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AS many of you will remember, we attended the launch and test drove the Subaru Tribeca 3.0. The Tribeca was the Japanese manufacturer's first foray into the SUV market and it was the premium end of the sector where they faced serious competition from well established competitors such as Volvo and BMW. Tribeca was originally unveiled at Auto Africa in 2006 and was released in the first quarter of 2007.

At the time it was known that the model available was in fact near the end of its life cycle and would be replaced in the near future.

The intention was to import a limited number, but response was good and the order had to be increased to meet demand.

Designed and built at Subaru's Indiana plant in the United States, the vehicle met with mixed response from the motoring press.

There was no doubting the quality of build , safety and ride comfort, but the styling was not to everyone's taste.

It was the nose that seemed to disturb some, following the of the Impreza of the time, it featured a central nose with two side grills and was soon nick named the Koala bear look. Despite that the Tribeca proved a success for Subaru and last week in Stellenbosch they released its successor, the Tribeca 3.6R.

The quirky nose has gone, replaced with a much more purposeful front end design, which gives the whole vehicle a much more muscular look, this is enhanced by a larger rear quarter side window, which, apart from supplying more light to the third row of seats, gives the style more of an edge than its predecessor.

Subaru are importing only one derivation of the new Tribeca and that is the top of the range and offers an extremely high specification level. In fact, I would say that if you decide to purchase one don't bother asking for the options list, there?s nothing else you could put into the vehicle.

With all the bells and whistles found on its predecessor, Subaru have now included Xenon headlights and a rear vision camera to facilitate easier parking as standard equipment, many manufacturers offer these as an option and that could cost you up to R28 000 on the base price.

The interior is well finished and luxurious, the curved wrap around dashboard is retained and forms two definite cockpits for the driver and front seat passenger.

The central information display panel is now of the touch screen type which also doubles as the screen for the rear view camera when reversing.

Seating for front occupants is electrically adjustable and heated. Billed as a five plus two seater (rather than a seven seater), the rear seats fold flat into the rear floor when not required.

Rear seat passengers now have the advantage of their own airconditioning controls, to make that trip more pleasant.

The new Tribeca is powered by the six cylinder H6 Boxer engine, but with larger capacity and delivering more power and torque. Bored and stroked to 3.6 litres the new engine delivers 190 kW at 6000 rpm and 350 Nm at 4000 rpm, the 3.0 litre version produced 180 kW and 295 Nm but both at higher revs.

The most significant factor is the torque spread with 300 Nm available from 2000 rpm, which makes the Tribeca much more responsive than its predecessor.

The transmission has also been upgraded with the second generation of the five speed automatic, featuring an all-new torque lock-up converter and a new transmission control unit that deliver faster shifts and quicker reaction time.

The new transmission delivers smoother shifts with less lag time.

Putting the power onto the road is the well proven Subaru Symmetrical All Wheel Drive system, which ensures a high level of grip in all conditions.

Pricing on the new Tribeca is R510 000 which is around sixty thousand more than its forerunner, but as Teresita van Gaalen, MD of Subaru Southern Africa is quick to point out, this includes all the extras, in fact up to R160 000 worth if compared with some of its competitors.

Subaru believe that the Tribeca 3.6R offers the best value for money in the segment, with its improved looks and better performance, it certainly poised to appeal to a wider section of the public and as this month will see the sale of the 10 000th Subaru in South Africa, brand confidence is well established.

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