) for $21K and the Ltd version for $24K. That's quite a deal. The Tribeca will come down in price, too. New models are always priced at/near MSRP b/c people that got to have 'em will pay it.

Fuzzy Logic wrote in news:Xns96B09661CC723bobarcabca@198.161.157.145:

And a slightly more favorable review:

(may have wrapped)

Tribeca ih higly inspired from Alfa Romeo 147. Take a look

A little better yet:

"Fuzzy Logic" sez:

Being a Subaru fan since having owned one of the venerable 4x4 wagons as my first car out of college back in '80 and being a current owner of a Toyota Sequoia, I had to go look at one in the flesh given ad's claim that it now made the Sequoia a flower planter box.

I don't think so, not even close. First off, the thing is way fugly ... even more so in real life than in pictures. It reminds me of the kid joke: "When you were birthed, the doctor slapped your mother."

Its cramped inside compared to the big Toy and has little room for gear behind the 3rd row seats. A true SUV has a dual-range transfer case for both hi/low 4x4 (like my '81 Suby had) better than road sedan ground clearance and capable towing capacity. The B9 has none of this. So, my take is that its a pimped minivan, but no way, no how, does it even come close to being a SUV replacement ... even if you're a "where the rubber meets the sky" marketing weenie.

Sorry Subaru, for towing a trailer full of dirtbikes laden with spares 'n fuel and hauling 3 riders and all their gear plus a weekend's worth of food 'n camping gear to get back into the boonies to go ride, I'll be sticking with the Sequoia.

Good sport, utility and recreation vehicles to ya, VLJ