This nameplate marked Subaru’s entry into the modern three-row crossover segment. It was unveiled at the 2005 North American International Auto Show and introduced in the U.S. in early summer of 2005 as a 2006 model, with production at Subaru of Indiana Automotive in Lafayette, Indiana. The vehicle was positioned as Subaru’s largest offering at the time and was notable for combining the brand’s all-wheel-drive identity with seating for up to seven passengers, a layout that broadened Subaru’s appeal beyond its traditional wagon and compact-car customer base.
The original B9 Tribeca wore a distinctive, aircraft-inspired design theme and used Subaru’s horizontally opposed six-cylinder layout, giving it a more upscale and family-oriented image than the company’s core models. Its name was short-lived, however: in 2007 Subaru announced a significant redesign and said the updated version would drop the “B9” prefix and be sold simply as Tribeca. That makes the B9 Tribeca a relatively brief, early chapter in the larger Tribeca story rather than a long-running badge.
As a result, the B9 Tribeca is best understood as the first-generation launch version of Subaru’s midsize crossover, sold only before the 2007 rename. It occupies a small but important place in Subaru history as the model that opened the brand’s larger SUV/crossover direction and helped establish the Tribeca line before its later facelifted identity.