First Tribeca on the board

[utemarksman]

I had hoped to find at least ONE other Tribeca owner on this forum who might be able to give me some platform specific mods. Looks like I get to be that guy for the next 'beca that comes along.

I can only afford one car. The primary purpose of that car is commuting 66.6 miles daily. If it wasn't for the secondary purpose of taking six kids with me on the weekends I'd chose something a little easier on the pocket book when approaching the pump.

Before the Tribeca I was driving a first generation Rav4 with an aftermarket 3rd row seat. 28mpg in the winter 32mpg in the summer. (When 5th gear stripped out I was lurking here and was approaching 36mpg.) Alas, with 297,700 miles on the odometer, a 1qt/1000mi thirst for oil and two children quickly becoming to big to "fit in the trunk" I needed to move on.

I would have taken another Rav4, but they are hard to find with the 3rd row seat and even harder to find within my budget. I got a great deal on the Tribeca. Probably because the distinctive, "dynamic" styling of the front end left the poor beast on the dealer's lot longer than desired.

I'll be honest, I cried when I handed over the keys to the Rav4, that car and I have been through a lot in the last two years. But, the Tribeca in the Limited trim is FAR more luxury than I'm accustomed and such luxury makes parting with the Rav4 a sweet sorrow. The kids like it too because they can watch the DVD player on the 65 mile trip home.

Here's looking forward to 33.3 miles per gallon! (But I'll settle for 30)

[euromodder]

Welcome to ecomodder.

There's a lot of grille area to block on that Subaru !

At 26mpg you're already handsomely beating the EPA numbers.

[Nevyn]

Ah, the 'dynamic' style of the "I-just-got-sucker-punched-in-the-nose" looking grille! :P That said, welcome and I don't find them as hideous as that comment would lead one to believe.

I'd agree by starting with a grille block. Relatively simple and quick to make/adjust. Do you have a roof rack?

[utemarksman]

I like the styling of the B9, but I also liked the styling of my 1970 VW Beetle.

The roof rails came off the day after I brought it home from the dealer. They now adorn the wall of my garage in the unlikely event that I need them. (I'll use a small trailer before adding the racks back.)

The grill block went in the day that I started this thread. The shape of the grill actually facilitated the install. I only blocked the center area of the grill since the "wings" only have about 3 inches that are actually open. My next project will be to block the useless openings next to the fog lamps. These do not introduce air to the raidiator and are, therefore, useless.

Aside from that Subaru didn't do bad job of making the vehicle aerodynamic. It came with a stock belly pan under the engine that is half decent. Unfortunately the panel to access the oil filter has been lost and there are a few holes where the previous owner scraped on the parking lot bumpers. Ah, but thats just an excuse to make a BETTER custom belly pan!

Cheers, and thanks for the welcome!