Kevin
03-27-2006, 11:00 AM
My first Subaru was an STi and I was a donating member of the popular STi forum www.iwsti.com for over 2 years. I loved my STi so much that I decided to stick with Subaru because of its quality and reliability. The STI was subjected to a ridiculous amount of abuse and never suffered any adverse problems. That experience set a new expectation for Subaru vehicles.
Lately, Subaru's national marketing campaign has been everywhere aimed to get Tribecas into the hands of more customers and off dealership lots. 2800 down and 299 a month are the numbers currently being advertised for those who take delivery before the end of the month. I really was not in the market for an SUV, but I could not ignore the fact that 299 a month was a low lease payment by any standards.
I love my STI, but I knew that i needed another car to do my daily driving. Sitting in stop and go traffic was wreaking havoc on both me and the car. I was shifting in and out of gears so much that my knee in my left leg would hurt by the time I got to work. I was bored Sunday afternoon and I found myself on the Subaru website looking at the Tribeca after seeing another ad on TV for the incredible Tribeca lease rates. I liked what I saw on Subaru's website, so on a whim I picked up the phone and began calling around to dealerships to check dealer inventory and start the process over the phone and to see if any of the dealers were eager to get my business. I have to tell you that I really was not considering an SUV. In fact, I was seriously considering the Legacy and even posted on a legacy specific forum seeking pricing advice. This interest in the Tribeca truly came from left field.
Within 45 minutes, I was at one of the dealerships looking at the Tribeca for the first time in person. I have to tell you, I really love the way the Tribeca looks in person. I had never seen one in person and the ads on TV do not give it justice. Before I had come down to the dealership, I explained to the saleman that I was hungry and would leave after 1 hour if we did not have some agreement (I wanted to meet some friends for dinner). I was putting him on notice that if he BS'd me around, I would be out the door and he would not have my business.
When I arrived, he had a Tribeca waiting and suggested that I test drive it to determine whether I thought it was right for me; he did not even take a copy of my driver's license! I was impressed that he took me so seriously. I have never had a dealer take me seriously when I tell them that I want the no BS treatment.
The Tribeca impressed me right out of the gate. When pulling off the dealer lot, I noticed that it did not drive like a truck or some of the other SUVs I had driven in the past, like the BMW X5 or Infiniti's SUV. The interior was much nicer than my STI and I liked the feeling of being higher up than I felt in the STI. The acceleration was adequate but obviously there was no comparison to the STI's raw power. Even though it could use another 20-30 hp, the vehicle's acceleration in the more powerful range of the power band was decent. Still, this is something that an aftermarket turbocharger could not solve (see Perrin Performance's and PDX's modification and build up of a Tribeca motor. I believe they are squeazing out 600 flywheel hp. I will be making a few calls to learn more about what modifications they performed to this vehicle very soon).
The handling was not bad and the body roll was at a minimum for an SUV of this size. As for the brakes, they worked well, but I have been spoiled by the Brembo brakes on my STI. Having seen enough, we took the Tribeca back to the lot. On the way back into the sales office, we had to walk through a sea of Tribecas. The bright lights reflecting on the 3 stage metallic white paint on one Tribeca caught my eye. I think I fell in love with the color and the way the SUV looked with the wheels, tinted windows, and chrome trim (I am definitely not a chrome guy). I knew if I bought one, I was buying this color. (My STi was silver, so I was looking for something different).
The advertised national sales ad numbers quickly changed with the options I wanted: leather, nav, and the puddle lights (a must have accessory). Since I wanted to lease, the numbers on the Tribeca came in at 2500 down and 489 with the options I wanted. Wow, those were not bad, but the montly payment was $189 more than I the national ad. For me, a higher montly payment and lower down was better, so we started the negotiation process. After playing the game, I worked a much better deal that I am very happy with. The vehicle also came with a number of other smaller accessories that will list later in the week when I have time to review the window sticker, like homelink, compass mirror, and rear bumper protector.
After driving the car for another 50 miles between last night and today, I am very happy with my purchase. I will post some photographs very soon for everyone to see. I highly recommend test driving this vehicle if you are in the market for an SUV. For the money, I do not think you can do much better, but that is my personal feeling. If that opinion changes, I will let you know.
