The Soft Approach

Sun Herald

Sunday January 16, 2005

Joshua Dowling

No, it's not a concept car, or a clone of the Porsche Cayenne, it's Subaru's new seven-seat four-wheel-drive. Joshua Dowling reports from the Detroit motor show.

SUBARU, the pioneer of the soft-roader, has joined the wave of car makers building seven-seat four-wheel drives. And what better place to unveil the all-new vehicle than in the world's biggest four-wheel-drive market.

Subaru took the covers off its well-kept secret at last week's North American International Auto Show in Detroit. It is called the B9 Tribeca, is powered by a 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine and goes on sale in the US midyear. It is likely to be in Australian showrooms within two years, priced from $60,000.

It was only a matter of time before Subaru built a vehicle like the Tribeca, named after a swish New York precinct, the biggest and heaviest Subaru ever built and the company's first seven-seater.

So why has it taken so long for Subaru to join the big and heavy brigade? After all, global demand for off-road vehicles of all shapes and sizes is so strong that even brands such as Porsche cannot afford to ignore it. "We have been thinking about this vehicle for 10 years," said Subaru president and chief executive officer Kyoji Takenaka.

"We already had the Outback and we wanted to make a smaller version first and then, maybe later, a bigger version. We knew the smaller version would be more popular because it is more affordable, and we weren't sure at that time that there would be enough demand for large recreational vehicles."

Subaru plans to build 15,000 Tribecas in its Indiana factory this year when it begins production in June, and 30,000 Tribecas in 2006. The latter figure equates to Subaru Australia's entire annual sales, which is why there is a delay on the development of a right-hand-drive version for the Australian and Japanese markets.

The biggest markets take priority, but given that Australia is Subaru's third biggest market in the world, we might not be waiting long.

Subaru Australia is keen to get the Tribeca so it can keep its Forester and Outback customers within the Subaru fold. Customers who have graduated through Subaru's soft-roaders, and who eventually find the need for a bigger car, are at present obliged to consider another brand.

Thus Subaru Australia hopes the Tribeca will attract new buyers to its brand those who've wanted a Subaru but needed more space.

"We believe there is a growing sentiment against the traditional, truck-based four-wheel-drives," said Subaru Australia managing director Trevor Amery.

"People in Australia still need large, multi-purpose vehicles and we believe the Tribeca is an honourable way for customers to still have a four-wheel-drive, but not one based on a truck."

The Tribeca may not be built on a truck frame but, weighing almost two tonnes, it's not exactly lithe either. The Tribeca is about as big as a Ford Territory and is available in five- or seven-seat form.

The front seats and the dashboard are a "twin cockpit" design; that is, the dash swoops around the driver and the front passenger. It's an attractive and classy execution and the buttons and dials are typically easy to locate and identify. A large screen that displays functions such as audio and air-conditioning controls can also display TV or satellite navigation images.

As is the trend these days, Subaru has developed an optional rear-seat entertainment system with an even bigger screen, enabling kids to watch DVDs or play their favourite computer games.

As expected, the Tribeca is loaded with the latest safety equipment front, side and curtain air bags, electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes and all-wheel-drive packaged in a strong, sturdy frame.

But it was the exterior design that had the world's motoring press talking when the covers were lifted last Tuesday. One Australian motoring scribe, who most likely wishes to remain anonymous, instantly labelled it "the new Barry", as in Barry Crocker, rhyming slang for shocker.

Rather than Subaru's traditional softly softly approach to styling, the Tribeca has a brash, confronting appearance, which is exactly what Subaru wanted.

"We want our vehicles to be recognised immediately," said the chief designer of Subaru's Tokyo studio, Andreas Zapatinas. Greek-born Zapatinas, 48, worked for Alfa Romeo, Fiat and BMW before moving to Japan 21/2 years ago.

Given that the Porsche Cayenne had been unveiled about six months before the Tribeca's design was finalised, did Subaru have one eye on the Porsche four-wheel-drive when applying the Tribeca's finishing touches?

"Not at all," Zapatinas said. "I wasn't even aware that the Cayenne was shown before we signed off. I don't think it looks like a Cayenne at all. I don't see the similarity."

At the Detroit show, Sunday Drive asked Porsche's new designer, Michael Mauer, what he thought about the Tribeca and possible visual links to the Cayenne. He declined to comment.

Mauer's would be an interesting perspective, as he is said to have worked on the Saab version of the Tribeca in his former life as Saab's chief designer. He left the Swedish brand only a few months ago to join Porsche.

When asked if any compromises had to be taken into account, given that Saab was working on a version of the Tribeca, Zapatinas said: "Not at all. This is 100 per cent a Subaru design and a Subaru car.

"We are not in a position to talk about what might or might not be happening with other brands but I can assure you this is our car."

Subaru and Saab (co-incidentally, both companies with aircraft design in their history) became involved after car giant General Motors increased its level of interest in Subaru three years ago.

It now owns a 20 per cent stake in Subaru with a view to utilising some of Subaru's know-how in return for assistance with distribution in new markets.

General Motors grafted a Saab nose on to the Impreza WRX for sale in the US. The design was well executed given that the two were so different, but the substance wasn't there, and the buying public is smarter than to be fooled by a bumper and a badge.

Understandably, the Saabaru, as it is known, has not been the sales success the companies were hoping for. Subaru Australia has resisted a local version amid concerns it would damage both brands.

In the meantime, get used to the bold new Subaru nose, intended to resemble the head-on view of an aircraft, with the main section being the fuselage and the left and right sections representing wings.

Zapatinas said: "Like BMW's kidney grille, at first not everyone liked it. Now it is very popular and is a signature of that brand."

It may look odd in these photographs and, possibly, out of place on Australian roads, but it needs to be big and bold if it is to stand out among the pick-ups and four-wheel-drives in America, the country where everything, even motor show press passes, are huge.

With that in mind, will Subaru follow the trend of its fellow Japanese brands and build an even bigger four-wheel-drive than the Tribeca?

"We can't reach that scale at this point in time as it would require significant investment and even bigger engines," Takenaka said.

"We will see the success of Tribeca first."

LOOK FAMILIAR?

Love or hate the looks, the Porsche Cayenne is selling well, accounting for almost half of all Porsche sales globally and in Australia. The Tribeca's headlight apertures have an uncanny resemblance to the Cayenne.

SAABARU

General Motors' Swedish brand Saab has been working on a version of the Tribeca in parallel with Subaru. It is due to make its appearance later this year, possibly at the Geneva or Frankfurt motor shows.

SEEING THE LIGHTS

Subaru's chief designer Andreas Zapatinas would beg to differ, but observers in Detroit likened the appearance of the Tribeca's tail-lights to that of the Alfa 147. Zapatinas says he designed the front, not the back, of the 147 when he was at Alfa.

HE DRIVES AN OUTBACK

And what does the Greek design chief of a Japanese car company drive when he is in Tokyo? A Subaru Outback. "Although I'm not sure why," he joked. "It's good to see over the traffic."

FOUR-WHEEL-DRIVE FLYER

Subaru management laughed at the suggestion of a super-fast version of the Tribeca, but would not rule it out. The company builds STi versions of the Forester, Impreza and Liberty, so why not a fast four-wheel-drive?

© 2005 Sun Herald

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