ddb

Wife and I are in market for new vehicle to complement our RDX. Need vehicle with more cargo space and more seating than RDX. This will be a purchase (RDX is lease) with the goal of keeping for a very long time. Would be looking at Tribeca 7-passenger Limited (MSRP $33,500). According to local salesperson, they are offering $5K off any '08 Tribeca, so sales price would be somewhere around $28K or less. Have had great success with Subarus in the past (currently have Legacy L wagon with 200K miles).

Known negatives of the Tribeca are:

- soft ride compared to RDX, but still very good handling in class
- Navigation system is sub-par (don't care, because would not be getting factory NAV, but rather aftermarket Garmin system)
- No Bluetooth (don't care, because above-mentioned Garmin system takes care of this)
- Third-row legroom is very limited (don't care because this would probably never be used, and if it was it would be for small children)
- No Xenon lights (sucks)
- No backup camera since not getting NAV (don't really care)
- No auto open/close liftgate

Otherwise, has all the features I care about, excellent ride, lots of cargo space with 3rd row folded flat, very flexibile with both 2nd and 3rd row 60/40 fold-down flat, reclining and sliding 2nd row seats, power driver/passenger seats.

At $28K, seems like a fantastic price for what you get. Is there another larger mid-size SUV out there that is better at under $36K? Generally speaking, I won't consider purchasing anything made by Ford or GM. MDX would be ideal, but too expensive for us, and no used ones available since the new model just came out.

Thanks!

lexia

Since you ruled out domestic cars your offerings are narrow

you should take a look at the
Veracruz
CX9
Highlander

since I live in a large community ive driven all and I would pick the Hyundai if I was looking for something smaller and very sedate, the mazda has a firm ride but feels very planted and responsive, and 3 of my neighbors have them, they all love it besides the firm ride. the toyota was really disconnected but it was really peppy, the interior wasnt what i expected from toyota though, the veracruz had a much nicer interior. I would take the hyundai over the toyota.. something I thought I would never say. haha.

brizey

The Tribeca middle row back seat its gigantic in terms of leg room. Have the dealer show you how to slide it all the way back if you haven't yet. There is a second lever that lets you "steal" all of the third row legroom for the second row.

The Tribeca was our second choice--but the RDX is sportier and costs less when comparing option to option. The only thing we would have liked to have is the built in DVD player (the Tribeca's is one of the best factory DVD players--9" screen).

The one thing I didn't like about the Tribeca was how the engine felt...remote. Hard to explain, but it felt like all the edges were rounded off. I guess it was just throttle repsonse.

ddb

Yes, I loved this sliding rear-seat feature, particularly because we have to deal with rear-facing infant-carriers for another 18 months or so. We did a 350-mile trip in the RDX yesterday, and my wife got very frustrated at not being able to recline her passenger seat at all due to the child carrier behind her.

Tribeca with $5K cash back does seem to be a great deal, though. Plus it's bigger, so all else being equal SHOULD cost more than the RDX. You can't get the factory DVD setup without NAV ($4200 for entire NAV/DVD package), and since I don't want the NAV, I won't be getting the DVD. Anyway, for less than half of the $4200 cost, I can get superior aftermarket solutions for both.

Thanks for the feedback!

- DDB

ddb

I ended up signing papers today for a 2008 Tribeca 7-passenger Limited (no NAV or DVD System). List price is $34,240 including destination/delivery, and we're paying $28,500 net of the $3K Subaru rebate. Also, they offered 1.9% financing for 63 months for the full purchase amount (cash in bank earning more than this, even after taxes). Can't complain, and I don't think there's a better car for us out there at this price or less.

Deal isn't totally done, as it is contingent on the dealer being able to acquire the car we want in one of the two colors we want. We should have a final answer from them earlier this week.

The SUV world is new to me, and I'm still not very enthusiastic about it. Despite all its good, the throttle response on the Tribeca is just awful (particularly compared to RDX), and the ride offers a very "detached" feeling. Tribeca still handles/feels much better than Murano or any Toyota SUV, but it will be hard to give up my 540i 6-speed for this new SUV. But hey, another 25 more years and maybe I can start making selfish car purchases again!

Thanks to those who provided feedback in this thread.

- DDB

bAek-sU

gratz..
i am also looking for another small size sedan for my wife.