Subaru B9 Tribeca (B9X)

tmeframe

I've got to say it. As the proud owner of a 2005 Outback LLBean, I'm disappointed with the B9-Tribeca. I drove a 7P Ltd today in Dallas for the first time. The interior is beautifully executed, with the majestic, sweeping dash, the seats firmer than those in my Outback, and the stereo sounding pretty darn good.

OTOH, where my troubles lie is in the engine compartment and the suspension. All the marketing I'd seen up to now touted the luxury aspects of the B9-Tribeca. That may well be true, but in my opinion, it doesn't ride like a luxury SUV. My Outback has a smoother ride than this SUV, and I can't help but think that Subaru followed Infiniti's poor-example of how NOT to have a Luxury SUV ride as in the Infiniti FX series. I know it's supposed to be a mix of sport and luxury, but an SUV such as the Acura MDX handles well, and rides smoothly too (I've owned two, a 2001 and a 2003). Subaru missed the mark here.

This vehicle uses the same engine as my Outback, the legendary 3.0L Boxer, horizontally-opposed engine. The 219 Ft/lbs of torque this engine provides in my Outback gives me some nice off-the-line acceleration, while it's 250 Horsepower gives much passing pleasure @ highway speeds. OTOH, popping this same engine in a vehicle that weighs greater than 400 lbs more than my Outback results in predictable performance. What's missing is the low-end grunt that this SUV's weight cannot get from the 3.0L Boxer engine. Highway speeds are OK, as with the Outback.

The schnozolla on the Tribeca has always given me pause, I cannot decide if I like it or don't like it. I would much rather love it. If you're used to the pretty front-end of an '05 Outback (like me), you can understand why I think Subaru should have restrained the ego of their imported-designer from Alfa-Romeo just a little bit, and go with the new nose design that's on the Outback.

When I sit in a Tribeca, it's interior speaks to me - little nothings in my ear, to entice, to lure - I'm basically helpless. If my affection for the Exterior matched my zeal for the Interior, I'd be owning a Tribeca TONIGHT.

SteveMitchell

subearu

Is it possible that the tires are over-inflated, as many new cars are?

-Brian

efinch

I have my new Tribeca. Love it! Seacrest Green Metallic, beige leather interior,
Navigation system/ 7 passenger. Nav. system is awsome. Smooth, luxureous
ride. My previous veh was a 2000 Outback sedan limited. Great power in this
new Tribeca. I can see the road really well. I have nothing but great things to
say about this vehicle. This is my 3rd Subaru. I almost bought a Nissan Murano
before I found out about this new vehicle. Glad I waited for it. Well worth it.

I will never get lost again.

efinch

How did you get the accessories? My dealer said he didn't even have an accessory brochure yet. I would like to get the front bumper guard and roof rails.
I couldn't find them online either.

jeffmc

"maybe I missed this but where can I find out what interior color goes with what exterior color??or does anyone know which exterior colors for the 7 seat limited gets the grey leather?"

cptplt, try http://www.cars101.com/subaru/tribeca/tribeca2006.html for tons of B9 Tribeca info. Every color but "champagne gold opal" is available with gray leather.

"Just got a call from my dealer here in Seattle and my Titanium 7-passenger with DVD and NAV made it in today. Now I just have to figure out when I can get up there as I leave near Portland Or. I may have to be sick tomorrow and make that special trip up there before the long weekend

shane, that's terrific! Loaded B9 in silver - nice. Keep us updated. Was your dealership Carter?

jeffmc

How did you get the accessories? My dealer said he didn't even have an accessory brochure yet. I would like to get the front bumper guard and roof rails.
I couldn't find them online either.

Available B9 Tribeca accessories listed here:
http://www.cars101.com/subaru/tribeca/tribeca2006.html#options
I don't see any manufacturer's parts numbers listed, but at least you'll know costs and what's available.

shane850

Jeffmc,

Yes the dealer was Carter. I am heading up tomorrow to pick it up and will have a nice 180 mile drive home to test it out

I am pretty sure I got all the options except the bug deflector/hood protector. I am still deciding what I want to do with that.

I can't wait for tomorrow to come.

tracikay

Shane850,

Congrats on the arrival!

