Thinking about a 'beca

1895 Views 8 Replies 3 Participants Last post by HB_Dad, May 9, 2006

morey000

Discussion Starter · May 2, 2006

I'm not a 'beca owner, but it seems to be on my short list for my next vehicle. I need
* a safe commuter to take my daughter to pre-school.
* a comfortable, luxury road trip vehicle
* reasonable fuel economy
* some basic off-road capability.
* modern styling and drivability

Some of it's competition right now for me:

Touareg (better interior, better road manners, better off road. but- lousy reliability, fuel economy, can get pricey. 5300lbs! Better V6 coming in '07 )

Envoy Denali (I like the style and interior. Plenty of performance, capability and room. Doesn't drive as well, powerful V8 for a great price, mediocre mileage, poorer safety, older design.)

Due to my summer plans, looks like I'll be buying (something) in the fall, so I'm looking forward to the seat memories on the '07s. that was one of my issues. The others are that the roof rack crossbars don't slide, and the AC isn't very strong (I live in Tucson). Also, I'm not sure if the off-road capability is sufficient for my needs. The clearance is enough, but the roads I go on are a bit rocky with some difficult traction spots. I don't need a Hummer, but I do need 4WD.

So- I'll be reading all your posts.

hi! :beer:

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eatV8

· #2 · May 2, 2006

Welcome! My best suggestion is goto your local Subaru dealer and take a Tribeca for a drive. You will fall in love with it's manners.

Off road: I watched a thing on TV where they were driving a Tribeca over some decent sand, hills, rocks etc. Nothing extreme but the Tribeca managed it. It was on a cable "on demand" magrack show.

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HB_Dad

· #3 · May 3, 2006

morey000 said:
II need
* a safe commuter to take my daughter to pre-school.

You need a seven passneger vehicle for one pre-school aged daughter? Geez, is she huge or something? :lol:

My Tribeca is sitting at the dealership with a big "sold" sticker on it. I cannot pick it up until I sell my '03 LL Bean Outback first (might be in the bnext few days as I have a potential buyer). I am getting so anxious dammit!!

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morey000

Discussion Starter · #4 · May 3, 2006

HB_Dad said:
You need a seven passneger vehicle for one pre-school aged daughter? Geez, is she huge or something? :lol:

No- she's only 2-1/2. Not too big.
I agree- I really don't need all that much room on a day to day basis. But on the weekends I'd like to have room for 3 or 4 hang gliding buddies, all their gear, and gliders on the roof. (will need to build a rack off the front).

I wouldn't mind a smaller SUV, but none of them ('cept the Liberty) are off road capable, and few have decent styling or interiors with luxo' options. (got any suggestions?) Plus, their fuel economy isn't much better. (the Hyundai Tucson is cute, but rated 19/24 methinks). The new Rav4 I thought had a chance, but it just doesn't do it for me. (interior styling and options are limited...even on the limited) The RX350 is nice, but way over $40K and not dealing- plus I'm not sure about it's off road capability, or even taking that piece of jewlery into the rough.

I'm ready to plink down a chunk of change and it would be fun to have seat heaters, homelink, seat memories, radio controls on the steering wheel, dual climate control, Nav (w/ backup camera!!), etc. Granted, I don't really NEED any of these things (does anybody?)- but what the heck. A car is a cool toy and I might as well get a toy with bells AND whistles. I haven't yet found a smaller 4WD vehicle with the goods. But I'm open to suggestions. I thought I wanted the DVD, but then realized that I'd rather spend my commuting time talking to my daughter, than have her watching the Wiggles. We can get a portable DVD for long trips.

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HB_Dad

· #5 · May 3, 2006 (Edited)

morey000 said:
No- she's only 2-1/2. Not too big.
I agree- I really don't need all that much room on a day to day basis. But on the weekends I'd like to have room for 3 or 4 hang gliding buddies, all their gear, and gliders on the roof. (will need to build a rack off the front).

I wouldn't mind a smaller SUV, but none of them ('cept the Liberty) are off road capable, and few have decent styling or interiors with luxo' options. (got any suggestions?) Plus, their fuel economy isn't much better. (the Hyundai Tucson is cute, but rated 19/24 methinks). The new Rav4 I thought had a chance, but it just doesn't do it for me. (interior styling and options are limited...even on the limited) The RX350 is nice, but way over $40K and not dealing- plus I'm not sure about it's off road capability, or even taking that piece of jewlery into the rough.

I'm ready to plink down a chunk of change and it would be fun to have seat heaters, homelink, seat memories, radio controls on the steering wheel, dual climate control, Nav (w/ backup camera!!), etc. Granted, I don't really NEED any of these things (does anybody?)- but what the heck. A car is a cool toy and I might as well get a toy with bells AND whistles. I haven't yet found a smaller 4WD vehicle with the goods. But I'm open to suggestions. I thought I wanted the DVD, but then realized that I'd rather spend my commuting time talking to my daughter, than have her watching the Wiggles. We can get a portable DVD for long trips.

Hey man, you don't need to sell me on it! I'm already sold! I just thought I'd throw the comment out there before someone else does.

Some day, other Subaru owners will realize that this is the best car Subaru has ever made PERIOD!

By the way, if you got the DVD player, you also would've gotten the rear input jack so you could hook up your own toys... say an Ipod for example. However, the '07 has this standard...

P.S. Subarus are AWD... NOT 4WD. There is a difference...

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morey000

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 3, 2006

HB_Dad said:
P.S. Subarus are AWD... NOT 4WD. There is a difference...

Yeah- the Subie's are AWD not 4WD. No low range, no locking differentials. (<sniff>... Touareg) But, there are so many different AWD systems out there, it's hard to know how off-road capable any of them are. And most of them are not very. As best as I can figure out, the 'beca is better than most. And- I don't need anything hard core. I think that the Tires will make a lot of difference- and I'm not sure there's anything in 18" that's as good as a BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A ko.

So- I was hoping that someone would beat the heck out of their new Subie for me on a rocky road, and let me know how it went.

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HB_Dad

· #7 · May 8, 2006

Toureg has a better interior?!!

No offense, but are you HIGH? Tribeca has pretty much the best interior design of most any vehicle period!

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morey000

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 8, 2006

HB_Dad said:
Toureg has a better interior?!!

No offense, but are you HIGH? Tribeca has pretty much the best interior design of most any vehicle period!

Be nice now. You know these things are subjective.

I like wood treatment in a car. It gives the car an elegant, richer feel to me. YMMV

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HB_Dad

· #9 · May 9, 2006

morey000 said:
Be nice now. You know these things are subjective.

I like wood treatment in a car. It gives the car an elegant, richer feel to me. YMMV

My previous Suabru was an LL Bean Outback, and I can honestly say that woodgrain is overrated! In fact, it is kind of old-school now and a lot of car makers aren't doing it as much these days.

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