By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
Found a few more things the Pilot is missing:
* roadside assistant
* warranty is just 3/36 vs. 5/60 powertrain for Soob
* Homelink
* tire pressure monitors
You might even add the passenger air bag sensor, if Honda doesn't have that yet.
-juice
More stylish then Pilot and Highlander? Perhaps, but if people don't like that style it will actually work against it. There are reasons why Toyota and Honda are so sucessful: excellent quality, service, dependability, and value, wrapped in a non-offending body that doesn;t attract too much attention.
Toyota is now #3 in the world, #1 in many countries including Canada. Like it or not, Subaru is not perceived as a quality brand by the masses, and we won't even mention the service experience.
So unless people can see a big advantage in performance or value in the Tribeca, it will remain a small volume car that attracts, well, Subaru owners!
Sly
I don't want a BOX for 35k !
My friend has a 99 camry, the entire engine failed in 2002 - he had to replace the entire engine. He spent $1,200 recently for steering problems. Also, the car feels so flimsy now on bumps. How come i have not spent anything on my 93 legacy for 6 years with 80k miles on it.
Toyota quality !!! huh. check odyssey's main problem....transmission !!!! quality huh.
Tribeca looks a lot classier than BLAND HIGHLANDER & BOXY PILOT.
Toyota quality !!! huh. check odyssey's main problem....transmission !!!! quality huh. "
You can find problems like that with any car. Fact remains Toyota/Lexus have been topping the charts for initial quality, long term dependability, service, customer satisfaction, and resale value. I just went on the JD Edwards site and compared the 2000 Outback to the 2000 Camry, Accord, Altima, 626, and Suzuki Vitara. The Outback came in between the Mazda and Suzuki in terms of dependability, and it only scored 2s and 3s on a scale of 1 to 5. If you think that Subaru has better quality then Toyota then you must live in la-la land.
I have owned 4 Toyotas in the last 20 years and they were all nearly flawless as far as build quality and reliability.
If you want to play that game, here is a few reminders on Subaru, and these are NOT isolated incidents:
Blown head gaskets
Warped/chattering clutches
Warping disk brakes
Blown wheel bearings
PS: The Odyssey is a Honda, not a Toyota.
Sly
93 legacy for 6 years 80k miles
00 OB for 4 years with 45k miles ?
If your JD site is so accurate ? These surveys have a lot of flaws in them.
Just going from memory but the only ones I'm sure of as standard are the tinted windows, and dual zone climate control. IIRC you have to go to EX w/leather to get heated seats and mirrors. Fog lights are optional. Second row seats are 60:40. Wheels are 16". The Subie AWD features obviously are absent. Not sure about the rest; I'll have to check when I get into the missus' EX sans leather.
Ed
there sure is a passion for the tribeca, whether it pro/con...and look at the attention it's getting.
-Brian
Just like flying is 100s of times safer then driving. But ask someone who barely survived a plane crash what they think of that statistic!
Let's face it, you (and I) are not statistically significant in the grand scheme of things.
Sly
Pilot and Highlander are very safe purchases, probably with conservative owners. They play the value card. Both are and will remain successful.
Think about just how much 18" rims and tires plus sway bar upgrades would cost. It would be silly to even try to make a Pilot sporty.
The 2nd row of the Tribeca is neat - the center can fold and you can still seat two people on either side, and carry long objects, all at the same time. With child safety seats you would not even have to remove and reinstall those, a big deal for parents.
-juice
Yes, you can make stats lie by manipulating the scale of the graphs or the way you ask questions, etc. But in this case everyone gets asked the same things, so if the stats lie, they lie equally for all brands.
JD Powers is not the only organisation to come up with these results either.
Anyway, enough of this non-sense.
Bob <not juice>
BTW, this looks any day better than Pilot, HIgh. Look at the interior !!!!
juice, this is probably true - I am willing to bet the most of the Tribeca buyers will be upgrading from their Outbacks.
Personally, I think it's ugly. BUT, I would probably be inclined to buy one the next time my wife suggests replacing Outback #2 with a MINIVAN. Rob M.
Thanks Rob
wow get a life people. my minivan rocks and it has to please me not others.
Not my personal opinion, a market oddity.
Sly
They could later delete a few things and lower the price, if that's what the market demanded. Look at the Baja Sport.
