Boston.com's view

Subaru is leading with its nose.

The bold, protuberant snout of the 2006 B9 Tribeca sits between a pair of wing-like slats that, from the front, give the appearance of a single-engine plane coming at you. The nose, and the winglike extensions reaching out to the headlights, give the Tribeca a unique look among SUVs.

Subaru is sticking its proboscis into the ever competitive world of SUVs even though, as a company that pioneered full-time, all-model all-wheel drive, they are late comers to this stretch of road.

I first drove this SUV last spring in California — a warm climate for Subarus, but the company hopes this car will help lead it into areas where sales are not as good as they are in places such as the Northeast. They’ve got the Sun Belt in their sights.

It is a five- or seven-passenger rig, ready to run its sophisticated traction system and standard safety features against all comers, as long as we’re not talking inch-along, don’t-tip-over, climb-that-wall serious off-roading.

Now, a few miles along the smooth roads of Napa Valley are far different from 10 days of family use of a Tribeca on the back roads of New Hampshire, the slog through that state’s exploding suburbs, or the nerve-wracking crawl that can be the commute into Boston. I did them all, and found I liked the car even better in real life than on the California Big Screen.

First, that big nose, an extrusion, is nicely matched by an intrusion: a center-dash control panel that provides the centerpiece for tightly rounded cockpits for both driver and front passenger. If the nose, with wings flowing from each side, looks like an airplane comin’ at ya, then the driver’s seat makes you feel like you are flying that plane.

Oddly, I expected more comments from folks on the street. And even here, in Subaru-worshiping New England (the Church of Boch), I didn’t get many comments. Maybe it can best be described as bold yet subtle. (Now there’s a vintage Napa Valley oxymoron.)

Its day-to-day driving tendencies were equally subtle. Smooth, quiet, roomy, plenty powerful with a 6-cylinder, 3.0-liter, 250-horsepower boxster-6 engine. That was linked to a seamless five-speed automatic transmission with a manual option. In manual mode, I was able to wind the tranny out for rapid and continual acceleration — a must, in my book, for manual option. Otherwise, why have it?

It is not a light car, at more than two tons, but you ride swathed in standard safety features: dual stage front and front-side air bags; side-curtain air bags in the first and second rows. Third-row windows are so small, Subaru says, that side curtains are not needed back there.

You also get, in the standard package, a tire pressure monitoring system and ABS. Its AWD configuration is used to help distribute torque front to rear for maximum grip and minimal slippage. The Vehicle Dynamics Control system uses sensors to spot driver error by looking at yaw, steering wheel position, individual wheel speeds, and lateral (side-pulling) forces. It then jumps in electronically to meet driver intent or fix driver error.

With more than 8 inches of ground clearance, it is yet another Subaru ready to get New Englanders to the ski house, the summer fishing camp, or home to the burbs on a very snowy day.

And they’ll ride in an adaptive environment with fold-flat seats in the second row that split 40/20/40, and an optional third-row seat that folds flat and splits 50/50. Both offer ample headroom, even if third-row legroom is best for those of shorter stature.

You can pay about $32,000 to $38,000 for this venture by Subaru onto terrain they should have driven a few years back.

Late to the ring, but counter-punching in style, Subura plans not to be the victim of a knockout, but to deliver one.

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THE BASICS

Base price/as tested: $30,695/$32,000 (est.)

Fuel economy: 20.1 miles per gallon in Globe testing

THE EARLY LINE

Leading with its nose. A boxer can’t do that, but a tight SUV with a boxster engine can do it to its own advantage.

THE SPECIFICS

Drivetrain: All-wheel drive Seating: 5 or 7 occupants Horsepower: 250 Torque: 219 lb.-ft. Overall length: 189.8 inches Wheelbase: 108.2 inches Height: 66.5 inches Width: 73.9 inches Curb weight: 4,225 pounds

THE SKINNY

Nice touch: The 40/20/40 split of the second row of seats makes perfect sense here in ski/snowboard country. Annoyance: Little triangles of glass masquerading as windows where the windshield pillars meet the dash on each side. You can’t really see anything out of them when stopped; they are a kaleidoscopic distraction out of the corner of each eye while on the road. Watch for: The nose to lead the way into the wind for a whole new stable of Subarus.