Edmunds CarPool

I have to agree. While the layout and design of the interior is very nice, there's something about the color combination I don't like.

I do like the way they continue the silver / gray part into the doors. It kind of includes the doors in the look of the dashboard, where most cars the dashboard ends at the doors.

We seriously considered the Tribeca when replacing our beloved 05 Legacy GT Wagon. Very happy with the way the Tribeca drove (maybe because it has much in common with the last gen legacy...missed the turbo power but knew we were going to lose something with the growing family). We were not at all happy with the mileage for what is a relatively small vehicle for its class. But back to the topic at hand, I was not blown away by the ergonomics. The dash looks great...it's almost like a show car and after about 5 years, it still looks cutting edge. But, after Mini, Subaru may be second worst in terms of form over function. Half the buttons on the center stack face away from the driver. This is just silly for anything but temperature control. And speaking of temperature control, those big beautiful knobs don't work like knobs at all. You have to twist it right/left and hold it there while the temperature slowly increases/decreases one degree at a time. And finally, the steering wheel feels off center relative to the driver's seat. Maybe this is just and illusion because of the irregular flow of the dash but it feels odd. Finally, the packaging of the 3rd row seats makes them all but useless for people with legs. You can slide the 2nd row forward a bit but then you make that row just as uninviting as the 3rd.

If the Tribeca grows in size a bit (along with the new Legacy/Outback platform), improves its fuel efficiency and cleans up some of the interior flaws, it could move to best in class.

We went with a CX-9 instead. Better packaging and more room than the Tribeca while delivering the same mileage and sporty feel. And, we went with the tan interior. I agree that the Tribeca looks better in the monochrome interior because there are some elements that break it up. In the CX-9, if you get the black interior in the Sport our Touring, you end up with a real black hole look. The Grand Touring breaks it up a bit with wood accents. I guess my preference depends on the car.

@08_miata: If you like the flow of the dash into the doors, were you ever in a Subaru SVX? They had a similar look with a "shelf" on the dash that carried along in a character line all the way to the arm rests on the doors. The shelf always seemed like the perfect place to put a CD case. Then we would take a hard left turn and the case would slide along the dash, onto the door, down the door's armrest and land in the grab handle on the door. Entertaining every time.

Rented one of these to drive visiting relatives around a few years ago. Interior was the highlight of the car. Very nice place to be in. Drove well enough. I can definitely see why Subaru deemed a more power engine would be appropriate, though.

Terrible transmission. Manual would make it into a much better car.

Large bright picture vs a small dull one.

I don't think monochrome interiors photograph well to begin with. I'd really have to see it in person.

The center stack looks like more of an artistic statement than an ergonomic one.

I like the wrap-around effect, which as legacygt points out, has been done before. The Lincoln MK VIII and Nissan 300ZX come to mind for me.

But the risk with this cool style is that it's very unforgiving of imprecise panel alignment(s). Look at the left hand (driver's) side of the beige interior where the metallic accent strip and the a/c vent/tweeter grille don't line up. Still, I'd take it.

Well Ive had a B9 Tribeca and now I have a Tribeca. So after living with the same interior for 4 years and 3 months I must say that I still love it. However I wish I leased the '07 version over the '06 and the '10 over the '09. Why? Because Subaru is always improving this car. The '07 had satellite radio, an aux jack, and memory seats over the '06. And the '10 has blue tooth, Harman Kardon stereo, HID lights, and the Touring appearance package over the '10. Anyway I still love the Tribeca (I mean I don't see the exterior while driving)and will probably get another once this lease is up in late 2012. By the way the EPA estimates should be 11-12 city and 23-24 highway not 16-21. Both times I got the dark interior and the silver trims holds up way better than it does in my friends Honda Pilot.

@johhnyturbo
Truthfully the misalignment is an illusion. This is because the gap between the door and the dash is almost wide enough to fit your finger in. So because the door is so much closer to the camera than the dash is, they appear to be misaligned. But in real life when looking at it eye level, they are even.

@subaru123,

Good to know. I've seen that happen as well (where they look misaligned but really aren't) so I guess with the camera angle this one fooled my eye. But I've also seen cars (while sitting inside them) where they are definitely off.

Maybe it's the camera angle, but I don't see a lot of room for my knees to flop out (I'm in Idaho and we have wide stances here).

One thing that irritates me in my old Outback is the switch protrusion on the driver's door that hits me right in the knee.

I have a 2010 Tribeca Limited with the gray interior. I prefer it over the tan. I have no trouble with the buttons on the center console. Even though it curves everything is easily visible and reachable to the driver.

I'm single so the third row was not an issue for me, it'll always be down because the back is the space for my dog. This leaves plenty of leg room for the second row (for an occasional passenger)

Not many all wheel drives get much better gas mileage.

Finally, the exterior is not much different from all the other crossovers or midsize SUV's —if it is boring, so are all the others.

But what it really needs is a telescoping steering wheel. If I have a comfortable leg position I can't reach the wheel. If I have comfortable wheel position, my legs are cramped. Still I like the car well enough to put up with it.