If you do get the bug deflector/hood protector do you mind posting an image? I would love to see how it looks.

sweet_subie

i was told by the salesman who was a mechanic before that Subaru only recommends & not requires premium fuel both on H6 & H4 turbos.

sweet_subie

call ahead & go

rob2, i found Singer Subaru in south NH about 25 miles from Wilmington Subaru very sweet, calm & quick. no tricks played. i am currently shopping for my XT Ltd, their price, approach everything is great !

buy the B9 from them.

subearu

IMO, if you're not regularly putting in premium (or at least 91 octane) in the H4 turbo, you shouldn't be driving it or shouldn't have bought it. While it might be *ok* to put in lower grades of fuel in the H4 turbos, these aren't meant to drink lower octane all the time. You could cause damage to the engine.

The H6 probably is more tolerant of non-premium fuel.

-Brian

mediaguy1

The dealer is Secor Subaru in New London, CT. Black Limited 7 passenger with Grey Leather...tow package...33,000 without taxes, title and reg. Secor says that the 600 extra is what Subaru of New England charges them...smells vagley like an extortion ring. They have to remember that I'm leaving the Land Cruiser world and hope the Tribeca can stand up to a little abuse.

subienewbie2

Keep in mind a couple of things:

Luxury doesn not have to mean a supple suspension and ride. A BMW with sport suspension rides much like the B9. Luxury can mean firm sporty ride and the ability to our handle an Accura at higher speed.

Aslo keep in mind the B9 you drove had mud & snow tires, which are not designed for ride comfoert.

Put a set of Michilene Pilot All seans on and see what happens.

subienewbie2

Thank god the people at SOA that produce B9 website and printed specs for the B9 did not design it.

Subaru may build great cars but their product info sucks.

Go to Kelly Blue Book (kbb.com) they have all the options and color combos with deal costs & msrp.

saustin

Hi,
At cars101 we saw the

Protection Group 1:
Front Bumper Underguard
Rear Bumper Cover
All Weather Rubber floor mats, 3 rows
$325 ($209)

and the....

Roof Rack cross bars
$210 ($117)

Are these options put on by the local dealers or in New England would they have to be put on by SNE ? Seem like great things to add on.

What are others paying for these?

thanks.

ateixeira

efinch: congrats, I believe you were first here to own one!

I'm with Brian on the fuel thing, turbos thirst for octane. Boost effectively increases the compression ratio, and under load you might get some serious knock. The H6 will be far more tolerant of lower octane than the turbo.

Nice to see prices in the low 30s and in Bob's case even in the high 20s. You gotta laugh at the early hysteria about these costing $42 grand.

-juice

urmez

We just pre-ordered a 7 Passenger Atlantic Blue with Beige interior with Navigation and DVD last week in Connecticut. The selling price of the car was $36,150. The dealer did charge us a $389.85 conveyance fee which they supposedly charge for all vechicles.

They also should me an invoice from another New England delearship and I did notice that is was approximately $600 more than cars101 and Edmunds.

Urmez

robr2

Secor says that the 600 extra is what Subaru of New England charges them...smells vagley like an extortion ring.

When Subaru first came to the US back in the 60's, they partnered with distributors in order to spread the risk just like every other foreign auto maker did at the time. Nobody thought about 30 years up the road. I would presume that Subaru was able to buy out the other distributors but NY and NE are still around.

Toyota still has 2 distributors - Southeast Toyota and Gulf States Toyota. My understanding is those distributorships add paint protection, pin stripes, et al to every car coming through thier system.

saustin

Hi Urmez,
That is the exact configuration we just got our VIN number from SNE. If you do decide to order the optional guards, and rack have them put in on the original order as this will save a few dollars (unfortunately we did not). Post port orders add local dealer labor charges bringing the cost of the cross bars up to $180 and the Front and rear pads plus floor mats to $147 + $47 + $80.

Steve.

rsholland

I forgot to mention that the 5-passenger model also has the sliding rear/middle seat that the 7-passenger model has. At first you wonder why, but after some thought it does make sense. It does give you a bit more cargo room if you should need it.

