Inside
The interior's design has aged well over the years, with a smooth, curvy flow that wraps around front passengers. That's quite the feat considering it's essentially the same design used when this car was introduced as the B9 Tribeca for 2006.
However, the quality of the materials in there is far from the segment's best. There's an overuse of silver plastic that's meant to imitate aluminum — a cheap-looking trick. The dashboard and center console are carved out of the stuff, and they don't do the unique design any justice.
The most disappointing part of the interior, though, is the lack of a telescoping steering wheel, which is found in just about every other three-row SUV on the market. What may seem like a small oversight made it impossible for me to sit comfortably in the driver's seat. At 6-feet tall and with a slender build, I had to move the seat back pretty far to get a comfortable distance from the steering wheel. In that driving position, my elbows couldn't reach the armrest. Combine this with the Tribeca's high seating position, and I was not a happy commuter during my 90-minute drives to and from Cars.com's offices.
Fit, of course, will vary from person to person. Some people may not have any issues, but I was not the only editor to experience frustration over the steering wheel. And the front seating problem snowballed into issues for the second and third rows, too, partly because of the Tribeca's small size. Legroom is already mediocre in the second row, at 34.3 inches, but with the driver's seat where I had it positioned, the second row lost heaps of that space. Then, with the second row slid all the way back to compensate, the third row was left with literally no legroom.
Very few crossovers have enough room in their third row to make adults feel comfortable, and the Tribeca isn't close to breaking that mold. The seat is so close to the floor that my legs and thighs were positioned uncomfortably off the seat cushion.
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Gasoline for cleaner air
CAUTION
Do not let fuel spill on the exterior surfaces of the vehicle. Fuels containing
alcohol may cause paint damage, which is not covered under the SUBARU Limited Warranty.
Your use of gasoline ...
Tribeca in the Market
In April, new-car sales of the Tribeca totaled a lackluster 241 units. Sales
numbers aren't always an indication of a good or bad product, but in this case,
it seems seven-seat crossover shoppers ...
