Overview

What's New
Subaru's B9 Tribeca is a new entry to the Midsize Crossover Utility Vehicle (CUV) segment this year, with seating for up to seven passengers, standard all-wheel drive, luxury interior appointments, and dynamic exterior styling. Based on an extensively modified Legacy/Outback platform, the B9 Tribeca comes standard with a torquey, horizontally opposed, six-cylinder engine, ABS brakes, vehicle dynamics control, automatic climate control, and configurable seating arrangements.

Overview
The B9 Tribeca is Subaru's first foray outside of its traditional sedan/wagon/truck market segments. The Tribeca is also the first Subaru to embrace the company's new design philosophy, recalling its aircraft manufacturing history, with a central air intake flanked by wing-shaped grills. The B9 Tribeca is available in base and Limited trim styles, with a choice of five- or seven-passenger seating arrangements. Beneath the hood resides a 250-hp, horizontally opposed, six-cylinder engine mated to a 5-speed automatic transmission sending power to all four wheels.

On the safety side, the B9 Tribeca is equipped with occupant-sensing dual-stage driver and passenger air bags, seat-mounted side-impact air bags, and standard curtain side air bags for the front and second rows. ABS-assisted disc brakes with Brake Assist are standard, along with electronic traction control.

Standard amenities include an automatic climate control system, a power tilt/slide glass moonroof, an eight-way power driver's seat, a four-way power passenger seat, and a 100-watt AM/FM stereo system with CD player and six speakers, complete with remote controls on the standard leather-wrapped steering wheel. A rear-seat DVD entertainment system is available and features a nine-inch diagonal wide-screen LCD, two sets of wireless headphones, and remote inputs for games and a video camera. The seven-passenger models are equipped with a standard 50/50-split, fold-down third-row seat and three-mode heated front seats, and an auxiliary rear cabin air conditioner with air registers in the headliner. Limited models come equipped with leather seating surfaces for front and second rows, a 160-watt AM/FM stereo with 6-disc, in-dash CD changer and MP3 compatibility, eight upgraded speakers, and a rear sub-woofer. The five-passenger Limited model features three-mode heated front seats (standard on the seven-passenger model), and an optional GPS navigation system is available for both B9 Tribeca Limited models.

The Competition
The Midsize CUV (Crossover Utility Vehicle) segment in which the B9 Tribeca competes has been growing steadily over the past three years. As more families abandon fuel-thirsty SUVs, midsize crossovers are poised to gain market share with virtually the same cargo- and passenger-carrying capacity, with fewer stops at the gas pump.

According to the J.D. Power and Associates Sales Report,^SM the segment is led by the best-selling Toyota Highlander (137,409 sales in 2005), followed by the Chrysler Pacifica (85,557), Ford Freestyle (76,739), Nissan Murano (74,454), and the Buick Rendezvous (60,589). Having launched late in the year, the Subaru B9 Tribeca garnered 14,797 sales in 2005.