I'm curious as to what owners say about the tranny always shifting in the normal mode. I found it much more fun (and enjoyable) to keep it in the sportshift mode, as I found the constant downshifting to be really annoying. I know it has an adaptive tranny, but still... I really think Subaru needs to offer an engine with much more low-end torque, and that means either turbo and/or larger displacement.

As I mentioned in my original post, I really hope Subaru will offer the 6-speed manual found on the international-spec Legacy 3.0R Spec B on the Tribeca. That tranny will work wonders for the 3.0 engine—and besides, BMW offers a 6-speed manual on their 3.0 X5. It doesn't have to offered in combination with any specail package; just make it the standard tranny. Perhaps as a no-cost option, as Acura does on their TSX sedan?

Bob

ateixeira

Sounds like they tuned it to be sporty by default. I'm sure it would shift at lower rpms if the driver was not usually aggressive, which is the case most of the time.

Keep in mind we usually complain about the opposite, i.e. tranny takes too long to kick down.

-juice

rsholland

Again, I didn't drive that much, but I found it to be really out of character for luxury vehicle. It goes from being nice and quiet to a noisy high-rpm downshift. I suspect I won't be the only one mentioning this.

Bob

rsholland

I think juice mentioned this a few posts back, but he and I just got invited yesterday to a Tribeca Ride-&-Drive up in the Philly area this Tuesday. As usual, I'm really looking forward to it, and this year for two reasons: the R&D (obviously) and—Patti will be there! From what I understand this R&D is mainly for SOA employees from the Cherry Hill SOA headquarters.

Bob

njswamplands

kens

Nice write up over in the Test Drive section. It would have been interesting to do a back-to-back with a VDC OB and the Tribeca.

I am hoping that Subaru has plans for bigger engine options. A few years more down the line, I'll be in the market for something akin to the Tribeca. As much as I would wish for a 6MT, I somehow doubt Subaru would put a manual tranny in this model.

Ken

rsholland

Ken, I kinda of doubt we'll see a 6-speed too, but you never know... It would be a feature that would help further separate Subaru from the competition.

Bob

ateixeira

I'd like to see a light-pressure-turbo H6 + hybrid. That ran on diesel, BTW.

But then again I could not afford that, so the H6 is fine for me as is.

-juice

kens

Does anyone know if the VDC program for the Tribeca was tuned for it's specific chassis and dynamics? It would make sense given that the Tribeca has different dimensions, suspension and CG compared to an OB.

Ken

erics6

Had a chance to look at one today at my local dealer. Didn't drive it. I had seen one at the autoshow, but this was the first quality look through. Looked at the base 5 passenger. I guess what surprised me the most was how small it looked from the inside. I prefer the Legacy's folding seats. It seemed like the the width was less between the wheels wells. My measuring stick is how comfortable two adults would be sleeping in the back. I guess I like the airier feel of the Legacy too. Outside proportions are nice. I think the grill is fine. I don't like how high the headlights sit. Overall, it's a nice vehicle. Not my cup of tea, but I think it will sell well.

ateixeira

Ken: I can't imagine they didn't. Even the JDM VDC and US VDC are tuned differently. We get 45/55 split by default and they get 33/67 IIRC.

-juice

sweet_subie

yes, i have the exact same concern. interior usuable space looks small. even smaller than my MPV. 3rd row access is another problem. Also, it doesn't feel airy as Outback, Forester, legacys do.

ateixeira

Blame the windows. Proportionally they are smaller, meaning compared to the size of the vehicle.

But check out the size of that rear door - it's huge! And the window is really wide, so the 2nd row passengers should have a great view out. Not for the 3rd row, though.

-juice

kens

juice,

I think you're talking about the VTD default power split. I was wondering if the VDC program was modified to account for the Tribeca's differences. I know that Subaru did quite a bit of testing when they came out with OB VDC.

But yeah, I can't imagine they didn't either. I wonder how it would stack up against the Volvo XC90's system.

Ken

subienewbie2

The $36,150 price did that include the 650.00 factory delivery & the 389.85?

What other options are in that price?

Looks like a great price.

teamjd

I called Subaru to ask a few questions about towing capacity, and the tech lady first said, "let me look it up". She then says, "with the manual or auto transmission". I said when will the manual transmission be available? There was a long pause, almost like she new she shouldn't have said that and then repeated the mantra...
"there will be no manual transmission...there will be no manual transmission...there will be no manual transmission...there will be no manual transmission". So, was she reading next years specs or was a Freudian slip? Hmmm!

