LA BUENA VIDA: CARS

Change is relentless in the car business. Pressure to improve comes from all sides. It’s a dog-eat-dog world and even the big dogs can’t laze on the porch. Making matters worse, entry-level manufacturers aspire to move up-market, while every manufacturer seems to want to push into uncharted product territory. Few preconceived notions regarding who builds what have survived the last two decades. Very few constants remain and it seems only a manufacturer’s budget constrains its ambition to develop products for tomorrow in segments where it has no product today. While this persistent dividing of the pie into ever smaller pieces is tough on carmakers’ bottom lines, generally it benefits consumers. Whether that benefit takes the form of lower prices, improved quality or some combination of both, increased value is the ultimate result.

Scrappy Subaru and Hyundai have consistently pushed the envelope. Subaru created the crossover a decade ago with its Outback and continues to exploit that segment, while Hyundai, through ever better product, has virtually erased all memory of its early days as a marketer of bargain-basement buzz bombs.

SUBARU

For 2006, Subaru has launched its largest and most expensive product yet. It is such a milestone that evidently someone with a title at Subaru decided it needed two names. It’s called the B9 Tribeca. The B9 is really an internal designation referring to its flat Boxer engine and chassis number. Its Tribeca last name emphasizes its role as urban rather than rural transportation. That doesn’t mean dirt roads must be avoided—it has all-wheel drive and more ground clearance than a Ford Escape—but Subaru thinks it’s likely Tribeca will see most of its action on city streets.

Tribeca is the first Subaru that can seat up to seven. The third-row seat making this possible is optional and rather superfluous. It’s difficult to get to and so tiny that only the smallest of children will fit. Second-row passengers, though, have a remarkable amount of legroom and a reclining seat back. Built on a stretched, yet more rigid Outback platform, Tribeca is powered by the Outback’s 3-liter horizontallyopposed six-cylinder engine. Rated at 250 horsepower, it has more horsepower than the Toyota Highlander V6 and falls just five ponies shy of the V6 in Honda’s Pilot. A driver-shiftable five-speed automatic transmission delivers power to all four wheels. Antilock brakes are standard, and the system includes traction and stability control. Ride quality is even better than in the Outback thanks to a new double-wishbone setup in the rear and a revised version of Outback’s independent arrangement up front. Eighteen-inch wheels and rubber are standard.

Highly stylized, the interior is a rich array of curves and textures. Even the base trim level has a long list of features such as a six-speaker audio system with CD player and dual-zone automatic climate control. Stepping up to the Limited adds leather seating and an upgraded audio system.

Seven-passenger models can also be equipped with navigation and DVDbased entertainment systems. The five-passenger base Tribeca sells for $31,320. The top-of-the-line seven-passenger version with all the bells and whistles: $38,320.

HYUNDAI

If you think $23,000 doesn’t buy much any more, Hyundai is out to prove you wrong. Its 2006 Sonata LX V6 has a $22,895 base sticker, an interior spacious enough to earn it a “large car” classification from the EPA and comes loaded with luxury features. Oh, and it has that super-sized warranty going for it as well. There are two trim levels (starting at $17,895) building up to the LX, but the top-end model is the real excitement. A 235-horsepower 3.3-liter V6 propels the LX. Its output places it between that of the less powerful Toyota Camry and the gutsier Honda Accord. Neatly mated to a smooth-shifting five-speed manumatic transmission, this powertrain delivers gobs of fun behind the wheel. The ride is refined, thanks to a finely tuned independent suspension. An electronic stability system and traction control are standard functions of the antilock brakes. Other safety features include front seat-mounted side-impact airbags and side-curtain airbags for front- and rear-seat passengers alike.

Without question, this is the highest-quality interior Hyundai has produced to date. Upscale materials, a well-styled layout and plenty of standard features mingle for a pleasing passenger experience.

Standard in the LX are leather, automatic climate control, heated front seats and steering wheel-mounted redundant audio controls. Hyundai has come a long way since it brought the Excel to America 20 years ago. It’s a different company making a far superior car.

When value counts as much or more than the nameplate, the Sonata LX is squarely in the hunt. H