Buy/Drive/Burn: CUVs That Circumvented Success in 2007

Corey Lewis
by Corey Lewis

Today’s Buy/Drive/Burn trio of unfortunate crossovers was concocted by commenter JohnTaurus. From a time early in the development of the midsize three-row crossover, none of today’s competitors really worked from a sales perspective.

Three unfortunate entries from three different marques. Which one goes home with you?

Subaru Tribeca

TTAC became famous for hating on the Tribeca, but you already knew that. Debuting for the 2006 model year, the H6-only Tribeca was built with the Outback and Legacy at Subaru’s Lafayette, Indiana plant. The ’07 we have here today was the last year for the smaller displacement 3.0-liter H6, which produced 242 horsepower routed through a five-speed automatic. The Limited trim on offer today had a standard leather interior, moonroof, and premium audio system. Unique to the Tribeca was a Y-shaped dash and console design, providing a cockpit feel for front driver and passenger. A restyling (bland-ization) for the 2008 model year didn’t save the Tribeca from cancellation, which came in 2014.

Hyundai Veracruz

Hyundai’s Veracruz was brand new for 2007. The company’s largest crossover attempt to date, all North American models skipped the diesel engine option in favor of the long-running 3.8-liter Lambda V6. The six-speed automatic routes 263 horsepower to all four wheels in Limited all-wheel drive trim. Leather seats are heated and ventilated, and a premium Infinity sound system entertains passengers. The Veracruz lived on in the North American market through the 2012 model year, triumphant in two-tone.

Ford Freestyle

New for 2005, the Freestyle was part of Ford’s plan to start all model names with the letter F. Gone was the Taurus wagon, as America requested rough-and-ready CUVs. Sharing engine and drivetrain with the Five Hundred sedan, all-wheel drive examples paired the 3.0-liter Duratec V6 (203 horsepower) with a CVT. Ford expected 40 percent of Freestyle buyers to desire all-wheel drive; instead, the take rate was 55 percent. Like the competitors above, the Freestyle is Limited trim and all-wheel drive. Leather seating is standard in either six- or seven-passenger configurations, and there’s a rear DVD screen for the kids. Major changes came to Freestyle in 2008, when it was renamed Taurus X. The model received a larger 3.5-liter engine, and a six-speed automatic in all models. Taurus X went away after 2009, to make room for some square-body Flexin.

Freestyle your way north through Veracruz, then make your way to Tribeca. On the journey, dole out the Buy, Drive, and Burn.

[Images: Ford, Subaru, Hyundai, IIHS]

Corey Lewis
Corey Lewis

Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.

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  • Art Vandelay Art Vandelay on Jul 03, 2018

    Burn them all and summon Bertel Schmitt's editorial ghost by the flames of the Subaru

  • Richthofen Richthofen on Jul 05, 2018

    Buy the Veracruz, drive the Tribeca, burn the Freestyle* *because of the CVT/3.0 combo. If it was a Taurus X with the 3.5 and conventional autobox, totally different story. I might actually find myself consdering the T-X later this year when looking for a used wagon-like vehicle.

  • Lorenzo Are they calling it a K4? That's a mountain in the Himalayas! Stick with names!
  • MaintenanceCosts It's going to have to go downmarket a bit not to step on the Land Cruiser's toes.
  • Lorenzo Since EVs don't come in for oil changes, their owners don't have their tires rotated regularly, something the dealers would have done. That's the biggest reason they need to buy a new set of tires sooner, not that EVs wear out tires appreciably faster.
  • THX1136 Always liked the Mustang though I've never owned one. I remember my 13 yo self grabbing some Ford literature that Oct which included the brochure for the Mustang. Using my youthful imagination I traced the 'centerfold' photo of the car AND extending the roof line back to turn it into a small wagon version. At the time I thought it would be a cool variant to offer. What was I thinking?!
  • GregLocock That's a bodge, not a solution. Your diff now has bits of broken off metal floating around in it.
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