2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca Limited Sport Utility 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Subaru partners with Magellan for smartphone-based navigation

With tech in the air this week at the Consumer Electronics Show, Subaru announced that it named Magellan SmartGPS as its mapping partner in future Subaru vehicles – without putting an exact date on when that "future" will be. The appointment means that Magellan's smartphone-based cloud navigation, which works on both Apple iOS and Android, will port fully voice-guided navigation using constantly updated maps to the head unit in the car. Magellan already sells a standalone SmartGPS unit that you can buy from major retailers, and it can communicate with other wireless devices to find destinations and transfer directions. However, with the rise of smartphones and with major tech players becoming baked-in fixtures inside vehicles, the sales of portable navigation devices have gone into freefall - from 15.1 million units in 2008 to around 4.3 million units in 2019. The deal with Subaru helps Magellan continue to focus on its core strength. The caveat is that your car will need to have the Subaru Starlink system. It is included in some of the brand's vehicles, like the Impreza and the Crosstrek. On others it is a cost option - it's part of a $1,795 package on the Legacy, a $2,295 package on the Outback. The press release below can tell you more. Subaru Names Magellan Its Smartphone-based Cloud Navigation Partner Magellan SmartGPS Navigation to Power Future Subaru Vehicles Equipped with the SUBARU STARLINK Platform Powered by Clarion's Smart Access System Las Vegas, NV – January 4, 2016 – Magellan's SmartGPS navigation has been selected to be included with Subaru vehicles featuring the SUBARU STARLINK platform. The SUBARU STARLINK infotainment systems, available in Subaru vehicles, utilize Clarion's advanced Smart Access™ cloud connectivity platform to seamlessly sync and control cloud-based applications directly through the infotainment system's screen, providing immediate access to Magellan's SmartGPS navigation. Designed to support both Apple iOS and Android smartphones, the SUBARU STARLINK app brings continuously updated cloud applications to the vehicle's center stack display. Drivers can then access all STARLINK approved apps and services effortlessly, including Magellan's SmartGPS, allowing for safe access and display on the vehicle's touch panel. Magellan SmartGPS navigation will be available on future Subaru models.

The not-Subaru crossover wagon | 2017 Volkswagen Alltrack First Drive

Funnily enough, in light of dieselgate, Volkswagen is one of the few brands (along with Volvo and Subaru) to preserve the notion that you don't need a fuel-sucking SUV to meet your life-carrying needs. And, yes, VW's history of addressing off-road desires with all-wheel-drive dates to the mid-1980s with the Quantum Syncro (a.k.a. Passat) and Golf Country – the latter, sadly, never came stateside. The latest offering toward this effort is the 2017 Volkswagen Alltrack. What's an Alltrack? It's a slightly lifted, cladded, and butched-out version of the Golf Sportwagen (yes, formerly known as a Jetta). Not to steal Alltrack's thunder, but starting in 2017 you can also get the standard Sportwagen with 4Motion AWD, which is basically the same running gear for less money. The Alltrack starts at $26,950; the 4Motion Sportwagen starts at $24,930, both with the dual-clutch automatic available at launch. Any discussion of tall wagons brings Subaru immediately to mind, both with the Outback and the Impreza-based Crosstrek. The Volkswagen Alltrack sits between the two in size at 180.2 inches long – 5 more than the Crosstrek and 9.4 inches shorter than the Outback. The 2017 Subaru Outback starts at $25,645, and VW's comparisons focus on the Outback, which is understandable given the similar starting price. A bare-bones Crosstrek starts at $22,245, but quickly gets into Golf price overlap. The Alltrack and the 4Motion Golf Sportwagen are superior daily drivers to the Subaru, whether you're doing an emergency lane change or just trying to merge onto the interstate. Meanwhile, the Crosstrek doesn't have the refinement of the VW. Can we fault Subaru though? It's set a sales record every year in a row since 2010 and is looking at about triple the sales volume of VW's Golf for 2016. So we'll stick to telling you what we think of the Alltrack and let the dealers fight for your dollars. First thing's first. Yes, you can have the Golf Sportwagen and even the Alltrack with a manual six-speed gearbox. The seven-speed DSG automatic is very good, but it's worth noting that any manual gearbox is a rarity these days, especially when we're not talking about a two-seat sports car. You will have to wait until early 2017 for that option, but it also saves you $1,100 off both models. Second, the Alltrack and 4Motion Sportwagens get identical engines. Whether manual or DSG, VW's EA888 turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder is under the hood.

What grownups drive (fast) | 2017 Subaru Forester 2.0XT Touring Review

If you look at the 2017 Forester XT Touring and don't notice the changes compared to the 2016 model, we won't blame you. They're subtle. The naturally aspirated models get a new front bumper that matches the surrounding body color, but the turbo model we drove still has the black gap in the middle. The grille gives up the wide mesh look for a pattern that subtly accentuates the Pleiades badge. Look into the updated Forester's eyes, though, and you might see a new spark of beauty, with a redesign that prominently features a surrounding strip of LEDs. There's also a new color; our test vehicle came in the new-for-2017 Sepia Bronze Metallic paint, a tasteful brown(-ish) that might let you get away with going longer between washes. On the inside, this Forester had the new Saddle Brown leather interior exclusive to the Touring trim. It's the rich sort of brown that reminds one of a rustic but well-appointed hunting lodge, where one would expect to catch a whiff of pipe tobacco and whiskey. It just smelled like a normal car, though, at least before we got in it. Touring spec also offers up a heated steering wheel and seats, the automotive equivalent to a chair in front of the fireplace. Most touch points are attended to with sturdy-feeling materials, and the most important one – the wheel­ – feels grippy and comfortable without being overwrought. The front seats are firm but comfortable, with an upright seating position. They're a bit reminiscent of those moderately expensive high-back office chairs, except in this case, the office rolls around with the seat. Sitting behind them isn't bad, either, as they're shaped in a way that carves out extra room for the knees. The door openings are large enough to make ingress and egress an easy task, which is a merciful thing, especially when wrestling a car seat into the back. As for our own rear-facing kid carrier, it fits in the Forester just fine, but, when clipped in the passenger side, means the front occupant is just one click closer to the dash than they'd be ideally. Their knees won't be crunched into the glove box, though (that's a position some of us have learned to live with in other cars with a rear-facing car seat installed). The view from the driver's seat is exceptional. Tall, wide windows let you keep track of everything that's going on around you. They also bring in a lot of light, and piloting the Forester is a bit like driving a greenhouse on wheels.