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THAT’S right: There’s a sport-utility vehicle whose name was
derived from that famous area in Manhattan, New York, situated
between Broadway and the Hudson River. You know the place by its
renowned abbreviation TriBeCa and probably even better by its
celebrity residents (John F. Kennedy Jr., Yoko Ono, David Letterman,
Meryl Streep, Scarlett Johansson, Jay-Z, James Gandolfini and
Gwyneth Paltrow, to name a few). Because it refers to an upscale
neighborhood, the name has come to connote a high standard of
living.
It is only fitting then that if you’re using
the name to christen an SUV, it had better be a paragon of luxury
and refinement. And that is exactly what the Subaru Tribeca is—a
luxury sport-ute which Motor Image Pilipinas is formally launching
tomorrow. The Tribeca is a full-size, high-end SUV first unveiled by
Subaru for the North American market—it is manufactured in
Lafayette, Indiana—in 2005 and which received a significant
facelift for the 2008 model year.
Thankfully, we’re getting the updated version,
and we’re doing so ahead of everyone else in Southeast Asia
(including Singapore, the home base of Motor Image). This new
version crosses out the “B9” from its name. The SUV used to be
called “B9 Tribeca”, which, to be honest, didn’t make a lot of
sense. Another significant change can be found up front. The new
Tribeca does away with the silly-looking triangular grille and now
sports a more conventional, horizontally slatted face. A boon since
it brings normalcy back to a sedate exterior that wears Subaru’s
trademark understated styling.
But the biggest upgrade hides under the hood.
The previous 3.0-liter horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine was
chucked in favor of a more muscular 3.6-liter flat-six, still
horizontally opposed (a Subaru hallmark). The substantial bump in
displacement increased the engine’s output from 242 horsepower to
a beefier 256 horsepower and the torque from 297 Newton-meter to a
more respectable 335 Newton-meter. The new engine is mated to a
five-speed automatic shifter with manual mode.
The Tribeca will be sold for P2.648 million,
confirming that it is being positioned squarely against the Honda
Pilot, the Mazda CX-9 and the Nissan Murano. The other luxury SUVs
are not known to be huge sellers, but more like halo models for
their respective brands. Whether the Tribeca will change this role
and prove to be more than just a token flagship model, remains to be
seen.
The Tribeca is based on the excellent Legacy
platform and was initially conceptualized to address SUV demand in
the United States. With fuel prices hovering at $4 a gallon in
America, SUV sales have taken a drastic nosedive there in recent
months. Presumably, this trend has prompted carmakers to peddle
their sport-utes elsewhere in the globe, and Subaru is no exception.
The Tribeca actually has strong selling points
that might make it a hit among Filipinos. First would be the
generous five-plus-two seating configuration of the passenger cabin.
It means the vehicle can seat five healthy adults and—if you so
desire—two additional kids at the back. Not that you need a full
house to appreciate the Tribeca. Adventure-minded single individuals
also will, especially since this SUV can effortlessly swallow any
outdoor gear you feel like bringing along. In fact, the marketing
tagline for the Tribeca in the US is, “The car you would have
loved even before the kids.”
Another selling point would be the uniquely
laid-out dashboard. The award-winning cockpit design looks Iron
Man-modern and appears like something Tony Stark might have imagined
himself (no offense, Audi). Compared to it, the interiors of other
luxury SUVs seem so Nineties. The ambient lighting looks cool to the
eye, and the iPod-ready audio system promises an aural treat on the
road.
But no selling point is stronger than Subaru’s
vaunted Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive (SAWD) system. Unlike other SUVs’
four-wheel drive systems, the Tribeca’s AWD mechanism doesn’t
take a minute off. It doesn’t sleep on the job. It’s on from the
time you fire up the engine to the point where you switch it off.
When things are going smoothly, the system apportions 45 percent of
the torque to the front wheels and 55 percent to the rear—nearly
equal power distribution. When a wheel loses traction—which can be
potentially fatal, as shown by a number of incidents during last
weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix—the Variable Torque Distribution
system incorporated into the vehicle’s SAWD sends extra power to
the wheel that’s threatening to make you graze the concrete
barrier.
The SAWD has safety nets in case you manage to
drive beyond its capabilities (but that’s a lot of bad driving)
and these are antilock brakes, electronic brake-force distribution,
active headrests, and front, side and curtain airbags.
Among the standard features of the 2008 Subaru
Tribeca are HID headlamps, fog lamps, power-folding side mirrors,
power sunroof, roof rails, and 18-inch alloy wheels. Available body
colors to choose from are blue pearl, metallic gold, metallic gray
and black pearl.
The Subaru Tribeca is not for everyone. After
all, not everyone can afford first-rate luxury. But if you’re
among the few lucky bastards who can, go for a test drive and see
for yourself how Subaru managed to fuse its rallying spirit into the
motoring opulence of a large SUV.
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