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Wagons Subaru Crew Subaru B9 Tribeca Tribeca Test Drive: What Did You Think?
36 messages, Last post on Nov 20, 2006 at 8:40 AM
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Replying to: carlsnewcar (Oct 14, 2006 8:55 am) Bought it off the lot in Aug. '04, so that's 18 months! Unfortunately I didn't realize it until getting it home and making sure the tires were inflated properly even though the dealership checked stuff out first. I almost didn't see the date plate on the bottom of the driverside door frame when I looked at the tire pressure plate on the side. Easy to miss. Well, the car really looked like it had been sitting a long time, only had 28 miles on the odometer, and it was brought in from Nashville, TN to Decatur, AL. Originally seems to have come from Virginia (where shipped in maybe?). I found some oxidation on one of the door handle areas but the silver color was masking it-- the paint, no chrome anyplace. Cleaned off okay. Backseat window glass had a nearly permanent spec sheet imprint on it, I think it still shows up when the glass fogs. And more importantly, the rubber seals show signs of cracking but I've taken good care of them and I doubt they'll be any problem over the next several years in which I own it. I wasn't looking to buy a perfect new car, luckily, or I would have been real skeptical about keeping this car. My intent was to buy a 2004 model just as the 2005's were going to be available so I could try and get a good deal. I drained the gas tank completely and flushed it with a little fresh gasoline simply because of that 18 months I had no idea about. It could have had water in there for all I knew. It actually did seem yellowed. This was the first time I ever considered this period of time between making and buying. My last vehicle was a used truck, a '94 bought in '96. Before that, the new car was more mid-model-year (twice, because first had irrepairable damage and I replaced with same one year later). Car before that was also used. I'll give this car-buying thing more thought when it comes to ones sitting a long time. But here more than two years later my Subaru is doing pretty well, aside from pinging (they call normal) and a rare pop from unburnt fuel in the exhaust (I call not normal). It goes in for its 30K mile service next week so if that doesn't help the engine pops I'll have it checked further. So, in a word, "cautious" might be wise when the dates get far apart. Look closely at wearable parts, exposed to sunlight, and be sure to double-check before any bumper-to-bumper warranty ends if you do buy.
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Replying to: subi4obs (Nov 16, 2006 3:11 pm) -juice |
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I've happily owned Subarus, and want to trade in my 2001 RX300, and am comparing Tribeca and RX350... drove a Tribeca last week... think it's a great value! My concerns, and would love opinions from the group... 1) How significant are the transmission "issues" in everyday driving... the hunting? I didn't experience it at all during the test drive. 2) I'm 5'5", and I had trouble seeing the end of the hood (or even the hood at all) with the seat all the way up, due to the minivan like dash. How does that wear over time? Would love to hear from this knowledgeable group....
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Replying to: edmundoh (Nov 18, 2006 6:19 pm) The Lexus is certainly a well designed and well put together vehicle. I do like the extra 0.5L in the engine that you get with the Lex- it's a bit zippier. And the auto raising liftgate is cool. It was a testdrive in the RX that made me fall in love with the backup camera idea, and I waited for the '07 Beca just for it. So cool, and useful. The transmission on the Subie isn't perfect, but the Sport mode certainly makes it much quicker to downshift and gets the most out of the engine. The regular mode is balancing responsiveness with fuel economy. Not sure that as an engineer- you could design it much different. for me, I'm pretty soft on the pedal... until I'm not. When I want some fun, I'm quick to pull that shift level over and either rely on the sport mode, or if I'm looking for some engine braking- kick it down manually. The position of the shifter and responsiveness of the manual contol makes it one of the most usable manual auto shifters I've every used. So- I'd say that's a real plus. I'm 5'7" and love the view from the front. It's just high enough so that you feel like you're in an SUV, but yes- the front end drops away. This is partly because it CAN, since the engine is so low. For a vehicle with 8.4" of ground clearance, it doesn't lean in turns and feels like it's got a very low center of gravity. So- if you want a luxury Crossover with a better AWD system so that you can actually take it off road, it's a welcome change to the ubiquitous RX's that every suburban housewife is wearing as jewlery these days. Ya' can't swing a dead cat without hitting an RX. |
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Haaa, obviously not truely "offroad" I think you'd be hard pressed to see a tribeca anywhere but a muddy field! No offense but no subaru is made for "offroad" nor are most SUVs these days for that matter. -mike
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Replying to: paisan (Nov 19, 2006 1:10 pm) Anyone else not like the small gas tank on the B9 ? My RX only has a 17.2 gal tank, and when the low fuel lgt comes on, it only takes about 13 gal. I also thought the motor in the B9 could use some more low-end grunt.
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Replying to: paisan (Nov 19, 2006 1:10 pm) but the roads I need to travel on aren't really nasty. They require a bit of clearance and something to keep a wheel or axle spinning. The Tribeca is much better than I expected in my trials so far, and way better than something like a Highlander or Pilot. Everything is relative- but so far, I've been very happy with the peformance of the VTC system that Subie offers. It can transfer up to 100% of the power either front or rear- not too many systems will do that. |
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I have the VDC system on my Armada and also have the ABLS (Anti-lock Brake Limited Slip) on both front and rear and it works quite well offroad. Heck on my armada the only thing stopping it from being an awsome offroader is the side steps and front bumper cover/lower air dam. Similarly on the subarus the engine being in front of the front axles hurts the angle of approach and clearance. -mike |
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Replying to: erik_h (Nov 19, 2006 5:29 pm) -juice |
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