My first Tribeca sighting

I saw one in my neighborhood about a month ago and really liked it. I was lukewarm on it at the auto show, but it looked great in person.

I was at the dealer getting my OB serviced when a carloader came in with 5 x Tris (does that equal 15 Beckies?). Unloading went fine until the last one which refused to start! There was also 1 Tribec in the showroom...sticker said 14MPG city. Ooops Subi the timing for another gasguzzler ain't too good!

I still think that.

What does it bring to the table that competitors lack?

It's got to have a lot to make it stand out from the Pilot or Freestyle. The Pilot sits on Honda's well-deserved reliability rep, and the Freestyle is simply a really nice, good looking vehicle.

Not to mention that either would allow me to not deal with my local Subaru dealer network, who really killed the joy in my Outback.

Barry

"phillystyle" wrote: | From day one of the pix of the new Tribeca I've thought it was pretty ugly. | Well, a couple of days ago I saw a Tribeca on the road and shut my mouth, | I actually thought it looked pretty good. I snuck a couple of peeks | inside one a few nights later after my dealership closed and from what I | could see, the interior looks pretty cool; the dash really flowed and | looked very modern. ....

I had to service my Scooby at the dealership yesterday and they had a few Tribecas there. I test drove their demo and overall I'm fairly pleased with it. It is definitely the largest Subie available, but it drove much better than I expected. The H6 engine (250HP) makes it quite driveable, the ride was smooth but not wallowy for a car this size, and my only complaint is that there is no - zero - feel in the steering.

It has the VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control ?) stability system that the Outback has. I don't know if some of the turns I took triggered it or not (there was no indicator that I noticed), but the Tribeca felt very stable, settling nicely on some of the tighter sloped highway ramps around here.

I regret that I didn't try the sport shift mode of the transmission. Otherwise, the tranny behaves like your typical electronically controlled tranny: more bark (engine noise) than bite (lockup). It's called a slushbox for a reason, but the groceries won't mind.

The interior (tan leather) was very finished, and the new dash shape flows well around the front. All controls on the dash appear to be electronic, and all displays are LED. Tach and speedo are deeply inset with great visibility on a sunny day. There are four 12V outlets in the car (2 front, 2 at back) which is handy for gadgets and lights.

The 2nd row rear seats are amazingly adjustable. They move forward and back on a track, and fold forward flat as well as recline a bit. The rear doors are huge by rear door standards, and make entry/exit from the back easy. Only Cadillac Devilles have larger rear doors...

The exterior looks a bit sylistically strained, with the "love handle" around the back...

Towing capacity is 3500 or 3700, can't remember which.

It's a much bigger car than previous Subarus, but IMO it's nicely done.

-bpb

I looked at it, the Acura MDX and the BMW X3.

The T-beca is fully $10k less than either the BMW or the Acura but what killed it for me was the Starship Enterprise, pimp-my-ride dashboard.

It was just too much, gang! Who ever designed that monstrosity? A ten-year old child?

The fit and finish of the T-beca also did not do well when stacked up against that Acura/BMW but, again, it's $10K less

Gunny

This is my problem as well. I owned a '91 Legacy and loved it... traded up to a Grand Cherokee and my current ride, an 2001 RX300. I'm starting to look again, love the styling of the new Outback, love the simplicty of the Forester but like the high-seating of an SUV.

I really WANT to love the Tribeca... but I think it is really butt-ugly in person, approaching Aztek territory. It's a shame... I should be an easy sell, but the styling is a real turn-off for me.

ed