Subaru Liberty STi 2007 review

Subaru's Liberty GT tuned by STi is nothing if not a handsome machine.

The STi 18-inch alloy wheels cannot hide the 316mm front discs and the four-piston Brembo calipers, not to mention the orange calipers on the 290mm discs at the rear.

The high gloss "obsidian" black paint job, aggressive body kit, tinted rear windows and that air scoop on the bonnet for the intercooler, along with the STi monogrammed quadruple exhaust pipes, set the Liberty off perfectly.

Explore the 2007 Subaru Liberty range

• Subaru Liberty 2007 review
• Subaru Liberty STi 2007 review

And that's before any of the STi (Subaru Technica international) work to the powertrain is taken into account.

The STi Liberty in the CARSguide garage was one of just 300 Liberty STis coming to Australia. It is basically a Liberty GT spec B, a potent machine in its own right, that STi have “tarted-up” though tarted-up hardly does the car justice.

The 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged horizontally opposed engine now puts out 194kW @ 6000rpm and 350Nm of torque @ 2800rpm thanks to an upgraded engine management unit. That compares with the Spec B GT at 184/6000 and 339/3600, the Impreza WRX STi 206/5600, 392/4000 and the WRX Impreza at 169/5600, 320/3600.

So apart from the STi Impreza, this Liberty is the most potent car Subaru produces. But thanks to their Intelligent Drive system, those behind the wheel might never know that, unless they selected “Sport Sharp”, the engine and gearbox mapping option that allows full power to be developed and the automatic gearbox to take full advantage of it.

The other two modes are Power, which allows full power to be developed but keeps the gearbox restrained, and Intelligent, which not only has the gearbox short shifting, or changing up early, but which also cuts maximum power and torque by around 25 per cent.

Quick changes up through the gearbox and a distinct reduction in power can, along with a light foot, return something like 20 per cent better fuel consumption.

However, there seems to be little point in owning an STi tuned Liberty GT if fuel economy is what you're after.

Inside, the car is typical Subaru — high quality finish and ergonomically close to perfect. In the test STi everything was in black set off with red (apart from the head lining). Black seats with red stitching, a black dashboard with red lighting, black dials with white numbers and red needles (which perform a little dance each time the ignition is turned on) and polished metal trim.

The whole feel was definitely one of luxury rather than performance.

The driver's seat has eight way electric adjustment with two memories, there is a 14-speaker McIntosh sound system with a six stacker in dash CD/MP3/WMA player, and a factory fitted sunroof.

The test car was fitted with a five speed auto gearbox which could be left in auto to fend for itself, which it did with aplomb and alacrity, or changed manually by paddles on the steering column or sequentially using the gear shift lever.

The only time the gearbox was anything but well mannered was when the Liberty was in full auto and copping a flogging in Sport. It sometimes held on to gears long after social responsibility had dictated enough right foot was enough.

But then again it might well have been programmed to take into account the driver may have been on a race track or at a hill climb and wanting to hang on to the gear while slowing slightly for a corner before hammering it again.

While there is no traction control as such, Subaru's all wheel drive system does a more than fair imitation of such a system. It is hard to get the STi out of shape and the drive is being sent just where it is needed.

The Liberty handles beautifully, turning precisely and predictably with the Pirelli P-Zero Rosso tyres simply refusing to relinquish grip even when pushed on wet roads.

The other side of that coin is that while the interior of the car may feel “luxury”, the ride is definitely “sporty”.

The Bilstein dampers and short travel stiff springs on the STi keep the car in the right direction but tend to “juggle” the passengers a bit over anything that is not newly surfaced freeway.

That is exaccerbated by the run-flat low profile tyres which have little or no give in the sidewalls.

The front air dam of the body kit touches far too easily in this country which delights in putting humps and bumps everywhere and where kerbs and driveways seem to be designed 10mm higher than the lowest bit of the kit.

The 215/45 low-profile tyres also put the graceful STi rims very close to the ground where any debris is in a perfect position to damage them.

Verdict

For: Fast and sporty.

Against: Stiff ride, thirsty if pushed.

* * * 1/2

A bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing.