After eight years and one major facelift, Subaru has confirmed this week that its Tribeca SUV has come to the end of the road.
And a hard road it's been. The Tribeca debuted in 2005 with what was to be a new front-end styling language for the brand, landing with a new wing-like three-port grille design and high-mounted headlights.
The new look worked out for the smaller Impreza, which gained a more compact version of the grille that same year, but criticism of the Tribeca's face saw it given a makeover less than two years later.
In Australia, Subaru has sold just under 9000 of the Tribeca SUVs since its 2006 launch, with annual sales peaking at 1651 in 2008.
That number fell to 1137 in 2011, but climbed again to 1326 by the end of 2012. So far in 2013 however, just 540 have found homes, compared to 1025 for the same period last year.
As one of the oldest models on the market, slower sales are to be expected. But, by comparison, Ford has sold 10,439 of its (significantly updated) Territory SUVs in 2013 alone, while Holden has racked up 10,145 Captiva 7 sales year-to-date.
In the larger US market, Subaru dealers have moved just 1247 Tribeca SUVs this year, falling 18.9 percent on 2012.
The smaller and newer Forester has proven a successful model for Subaru however, selling 10,131 year-to-date in Australia, and 84,372 in the US.
Looking to the future, Subaru has confirmed it will return to the three-row SUV market in the future, although it has offered no details on any next-generation replacements for the Tribeca.
Reports in August suggested the Tribeca's successor could still be three years away, arriving with a more spacious cabin to satisfy the American market.
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