Celebrities can often be spotted scooping the poop of their designer pooch from the shimmering pavements on their way to yet another
spending spree.

So perhaps when Subaru decided it was venturing into well-to-do
territory in the shape of the luxury SUV sector, it decided – luxury by
name, luxury by nature – and so the Subaru Tribeca was born.

Of course, whenever you utter the words Subaru it conjures up an image
of the Impreza – the only car that really shifts in volume from Subaru
garages, and that's a shame.

In the Tribeca we have a car which is forward thinking, award winning,
stylish, capable, comfortable and reliable. Well what more do you want
from your SUV?

This particular model, the SE7 3-litre six-cylinder boxer, has all that
and more – if it were a hot-dog in Manhatton, it would be fully loaded.

The five people in the back – yes, it's a seven–seater – can all sit back and watch Robert De Niro films on the in-car DVD system – a fitting
tribute to the founder of the Tribeca Film Festival.

They can also control their own airconditioning – these things matter in
this sector.

Up front is the Tribeca's awardwinning interior layout. The number
of people that said 'I feel like I'm in a space ship' is testament to it futuristic feel.
The dual climate controls are neatly done sitting inside a glass dome with an LCD read out of your preferred temperature.

It also comes with Satnav, eightway powered front leather seats -
heated of course, front, side and curtain airbags - helping towards the
five-star crash test rating, six-disc CD changer hooked into nine speakers, MP3 playback and there's more where that came from.

Another example of the forward thinking is a camera located on the
boot.

Drop the autmatic gearbox into reverse and the TV screen up top
shows you what's behind you. Simple but effective stuff.

On the outside the Tribeca again looks as though it's from another dimension.

It's a 4x4, but not as you know it. For a start it's lower than the
average off-roader and as a result it looks very sleek.

Whether or not you like the pug-like front end is a matter
of taste, I wasn't overly fussed.

Performance of the Tribeca is, as you'd expect from Subaru, superb.

You can easily cruise at 70mph and not even notice that gorgeous sixcylinder boxer engine singing away up front.

And because the 245bhp of the Tribeca is coupled to Subaru's allwheel-
drive system, it is no slouch off the line hitting 60mph in just over
nine seconds. Not bad for a car just shy of 2,000kgs.

The 245 horses are more than a willing chariot and, thanks to the
twin-outlet exhaust system, they emit a great noise.

But like many automatic SUVs, the gearbox is not great for charging
around at speed, tending to hang on to gears for too long.

Having said that, you'd be wise to remember that you will not be 'testing' the car everyday but 'driving' it and as such, the gearbox will do just fine thank you very much.

Fuel consumption is very 4x4-like. My week in its company returned 21mpg – 2mpg below Subaru's claimed 23mpg combined.

Prices for the Tribeca begin at £28,995. A pleasant surprise when you
think that it will be going into the SUV ring with the likes of the BMW
X5, Volvo XC-90 and Nissan Murano – all of which it undercuts.

Whether or not it can stay on its feet in such illustrious company
remains to be seen.