Subaru's Tribeca Goes Uptown

To boost sales of its Tribeca in the competitive midsize SUV market, Subaru improves the styling and drops the B9 prefix

by Thane Peterson

Editor's Rating:

The Good: New exterior styling, easy-access third-row seats, all-wheel drive

The Bad: Relatively high price

The Bottom Line: A versatile—and improved—midsize SUV

Reader Reviews

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Up Front

With its new, improved 2008 (already!) Tribeca, Subaru is a little like an airline pilot making a midflight correction. The B9 Tribeca, which hit the market as a 2006 model, hasn't been selling well, and tough new competition is on the way. So Subaru decided to fix the Tribeca's perceived problems now rather than later. It also said goodbye to the meaningless "B9" prefix.

I have to say that the '08 Tribeca is a very attractive vehicle, especially for anyone with kids and carpooling responsibilities. If you're looking to downsize from a big, gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicle to something smaller and more fuel-efficient, it's a winner. But we're in a buyer's market for midsize (and full-size) SUVs, and there are numerous attractive alternatives, many of which have lower list prices and which are being heavily discounted right now.

Here are some of the deals being offered on 2007 SUVs in roughly the same size range as the Tribeca: Through July 2, Honda Motor (HMC) is offering $2,500 in "marketing support" to its dealers on the Pilot that can be passed on to consumers; Hyundai has $1,000 rebates on the Santa Fe; Suzuki has $1,000 to $2,000 rebates on the XL-7, with an extra $500 off for active military and college students. Subaru itself is fighting back with $2,750 off on the 2007 B9 Tribeca through July 2.

Among domestics, Ford Motor (F) is offering $500 off its new Edge, and General Motors (GM) $1,000 off on the GMC Acadia. Toyota Motor (TM) also was discounting its '07 Highlander by $1,600 through June 11, though the big news is that the new, redesigned '08 Highlander with a bigger engine is about to hit the market.

The 2008 Tribeca, meanwhile, has a relatively high list price, though that's offset somewhat by the fact that all-wheel drive and a long list of features are standard. The '08 Tribeca starts at $30,640 in the five-passenger configuration, almost exactly the same starting price as for the '07 B9, rising to $38,440 in the seven-passenger configuration with a third row of seats, plus a navigation system. That's only $520 more than the top-end B9, before rebates.

Subaru is hoping the new Tribeca is attractive enough to gain sales momentum, despite the tough selling environment. It's 189 in. long, a tad shorter than the B9, but has roughly the same width, height, and curb weight as the previous model. It's a bit longer than the '07 Santa Fe and Highlander, and about the same length as the Pilot. On the road, though, the Pilot looks bigger than the others, because it's taller and wider.

The Tribeca's exterior styling has been changed quite a bit, so if you've seen its predecessor on the road and didn't like its looks, don't hold that against the '08. The net effect of the restyling is to make the Tribeca look more mainstream than the B9. In particular, the front end looks less odd and more substantial. The grille is taller and wider, the headlights and bumper have been changed, and the hoodline has been raised. In back, the taillights are wider and more distinctive.

The new Tribeca also has more power under the hood than the B9: a 256-horsepower, 3.6-liter, horizontally opposed, six-cylinder engine. That's only 11 horsepower more than the old Tribeca, but the new engine is designed to raise low-end torque to 247 lb.-ft., 15% more than before, so it delivers better acceleration at lower speeds while being more fuel-efficient than the previous engine and using regular gasoline. Premium gas was recommended in the previous Tribeca.