Filed under: New York Auto Show, Crossovers/CUVs, Subaru
2008 Subaru B9 Tribeca to bow at New York Auto Show
2007 Subaru B9 Tribeca
The current Subaru B9 Tribeca is a lot like the person with whom your mother wants to set you up. It has a "nice personality," but "good looks" never comes up in conversation. The B9 has been a disappointment to both Subaru fans and company executives who were hoping for much better sales numbers. Help may be on the way, however, with improved power, fuel economy, and looks (we hope).
Subaru is set to unveil part two of the crazy experiment they call the B9 Tribeca at the New York Auto Show. The scribes over at Automobile are reporting that the B9 Tribeca will lose some of its ugly with a more conventional grille and wider, narrower headlights. It'll also sport a new 3.6L V6 engine with 254 hp and 247 lb-ft of torque, which beats the current model's 3.0L by 9 hp and 32 lb-ft. The new V6 will also provide 10% better fuel economy while running on regular gasoline instead of the current model's premium fuel.
We're happy to hear the B9 Tribeca will gain new power and improved fuel economy, but we're not going to commit to a blind date until we see some pictures.
[Source: Automobile]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
BVT 8:34AM (3/14/2007)
V-6? Sacrilege!
Actually, the Automobile article doesn't say V-6, just, "In place of the old 3.0-liter flat six, the Tribeca now gets a 3.6-liter motor." A 3.6L H-6 would be a natural evolution from the 2.5L H-4 in the Impreza.
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steve 8:37AM (3/14/2007)
How can the new headlights be both wider and narrower? Everywhere but Autoblog these are opposites. Maybe wider and shorter headlights?
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Frustrated Consumer 9:10AM (3/14/2007)
BTW, the Subaru website no longer uses the "B9" part of the name. It just labels it a "Tribeca".
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want a diesel 9:13AM (3/14/2007)
If they make it look better and offer it with th e new diesel, then that will be a vehicle to consider.
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Tim UF 9:57AM (3/14/2007)
please let someone be misinformed on the V6 info.
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Tim UF 10:01AM (3/14/2007)
if you read the linked article, it doesnt mention configuration of the new motor, just that it will be gaining 0.6L, more torque, and better fuel efficiency. odds are itll stay a 3.6L boxer. I'd bet that engine moves downstream to the LLBean Legacy and outback also.
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Viv 10:08AM (3/14/2007)
If not for the "ugly" looks this actually a very good vehicle. I recently drove a friend's car and was plesantly surprised.
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Fazzster 10:15AM (3/14/2007)
I am sure "v6" is a sloppy mistake. Subaru is proud of its Boxer configuration and would not spend the $$$ making a whole new engine just for the Tribeca.
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Hernan 10:26AM (3/14/2007)
Hmmm, I wonder where they could buy 3.6l V6s for cheap...
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djSyndrome 10:35AM (3/14/2007)
"Hmmm, I wonder where they could buy 3.6l V6s for cheap..."
Nowhere. Toyota's is a 3.5L.
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shimman 10:38AM (3/14/2007)
sounds like gm's 3.6l v6 dohc engine to me; since subaru had/has a relationship with gm, i wouldn't be surprised & i think it's a good move for subaru to ditch b6 engine.
btw, why boxer 6? it would use too much engine room & the benefit of having a lower center of gravity would be defeated by the higher rotational momentum because of the longer than v config engine. probably i6 would be better.
it would be better for subaru to have b4 & v6 rather than b4 & 6
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djSyndrome 10:46AM (3/14/2007)
"sounds like gm's 3.6l v6 dohc engine to me; since subaru had/has a relationship with gm, i wouldn't be surprised & i think it's a good move for subaru to ditch b6 engine."
That relationship was severed, what, a year ago? Also, GM had a stake in Subaru for years and did nothing except put out the 9-2x - a car that received more media coverage during the James Kim ordeal than in its entire lifespan.
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Oolon Coluphid 10:58AM (3/14/2007)
V6? Are you sure about that?
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A.K. 11:00AM (3/14/2007)
I would assume that at least the bloggers at autoblog would know Subaru uses boxer engines. Not "V-6"!! Blasphemy!
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A.K. Maloney 11:03AM (3/14/2007)
# 11.. WTH?? First off, it's not a B6 but an H6. Secondly, why would Subaru want to give up one of its trademarks (read: boxer engine) and go for a traditional V layout. Also, please divulge how the H6 uses more room than a similar V6. You've completely lost me there.
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Matthew 11:24AM (3/14/2007)
It's a horizontally opposed 6-cylinder engine or for some people it is known as a boxer-6. All the cylinders are laid down flat so that it wouldn't hamper too much into the center of gravity and makes more room in the engine compartment for a turbo plus it is very reliable. The only downside to it is that it is wider than V configurated engines and the lousy gas mileage when you hook it up to the AWD configuration. Porsche uses these engines for their sport cars and they work very well for mid-engine configuration. There is no way in the future that Subaru will use any kind of V6 in their cars since they're too common and complicated to fix and they will not use inline engine since they're narrow but long. Hopefully that will answer some questions about the engines Subaru uses and I hope to god they change the front end of that Tribeca drastically enough to get rid of the goofy smiley face it has now.
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RDL 11:43AM (3/14/2007)
Subaru 3.6L H6
254 hp
247 lb-ft
vs.
Nissan 3.5L V6
306 hp
268 lb-ft
Subaru needs to catch up, fast!
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Joe 11:46AM (3/14/2007)
Looking at the photo you have posted here, it doesn't look as though "good looks" are going to come up in the coversation with this model either.
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MikeW 11:55AM (3/14/2007)
At the Chicago autoshow, I asked one of the subaru guys when a more powerful engine for the tribeca would arrive? I took one look at the cutaway and said an extra cm of stroke shouldn't be a problem. 3.3 liters like the SVX, and he said 'exactly' I posited, 270hp 235ft-lbs, 'sounds about right' he returned.
Subaru already has their VTEC, all they need is a variable resonance intake manifold to boost cylinder charging to compensate for the tuning for high end power. It sounds like a done deal.
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Rick Lyon 12:20PM (3/14/2007)
Poor sales? Three words. LOWER THE PRICE! I mean $30K for that!?!? No wonder no one is buying it. What is every car maker's obsession with $30k? The all complain about crappy sales, well, try getting more cars out at $20k instead of putting in bigger engines that get better gas mileage, allow for a smaller engine to get ALL THE OPTIONS instead of forcing buyers to get the V6 to get homelink!
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