I listen to a lot of music and having a 120 GB Archos really helps me to not run out of tunes to listen to. The only thing that gets my goat is when I haven't charged the battery properly.
With tons of good music to listen to it is often hard to know what song to play first, but generally I like to go for the more upbeat stuff.
So, when two of music's bigger names, J. Lo and Marc Anthony split you have to ask yourself which side of the music fence will you side with.
It is like when you are buying a new SUV that has the option of five or seven seats. Which do you go for?
Now although I have to admit I am a bit partial to J. Lo's delectable butt, lately I have found myself listening to more of her ex with his new hit Let It Rain Over Me with Pitbull.
But when a couple splits, which of them do you stay friends with?
Pitbull seems to have the right idea, as he hedged his bets doing duets with both J. Lo and Marc Anthony.
So with the SUV, in this case the new Subaru Tribeca, when you have the choice of five seats or seven, why not go with both.
If you get the seven-seater, like I did this week, you can always fold the third row and have a five-seater with loads of room in the back for storage.
You, in effect, get Marc Anthony, as the Tribeca's transmission is as smooth as Anthony's Latino tonsils, and with all the room in the trunk, you also get J. Lo's robust booty.
And, if you like music as much as me, not only does the Tribeca come with a 6-CD MP3 changer (capable of holding about 900 songs), but the satellite radio is hooked up to the Harman Kardon sound system with rear DVD station and a little bit of David Guetta thrown in here and there will keep your head noddin'.
The Tribeca, even as a seven seat SUV has a lower entry point than some SUVs and this means there is no need to step up into it. I am about five-feet-nine and the seat is at perfect butt height. All I had to do was slide into it.
The firm seats were all covered in cowhide with the front seats were heated. The driver gets two memory settings for his seat and the dual-zone climate control is easy to use via large dials. It is really weird though having freezing cold air coming out of the vents on one side and blazing hot air coming out of the vents on the other side.
Rear passengers get heater vents mounted in the centre of the roof with vent control on the back of the front centre console.
The second row of seats slides back and forth and reclines for more comfortable lounging.
The Tribeca came with a rear backup camera displaying what is behind on the seven-inch in-dash screen. I wonder if J. Lo has one of these for when she is backing her butt up?
When in park, the front screen acts as a second DVD screen so the front passengers can also watch the movie.
The Tribeca's 256-horsepower V6 pulls quite good and there is a quiet whoosh of power whenever you mash the gas.
If you require a little more spirited driving, flip the stick into manumatic mode and change the gears when you feel like it.
The Tribeca, for some reason feels a little more European-tuned or slightly stiffer in the suspension than some SUVs, and depending on how you like your ride will depend on what you make of it.
As I am from Europe I tend to like the stiffer suspension more.
The design of the front cabin in the Tribeca makes it feel like it wraps around the driver and passenger without being confining.
As this newer version of the Tribeca uses regular unleaded, and the previous version needed premium, you will also save a bunch at the pump.
All the power options including mooonroof have been added, and of course the safety items like side and curtain bags as well as BA, ABS, EBD, TC, TPMS, VDC, backup sensors and Subaru's world-class, all-wheel drive system..
Now all you have to do is decide if you want the five or seven seat version of the Tribeca. However, you could pull a Pitbull and go for both.
Subaru Tribeca
Vehicle type: 5-door SUV
Transmission 5-speed manumatic
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Horsepower: 256 @ 6,000
Torque: 247 @ 4,400
Mileage: 13.1 l/100 km 22 mpg City 9.4 l/100km 30 mph hwy
Price: $48,900
