Subaru of America, Inc., last week revealed its all-new progressive SUV, the 2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca at the 2005 North American International Auto Show. The bold new 2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca is the first-ever Subaru SUV with available seating for seven passengers and with Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive as its core technology.

The Subaru B9 Tribeca takes the Subaru brand into a new market segment and is positioned above the current Subaru Legacy® and Outback® line of vehicles. The all-new progressive SUV is equipped with the legendary Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system and a powerful, 250 horsepower 'Boxer' six-cylinder engine for quick acceleration. The all-new Subaru B9 Tribeca features an all-new design theme, delivering added style to the capability, safety and durability Subaru is so well-known for.

Broad Appeal
The 2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca will appeal to people with a wide range of needs, and expands the Subaru product line with a vehicle that is larger than the Outback. The Subaru B9 Tribeca delivers superior ride and handling in its segment and will appeal to customers looking for greater cargo capacity, expanding the Subaru brand's appeal to a new group of customers.

The 2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca is aimed at young families and customers looking for a flexible SUV alternative.

Dynamic Styling Breaks New Ground for Subaru
The Subaru B9 Tribeca looks like no other SUV on the market and features a dramatic new Subaru design focused on dynamic motion. The refined, confident and powerful design of the Subaru B9 Tribeca distinguishes it in a market of bland SUV look-alikes.

The key focal point of the all-new 2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca is the bold new grille design that flows into a powerful, dynamic architecture. Viewed from the front, a central air intake dominates the face of the new Subaru B9 Tribeca. The air intake is flanked by two "wings" that relate to the history of Subaru as an aircraft manufacturer - illustrating the Subaru commitment to engineering excellence.

The front of the vehicle is also accented with a unique headlamp design that incorporates a series of cylindrical bulb housings. This 'projector beam' style headlamp design adds a sense of presence to front of the vehicle, and provides a powerful and precise light pattern that aids driver safety in low-light conditions.
Bold Stance

The powerful wheel arches house unique 18-inch wheels, creating a bold, athletic stance on the road. The powerful fender and wheel forms are integrated into a J-curve through the shoulder that projects a sense of dynamic motion and agility, hinting at the exceptional on-road performance of the Subaru B9 Tribeca .

The sense of motion is sustained through the side view of the Subaru B9 Tribeca, with detailed surface treatments of the doors. The forms from the wheel arches are carried through the body contours and reappear in the shape of the door handles, smoothly integrating the side view styling of the vehicle.

Inspiring Interior
The interior of the all-new Subaru B9 Tribeca is just as dramatic as the exterior. The sophisticated twin cockpit design echoes the front grille treatment, with a flowing, sculpted dash and center console design. But the Subaru design team did not sacrifice function for the sake of style. The Subaru B9 Tribeca interior features real-world flexibility, with an interior positioning to Seat most every lifestyle.

Aluminum-look trim highlights the sculpted shapes of the dashboard. The driver faces large, clear electroluminescent dials and ergonomically-correct switchgear. The center console is dominated by a seven-inch navigation/vehicle information touch-screen, with easy to use audio and HVAC controls located just below. Ambient interior lighting illuminates the footwells, center console and cup-holders at night in keeping with the sophisticated interior theme.

An optional Rear-Seat Entertainment system consists of a large, nine-inch diagonal wide-screen with DVD player and auxiliary video game and camcorder feed capability. Two wireless head sets and a remote control are standard. A rear Seat air conditioner is standard on all Subaru B9 Tribeca models with the optional third row seating.

Second row rear seats feature a sixty/forty split bench and a forty/twenty/forty split rear Seat back with fold-flat capability. The second row seats slide eight inches fore and aft for improved rear passenger and third row comfort. Second row seats also recline independently in a sixty/forty split. The third row seats provide accommodations for two passengers and fold flat in a fifty/fifty split for a more flexible cargo space.

Engineering Excellence
The 2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca is designed with a coil spring front strut suspension and an all-new double wishbone rear suspension design. The chassis is enhanced by a stiff and strong unibody construction, which is a full 50 percent stronger in torsional rigidity than the new Subaru Outback. The vehicle was designed to tow trailers in addition to hauling passengers and gear, and is capable of towing trailers of up to 3500 pounds with the available accessory towing package.

Driving the new Subaru B9 Tribeca is Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive; a total system that integrates a lightweight, horizontally-opposed ('Boxer') engine and full-time All-Wheel Drive. Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive provides excellent balance thanks to the longitudinally mounted 'Boxer' engine and the way power flows from it through the transmission and to the rear differential along a straight, near-horizontal path.

The 2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca delivers quick acceleration generated by the light and compact 250 horsepower six-cylinder Subaru 'Boxer' engine, mounted to a standard five-speed automatic transmission equipped with the SPORTSHIFT manual mode. This transmission allows manual gear selection when desired, and is coupled with a Variable Torque Distribution (VTD) all-wheel drive featuring a planetary gear center differential, which normally sends more power to the rear wheels to enhance handling agility. The system continually adjusts the power distribution in response to driving and road conditions.
Subaru B9 Tribeca Focuses on Safety

The 2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca was designed from the chassis up with high levels of safety as one of its primary goals and begins with a chassis and suspension created to deliver crisp, agile handling helping to provide excellent accident avoidance.

Standard safety features include occupant sensing, dual-stage driver and passenger airbags, seat-mounted side impact air bags, and standard side-curtain air bags. A direct tire-pressure monitoring system is standard on all models, as is a 4-channel ABS braking system with Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) for enhanced active safety. Also standard on the Subaru B9 Tribeca is Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC), which distributes torque to the appropriate wheel based on input from steering wheel angle, yaw and lateral g-force sensors. The system also monitors input from the ABS brake system, adjusting individual wheel braking as needed, helping to maintain vehicle control under a variety of driving conditions.

The Subaru B9 Tribeca unibody construction utilizes high tension steel beams and impact absorbing foam materials to enhance crash performance. The body utilizes Subaru Ring Frame Reinforced design to help absorb the energy of an impact and help protect vehicle occupants. Additionally, the spare tire is mounted underneath the vehicle to avoid intrusion into the passenger compartment