Subaru owners who need a minivan but don't want to be seen in one!
That means approximately everyone. At least about 80,000 per year times 10 years, or close to one million former Outback owners. LOL
OK, that's exaggerated, but you get the point.
Swampy: I here you, and agree to some extent (it's how it drives, not how it looks), but let's face the facts - minivans carry a huge stigma that the Tribeca can avoid.
Honestly I think the Pacifica bombed because it LOOKED like a minivan. Even that is dangerous.
Vans are great. In fact that's what I might end up with if the Tribeca is not in my price range. But I'm the minority, me thinks.
It might come down to what I think I can afford. $30k - Tribeca. $25k - prolly Sienna, but even then it would probably not be AWD. $20k or less would have to be a used van, most likely an MPV or something like that.
-juice
We're talking about sporty?? Its an SUV, folks. If you want sporty, then get a sportscar. 18" wheels is NOT going to magically transform an SUV into a sportscar. So, yes, I call big wheels on an SUV useless bling. They certainly don't help me carry bags of mulch or cement and the help even less offroad or in the snow.
You guys can argue all you want about the little details that you like better than a Pilot or Highlander, but that won't convince Honda and Toyota buyers to switch camps. And you can also go ahead and argue that they weren't shooting for Pilot/Highlander buyers, but if they can't even entice those buyers, do you really think they will get MDX/RX330/X5/XC90 buyers??? If they try to magically leap into the luxo class, Subaru is doomed, IMO. How many Eddie Bauer vehicles do they sell?
I guess my thinking is if ANYONE should understand the difference, it's a well-informed Subaru Crew member. You guys should know this stuff...
That's exactly the problem! If it takes a well-informed Sub Crew member to distinguish this stuff, how do you think it will play with the public??
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Go see new legacy/OB reviews. They all considered Merc, BMW, Volvo, saab or they owned one previously.
Do you want more proof ? See MSN review of Tribeca, they say it is in par with RX 300, M class.
The mags love the Mazda6, too, yet Mazda has to deeply discount them and still sells just a small fraction compared to Accord/Camry. And I can tell you why because I just went and test drove one this past weekend. The price ... $28K!!
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Come on! they haven't even driven one yet. That is not a review, that is an impression from seing it at the auto show.
Sly
I consider the Active AWD (auto trans) to be proactive, since it shifts the F/R bias depending on whether you are accelerating or braking. All it's doing is taking advantage of the AWD to enhance traction in both cases. It's surely better than not distributing F/R, so I consider that to be a "proactive" thing.
Craig
But most people don't care! The only ones that know and care already own a Subaru!
Aha, but they do care! In fact, YOU care! The reason your Outback XT handles and corners so well is because of the low CG and the even layout of the AWD system. They got that by lightening up the roof/hood/hatch structure with aluminum and by having a compact and low-sitting drivetrain that is symmetrically balanced.
Judging by the large number of people driving around in traditional SUVs and minivans, it is true that many people don't care about handling or driving experience. But for those of us who do, I think a crossover SUV will have a market if it drives well. And that's my main hope for the Tribeca -- if it drives better than the other guys than that will be a strong factor in my book. I know I've said it before -- I drove the MDX and the RX and they felt like minivans. If the Tribeca truly drives like a sedan as Fred Adcock emphasized, then it will have at least one advantage over the other offerings in the same price range.
Craig
Yes, most don't know how well subaru handles compared to other brands. That's the reason they don't understand driving/handling experience.
And that's exactly the reason why Subaru owners stick to the same brand
From what you've seen so far and the specifications, and if it's priced at $37K, how many of you would actually buy one? In the next year or two?
tom
Edit: What I actually want is an '06 base OBW w/ the same specs as '05 but add the 5EAT w/ SportShift & VTD (VDC would be nice too!) and Moonroof. Don't need leather, ACC, CD changer, turbo or H6. (i.e. I want an OBW JE (juice edition))
DaveM
Ken
fugetaboutit - Subaru wants to go premium. Premium and juice edition are mutually exclusive!
Some thought the Legacy's styling wasn't radical enough to stand out from the pack, but my opinion has always been that it is a handsome car that should sell on looking like the other guys and doing MUCH MORE for the money than they do.
~Colin
If I recall, the group was pretty well divided. Either you had no issue with the price, and believed that it was a value, or it was overpriced for a Subaru.