Now, I am considering a variety of modifications...what do you think I should do?
Lately, Subaru's national marketing campaign has been everywhere aimed to get Tribecas into the hands of more customers and off dealership lots. 2800 down and 299 a month are the numbers currently being advertised for those who take delivery before the end of the month. I really was not in the market for an SUV, but I could not ignore the fact that 299 a month was a low lease payment by any standards.
I love my STI, but I knew that i needed another car to do my daily driving. Sitting in stop and go traffic was wreaking havoc on both me and the car. I was shifting in and out of gears so much that my knee in my left leg would hurt by the time I got to work. I was bored Sunday afternoon and I found myself on the Subaru website looking at the Tribeca after seeing another ad on TV for the incredible Tribeca lease rates. I liked what I saw on Subaru's website, so on a whim I picked up the phone and began calling around to dealerships to check dealer inventory and start the process over the phone and to see if any of the dealers were eager to get my business. I have to tell you that I really was not considering an SUV. In fact, I was seriously considering the Legacy and even posted on a legacy specific forum seeking pricing advice. This interest in the Tribeca truly came from left field.
Within 45 minutes, I was at one of the dealerships looking at the Tribeca for the first time in person. I have to tell you, I really love the way the Tribeca looks in person. I had never seen one in person and the ads on TV do not give it justice. Before I had come down to the dealership, I explained to the saleman that I was hungry and would leave after 1 hour if we did not have some agreement (I wanted to meet some friends for dinner). I was putting him on notice that if he BS'd me around, I would be out the door and he would not have my business.
When I arrived, he had a Tribeca waiting and suggested that I test drive it to determine whether I thought it was right for me; he did not even take a copy of my driver's license! I was impressed that he took me so seriously. I have never had a dealer take me seriously when I tell them that I want the no BS treatment.
The Tribeca impressed me right out of the gate. When pulling off the dealer lot, I noticed that it did not drive like a truck or some of the other SUVs I had driven in the past, like the BMW X5 or Infiniti's SUV. The interior was much nicer than my STI and I liked the feeling of being higher up than I felt in the STI. The acceleration was adequate but obviously there was no comparison to the STI's raw power. Even though it could use another 20-30 hp, the vehicle's acceleration in the more powerful range of the power band was decent. Still, this is something that an aftermarket turbocharger could not solve (see Perrin Performance's and PDX's modification and build up of a Tribeca motor. I believe they are squeazing out 600 flywheel hp. I will be making a few calls to learn more about what modifications they performed to this vehicle very soon).
The handling was not bad and the body roll was at a minimum for an SUV of this size. As for the brakes, they worked well, but I have been spoiled by the Brembo brakes on my STI. Having seen enough, we took the Tribeca back to the lot. On the way back into the sales office, we had to walk through a sea of Tribecas. The bright lights reflecting on the 3 stage metallic white paint on one Tribeca caught my eye. I think I fell in love with the color and the way the SUV looked with the wheels, tinted windows, and chrome trim (I am definitely not a chrome guy). I knew if I bought one, I was buying this color. (My STi was silver, so I was looking for something different).
The advertised national sales ad numbers quickly changed with the options I wanted: leather, nav, and the puddle lights (a must have accessory). Since I wanted to lease, the numbers on the Tribeca came in at 2500 down and 489 with the options I wanted. Wow, those were not bad, but the montly payment was $189 more than I the national ad. For me, a higher montly payment and lower down was better, so we started the negotiation process. After playing the game, I worked a much better deal that I am very happy with. The vehicle also came with a number of other smaller accessories that will list later in the week when I have time to review the window sticker, like homelink, compass mirror, and rear bumper protector.
After driving the car for another 50 miles between last night and today, I am very happy with my purchase. I will post some photographs very soon for everyone to see. I highly recommend test driving this vehicle if you are in the market for an SUV. For the money, I do not think you can do much better, but that is my personal feeling. If that opinion changes, I will let you know.
Now, I am considering a variety of modifications...what do you think I should do?