Specifications
Model:
Subaru Tribeca.
Price:
£30 000-35 000 (on sale in 2006). Engine:
3000cc flat-six, 188kW at 6600rpm, 294Nm at 4200rpm
Transmission:
Five-speed auto, all-wheel drive
Performance:
192km/h, 0-120km/h 8.5sec, 11.3 litres/100km estimated average.
There's a scurrilous story about the responses of a US focus group to this car which will appear in both Saab and Subaru forms in some markets (although the Saab version is not likely to be sold in Europe - and the Subaru won't reach South Africa for some time as initial build will only be left-hand drive).
Those viewing the Saab version gave it a so-so response and the company went back to the drawing board. Those staring at the Subaru, which was launched at the Geneva auto show early in 2005, roundly panned it and it became the Tribeca.
No prizes for guessing who tells that story (Saab), but you do wonder who thought the nose would work, not only for Subaru's first full-sized off-roader but also for the company's new corporate face.
It's supposed to evoke Subaru's aeronautical past (cars aren't the only thing the two GM-linked companies share) but anyone who can picture the infamously ugly Ford Edsel might predict disaster.
That's a shame, because otherwise the styling presents the right amount of streamlined muscle for a sports off-roader. Just as well, too, because when the Tribeca goes on sale in the UK next year it'll cost from £30 000 to £35 000 (about R342 000-R400 000).
That's a shark-filled price band but the Tribeca can pull one trick that the BMW X5 and Lexus RX300 can't: it's a seven-seater that doesn't look like one.
Behind the streamlined rear lie two flip-up back seats that will take a couple of adults with some adjusting, while the rest of the interior is just as practical. The roomy middle seats fold, slide and recline, and you can fold the front passenger seat flat.
Beside the driver, the swoopy, silvery fascia loses posh points for being too hard and in-your-face but the car is terrifically well built. The equipment will be excellent, too, with the base five-seater offering climate control, power seats and a good stereo system as standard.
Above that, the £35 000 top-spec seven-seater will throw in leather, a DVD player with drop-down screen and full-colour satnav. It truly feels like a proper executive car, helped by touches such as the downlighter that bathes the auto gearshift in a red glow at night.
There's just one engine for the Tribeca: the three-litre, six-cylinder petrol unit lifted from the Legacy. It's smooth enough, if lacking a meaty soundtrack, and it can gather up the Scooby's skirts to claim a decent 8.5sec time to 100km/h - but don't expect single-digit fuel consumption.
Thanks to a healthy US market, Subaru doesn't feel the need to make a diesel.
Close to the master
But the best bit about the Tribeca is the handling. It's built on a Legacy platform and Subaru has kept much of its more grounded sibling's agility in the bends without lumbering it with a harsh ride.
In that respect, we'd say it comes very close to matching the master of the class, the BMW X5. Subaru says this is partly because the trademark "boxer" engine lies flat, like a Porsche's, giving a lower centre of gravity.
We'd like a slightly heavier feel to the steering than the US palm-touch you get but it moves the car just as soon as you ask. That's pretty rare among two-ton 4x4s.
If the profile looks more like a magnified hatchback, the resemblance is more than skin deep around town where the Tribeca is almost as easy to manoeuvre as a Ford Focus.
Visibility is pretty good in an age of ever-widening pillars and the turning circle is excellent. With parking sensors standard, the Tribeca ought to shrug off the Chelsea tractor jibes. This one's much easier to drive than most 4x4s.
Stay on the hard bits
If you do want to go off-road, you've only got the all-wheel-drive and higher ground clearance to see you through. There's no low-ratio or electronic gadgetry such as gradient descent control, just a clever form of traction control to reassign power when you slip off line.
It's probably best to stay on the hard bits - there's no way you'll get proper off-road tyres on those standard 18" wheels anyway.
So it's talented, but don't worry if you don't like the nose. Saab says its own 4x4 will be ready to show by the end of 2005 and that means it'll not only come with a turbocharger but also with a new fascia and, crucially, a new front end.
- The Tribeca will be assembled at Subaru's plant in Indiana and at first its sale will be restricted to the US, Canada and Chile.
It was, Subaru adds, engineered to continue the company's reputation for outstanding handling, road-holding and active safety and further extends the crossover family that includes the Outback and Forester.