I fell in the second group, and have not purchased a new GT. Yet. Rob M.
Craig
I would buy a fully loaded one (without touring) for 37-38k MSRP, buy at 36k less 2k Mastercard coupons, so for 34k it would be a good deal !!!!
-Brian
Overall impression is that it is very, very nice, especially inside. Darn thing can pamper you big time. Very comfy seats, good armrests, very upscale materials and design.
Puts the Pilot to shame, the Honda is maybe 2-3 steps down in terms of interior materials and overall ambience. We saw them back-to-back, no comparison, it's like hamburger vs. steak.
In fact, I'd go as far as saying the MDX has a very outdated design now, and that the next one should actually aim to match the Tribeca's, which looks more modern, more like the newer TSX, only applied to an SUV.
Inside they get aces, absolutely no complaints. It's not as big as the Pilot, no, but about the same as the MDX and definitely roomier than the Volvo XC90.
The grille? Much ado about nothing. I saw it in person and thought: that's it? It looks kinda small, actually, doesn't stand out nearly as much as the pictures makes you think. So if you don't like it, check it out in person and at least wait to see the whole package.
Better yet, sit inside.
I'll share more details in the Tribeca thread soon. 228 pics coming!
-juice
Regardless, you're still missing my point. This has nothing to do with how the vehicle is built. It has everything to do with perception on part of the buying public. Very few people, if any, outside of this little club here, is going to think "yeah, Subaru is a luxury brand. That's why I'm going to pay thousands more than a Honda or Toyota."
But, you know, there is no point in trying to argue it. The sales numbers and product discounting will tell the whole story. Maybe I'll be proven wrong ... maybe not.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
It will need no advertising in the Northwest, Northeast regions, where subaru is already popular.
I have a feeling that those who critized tribeca's looks like crazy will end up buying them too.
it is sensible that they will be offering a 5-seater at a cheaper price to compete with Murano, highlander etc.
Subaru will position this just between the bland toyota/honda models and acura/lexus, if that's the case this will be a huge success. Interesting thing about subaru is that it is capable of stealing customers from both [non-permissible content removed] & german brands.
look the personality, agility in tribeca. MDX is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy behind.
It will need no advertising in the Northwest, Northeast regions, where subaru is already popular.
I have a feeling that those who critized tribeca's looks like crazy will end up buying them too. "
You have a point sweet, it is actually growing on me. And that interior looks unbelievable when compared to Subaru interiors pre-2005.
However, before I would move up from my OBXT to a B9, they would have to up the torque and the towing capacity. I do not need 7 seats, so the only reasons I would go up to a B9 would be for added comfort and carrying/towing capacity. But I also wouldn't want to give up more gas mileage.
So Subaru, bring on a Turbo Diesel and I'll buy one.
Sly
With the fuel economy of the 2005 H6 barely adequate, any power increase without improved efficiency seems imprudent.
No problems with service, the service department was full of crap.
I have 250hp out of my 3.3L engine in my SVX and turn 28mpg on the highway.
I really want a B911S
-mike
-mike
tom
But, drop in a turbo H3.3 or 3.5 (say, 350hp and torque), make it an alternative to a Cayenne, and I'll take one. Or a nice direct rail injection turbo diesel with gobs of torque. Then I might forgive the funny nose.
But as it is, it's either a little too overpriced or underpowered, depending on how you look at it.
tom
I dont know that yours is a fair assessment, tsy. None of us have actually driven this new Sube.
Personally, Im thrilled the vehicle has dropped the me-too, negative connotation alphanumeric (ok, it is still called B9 Tribeca, but scroll up and read how many posts include B9 at all, while all mention the name Tribeca, which is more memorable). I dont exactly like the styling, but the interior is incredible in the pictures. If this vehicle drives at all like the Legacy (direct steering, good feedback, easy to place in lanes on the highways and around corners), I think many will be pleasantly surprised.
Im not sold on the powerplant, though, and pricing will be crucial (Dont say its overpriced just yet, as we dont know the ACTUAL pricing). But this looks like an extremely well executed package overall.
Have you seen Juice's pics from the show?
Finally, with respect to this being a Subie friendly forum, dont you think that it could work opposite- that fans are much MORE critical and slower to accept departures from the expected?
~alpha