Tow Test: Subaru Tribeca

Refined Midweight

The Subaru Tribeca was first released just over a year ago as Subaru's first-ever large, seven-seat wagon. It was intended primarily to attract SUV buyers in the US market but also to tempt Subaru customers in markets like Australia for whom the Outback model was too small.

Unfortunately it was not well received, so Subaru quickly addressed what it perceived to be the problems, and introduced a revised model at the beginning of this year. The main criticisms were the exterior design and a lack of engine response, and Subaru didn't go for a light make-over: there's a new engine, heavily revised transmission and new panels front and rear, plus many more detail revisions.

ATTRIBUTES
The Tribeca is available in two models, the 3.6R and 3.6R Premium (reviewed).

The $53,990 3.6R has ABS brakes with brake assist, dual front, side and curtain airbags, speed-sensitive wipers, traction control, stability control and xenon headlights. Inside, it has an AM/FM radio with six-stack CD player (MP3 compatible) with nine speakers and steering wheel controls, auxiliary jack for portable music devices, cargo security blind (for the five-seater only), cruise control, 10 cup-holders, dual-zone climate-control air-conditioning, eight-way adjustable power front seats (driver and passenger), height-only adjustable steering column, leather steering wheel with audio and cruise controls, trip computer, power steering, mirrors and windows, satnav and reversing camera.

The $58,990 Tribeca 3.6R Premium adds a dual memory function for the eight-way adjustable driver's seat, heated front seats, leather trim, electric sunroof, rear seat DVD system with wireless headphones and remote controller, and roof rails. Both the 3.6R and 3.6R Premium have the option of a seven-seat, third-row configuration, which costs $2000 extra.

INTERIOR
The interior is impressive - the space-age dashboard makes the interior look like a concept car and it works well, with clear and easy to locate controls. Seeing out of the Tribeca is generally quite easy for a large wagon, although wide A-pillars are going to bother some drivers. The large side mirrors at first seem overdone but you soon learn to like them when hitched up. Despite thick D-pillars, the driver's vision out of the rear window is acceptable and is made much better with the reversing camera.

When driving on twisting roads, the Tribeca's front seats feel flat but seem firm and contoured enough for general cruising. The steering column is rake but not reach adjustable, which won't make the driving position ideal for some.

The rear seat has a useful fore-aft adjustment and the outer positions are comfortable and roomy, while the middle position is firm and makes the passenger sit forward.

Getting into the third row involves an awkward step up and back for adults, although when seated, there is plenty of head and shoulder room, and plenty of room for your feet. The adjustable second-row seat provides increased knee room for third-row occupants. The third-row seat itself is flat and given its position close to the floor, adults will need to sit in a knees-up position.

ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION
The key change in the 2008 update is the new 3.6L engine, which has 5.5 per cent more power than the outgoing 3L six-cylinder (up from 180kW to 190kW) and 17.8 per cent more torque (from 297Nm to 350Nm). It takes up the same space in the engine bay but is 0.7kg lighter and more fuel-efficient.

Subaru's engineers have worked on ensuring that the new engine is more rigid, with an improved cooling system and reduced engine vibration. The engine is quite linear in its delivery and is very quiet when cruising, but becomes noisy and harsh when revved. The contrast in noise is surprising above about 3500rpm.

When just idling around the suburbs or gently cruising, the transmission operates unobtrusively, but when accelerating up a steep highway hill at anything but a slow, steady rate, there is not enough torque and the transmission becomes eager to kick down. When more than half throttle is applied, the transmission seems to kick down when it isn't really needed or wanted. In "Sport" mode, it is worse. It brings attention to the noisy engine, which just seems to lack torque or the right steps in gear ratios to avoid the regular kick-downs when pressing on. At least the gearshifts are smooth.

Underneath the Tribeca, all vital components are recessed out of harm's way but there is no real protection to cope with driving off-road, although the air intake is positioned high in the engine bay for adequate water-fording ability. This is really a dirt road tourer at best, which you might take on the sand. Having said that, the space-saver spare is a cause for concern if travelling in remote areas.

SUSPENSION
The Tribeca sits well on the road with a compliant suspension that insulates occupants from road shock with a supple and quiet assuredness. It is an accomplished and refined back-road tourer, although once the squiggly-arrow road signs appear, the big Subaru is not happy to play. It lacks the chassis responsiveness and steering feel to be more than a stolid performer when cornering.

ECONOMY
Subaru quotes fuel consumption for the new model at 11.6L/100km versus 12.4L/100km for the old model. During our testing, the Tribeca used 12-13L/100km when travelling solo on an easy cruise and jumped to the high teens around town in a traffic crawl. When towing a Jayco tandem-axle pop-top weighing 1593kg Tare, the Tribeca achieved a best of 19.2L/100km. Easy, flat roads driven at 80km/h may see that improve to 16L/100km if you're lucky. We saw a figure of 22.3L/100km for part of our test, and that figure would be quite representative when towing a van of similar style and weight in hilly country or when driving into headwinds.

TOWING
The Tribeca still has a 2000kg maximum towing capacity but with an improved towball load limit, up from just 100kg to 160kg. We hitched up the Jayco Discovery with a towball download of just 78kg.

The addition of the caravan's weight was quite obvious, although rear droop was minor - not surprising given the low towball download. Weight-distribution devices often tell us less than we could otherwise learn about the vehicle's inherent stability, so we decided to try the Tribeca without their assistance (or you might say, interference). In any case, the towbar will not take any type of weight-distribution device or anti-sway friction coupling due to the unusual 40x40mm hitch and the fact that the towbar-to-body attachments are not designed to take such stresses.

The rear springs compressed with the weight of the van and this caused some jiggling and minor pitching over bumps at low speeds, and the required throttle applications made it obvious that the Tribeca's engine was feeling the extra weight. The transmission was kicking down quite a bit to keep the engine on the boil.

Subaru recommends that you travel at the speed limit or 80km/h, whichever is lower. We briefly got up to 100km/h to safely get over to the kerb lane of the highway and the Tribeca felt more stable at 80km/h than 100km/h, so we would stick to the recommendation.

The way the weight was spread in the caravan may explain some of the sway we experienced, and this possibly would be improved with a load in the front of the van to increase ball weight (given there is an 80kg margin to play with).

THE BOTTOM LINE
The Tribeca is a refined, comfortable SUV wagon that can take the hustle and bustle of city life and roam the country. It is well specified, appears well built and rides and handles well. If previous Subarus are any indication, it should prove reliable too.

If you want to use a Tribeca primarily as a long-distance tow vehicle, however, you'd need to think about not being able to use weight-distribution or anti-sway devices, the 80km/h speed recommendation and the lack of fuel range.

Thanks to David Carrick of Jayco Sydney for the loan of the caravan.

Jayco Sydney is at 63-67 Glossop Street, St Marys, (02) 9623 1971.

For more information about the Subaru Tribeca, visit www.subaru.com.au