Oh, I called my dealer today, and all I can say is...FRIDAY...FRIDAY...FRIDAY

subienewbie2

Ken

Can you explain the pros & cons of the different splits?

Also does anyone know know if there any worthwhile aftermarket performance chips or products for the 3 liter engine?

Thanks
John

jon_in_ct

Just a reminder that claims such at this are completely false:

Engine timing, among other things is set based upon the burn rate of the fuel with higher octane being slower.

Actually the inverse is true - adding ethanol increases octane and improves burn speed - the higher the ethanol content, the faster the burn and the higher the knock resistance,

efinch

Thank you.

gwilson

Has anyone seen or know what the front bumper underguard looks like? Any pics?

I saw the rear bumper cover on the vechicle and to me it is a must have as it protects the rear bumper from get scratched with loading and unloading the back of the vechicle - looks like this would be a standard feature.

tsporty

My friend Roger of Tri-City Dodge/Subaru of Dover New Hampshire just got back from a dealer get-together in San Francisco to introduce the Tribeca. Now I know what you are thinking -he sells them- but he is forthright on the product he sells. As he describes it the Tribecas where "off the hook" he was very impressed. They had several Volvo XC90's available as well as competition and he said when they switched out of the Tribeca it felt like going from a WRX to an oil tanker. Not that the Volvo is especially sporty but it does seem that Subaru did err on the side of sporty over luxury in the equation. It was a quick shout-out so didn't get the word on power or much else but we are definitely thinking of including this vehicle in our short list this fall when the Volvo T5 lease is up.

urmez

Thanks Steve. I will make sure that I add that to my order prior to getting the VIN number. By the way, where does the front pad go?

Urmez

urmez

That price includes a 7 passenger/leather/Navigation/DVD/destination charge of $650. Tax, registration and the $389.85 conveyance fee is additional.

Urmez

gt2b9

The front bumper cover is a aluminum looking sleeve that goes across the lower frame of the bumper and is approx. 2-feet in length. It doesn't add ANY functionality but aesthetically it does wonders for the front end.

njswamplands

sweet_subie

yes, i have seen in one of the reviews as aluminum alloy for hood. not sure about tailgate.

kmartin

Hopefully there will be enough Subies on the road to stop and offer assistance to all the new GM owners when their cars break down

-Karen in AZ-

cohenfive

we've been looking at legacy's but the car we wanted to test drive again was out so the salesman told us to go take the tribeca (which they had just gotten in) for a spin. we were very impressed....really nice interior and exterior, looks and feels smaller than it is, decent performance (but no sports car) and good handling for a vehicle of it's type. we thought the sunroof was too small though, but we are biased as we love the huge sunroofs on the legacy/outback. at the price point i think they will have a winner here, at about $6k cheaper than an mdx (msrp to msrp).

my wife didn't like sitting up so high (we don't really like suv's/vans) so we are buying a legacy gt ltd wagon instead, but for what it is the tribeca is a good effort.

ateixeira

Split - more rear bias would tend to be sporiter, but an even split is probably safer. It adjust constantly anyway, so it may not matter very much.

Swampy: yes, aluminum was visible in the cut-aways. The front and rear bumper beams are also aluminum. The block and heads are both aluminum alloys, so I'm not sure if there's any steel in there!

Other useless trivia? Timing chain, so no belts to replace.

-juice

subienewbie2

If US tribecas have a 45 / 55 split over what range does it adjust the power between front and back? Also, can it adjust side to side on a given axel?

Thanks
John

ateixeira

You'll be happy to know that VTD can send 100% of the power to either axle, i.e. there is no limitation.

Also, with VDC managing both axles, it can shift power side to side on both axles.

This is nice - Audi Quattro is actually limited to 67% of power to either axle because of its Torsen's limitation. Same with the Toyota 4Runner. In fact, almost all AWD systems can only send a limited amount of power to one of the axles.

Not Subaru. But then they are the AWD specialist, even more so than Audi in this case.

-juice