Subaru Tribeca's soft new face

Click for more photos Subaru Tribeca's soft new face Subaru Tribeca Conservative new exterior styling, a more powerful engine and tweaks to the interior address major criticisms of Subaru's slow-selling full-size 4WD, report GLENN BUTLER and TOBY HAGON. A rushed mid-life update puts a new face on the Tribeca four-wheel drive, and is symptomatic of a deeper issue for Subaru. The company renowned for its symmetrical all-wheel drive system is more than three years behind its global sales objective of 800,000 announced in 01, hence the fresh face not only on its great four-wheel drive hope but also at the helm with the appointment of new CEO Ikuo Mori. Mori told Drive.au that one of his priorities with the Subaru brand is to establish a design language. It's a tough task for a company better known for its engineering prowess, and especially so because Mori is determined that the new language should reflect Subaru's aircraft heritage. Regardless, Mori's number one job is to get Subaru back on track with its sales plan, hence the Tribeca redesign just two years after it first launched in the United States and barely four months after its November debut in Australia. Mori says Subaru is still keen to chase growth, but thinks the company will do well to break 700,000 in 07. Advertisement: Story continues below The Tribeca's more conservative visage and more powerful engine addresses two major criticisms of the seven-seat four-wheel drive which is selling at barely 50 per cent of its North American goals, and around 75 per cent of the hoped-for 150 sales per month in Australia. The revised nose Rosetta Stone Portuguese boasts a more contemporary and conservative slatted grille, along with new headlights and softer bonnet creases to help make the car more appealing and less polarising. The rear of the car has also been softened, mainly around the rear-most side windows, taillights and bumper bar. It's the second-quickest facelift in the last decade for Subaru, after the bug-eyed Impreza WRX was 'fixed' in 02. The changes include not only components like headlights, taillights, bumpers, wing mirrors and the grille, but also more expensive sheetmetal changes to the front quarter panels and rear-side window surrounds. The 3.0-litre flat six-cylinder engine has been enlarged to 3.6 litres, which should translate into better acceleration off the line and greater urge in low revs. While the engine size has increased some per cent, power has only increased 4 per cent while torque is improved by 13 per cent to 5Nm. Importantly, however, the new engine is now tuned to run on regular unleaded - rather than more expensive premium unleaded - in an effort to reduce running costs. The Tribeca gains a tilt-and-slide on both the driver and passenger side of the second row of seats, and the rear doors open wider. Both changes are aimed at criticisms of access to the third row. Subaru Australia is not expecting the revised Tribeca to arrive here until early . "The updated Tribeca will not be produced for right-hand drive markets until year end, so it won't reach Australia until January," says Subaru Australia managing director Nick Senior. "However, we believe it will further underline Tribeca's appeal as a premium vehicle that represents remarkable value in its class.

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