Subaru Liberty 2008 News

Volvo, Subaru, Land Rover, Citroen and GM have issued safety recalls for some vehicles due to defective manufacturing issues.

Subaru has announced a host of cosmetic, handling and efficient technology changes to its Liberty line-up for 2013. Entry-level pricing has been sharpened by $2000 with the Liberty 2.5i sedan which loses leather and is now priced from $32,990. Power and torque improves on normally aspirated 2.5 litre variants, while fuel efficiency is also refined by up to 4.8 per cent, thanks to the new generation FB horizontally-opposed boxer engine, linked to the latest Lineartronic Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). Subaru's award-winning EyeSight driver assist system is also introduced on additional Liberty variants, including the 2.5i Premium, despite a pricing reduction of $1500.  Liberty's revised all-wheel drive system improves precision in torque distribution between front and back wheels, benefiting handling and stability. The technical refinements, including suspension and handling, were tested on Australian roads. In addition to the new engine, automatic transmission and alloy wheel patterns, Liberty 2.5i with leather trim now adds factory-fitted satellite navigation and a new colour information display. Liberty sales are up 12 per cent year-to-date.  

IT was two degrees in the Blue Mountains when Kate and Gerren Hawkins broke down in their "old Holden" a few years ago. That's when they decided they wanted a new and more reliable car. "We always liked Subaru and didn't consider any other car," says Kate, 29, a sales manager. So they bought a 2008 Liberty 2.5i Luxury Wagon to fit Gerren's musical equipment. "It was important to fit all his music gear and the seats fold down flat," she says. "It doesn't matter what you put in there, it always fits, so we hardly ever pay for delivery of things; we just pick it up ourselves. I also like Subaru's style. They have quite a sporty look without being a sports car and are quite rugged." Safety was also very important. Kate says they were aware that Subaru has a five-star safety rating and all-wheel drive for all its vehicles. "I used to snowboard a lot when I as younger and I know a car handles icy conditions better with all-wheel drive," she says. Now they have moved north to Queensland and traded snow for sand with planned trips to Stradbroke Island. They've also traded the Liberty for a new tangerine-coloured Subaru XV 2.0i-S with CVT which is due to arrive in the next few weeks. "Our trade-in price was just under what my payout figure was for the hire purchase which is pretty good given the state of the economy at the moment and how low second-hand car prices are," she says. "I thought we would get a second-hand car this time but there wasn't much difference in price so we went for the new one. We may as well get brand new and have all the warranties. Subarus don't seem to drop thousands of dollars in value the moment you drive out of the dealership." Kate says she was attracted to the new XV by a host of features such as "extra airbags and the look of the dashboard". "We bought the S model because it has the touch-screen satnav, digital radio, USB with iPod connectivity, Bluetooth stereo adjustments on the steering wheel and dual aircon which is really important for us as I'm always whinging it's too cold and my husband is always whinging that it's too hot so it will be handy when we do car trips together." Kate will mainly drive the car to work Monday to Friday with occasional weekend trips away to the beach, so fuel economy was important. "We are downsizing from a 2.5-litre engine to a two-litre engine with stop-start which we hope will make a difference," she says. "Even if it's saving just a little bit of petrol, it's also handy to get the extra mileage from the tank. "I hate filling up the tank. It's always a hassle. I'd rather drive around for two weeks than have to fill up every four days, even if it ends up costing much the same. You pull over when you have to, not when you want to."

Australia is missing out again on the best of the best in the Subaru garage.The stove-hot Legacy STi S402 will not be taking on Liberty badges or an Australian price, despite its popularity.The S402 arrives as the countdown begins to the next new Liberty, timed for the middle of next year.It is the work of chief engineer Hideharu Tatsumi, who has produced the best-handling Liberty yet.Tatsumi has recently moved from Subaru to STi after tuning every Liberty and Impreza as Subaru's chief test driver for the past 20 years. He is quick to admit certain budget restraints — on the design side — meant he could not play around with the sheet metal.“But even with those restrictions, we have a car that looks the business and delivers on the road,” he says.The unique mesh grille in the S402 is complemented by flared front fenders that were specially widened to take larger BBS rims and wider 235x40R18 Bridgestone Potenza RE050A rubber.He wanted to redesign the front bumper section to give the car an even sportier look, but a price about $600,000 for the special mould stopped that plan.“When you divide our limited run of only 402 units into $600,000, well, that adds an extra $1500 to each car. The bean counters would have none of that,” he laments.Other cosmetic touch-ups include a fake side air vent, a rear lip spoiler and special S402 emblems. But what was saved on the body upgrades was spent on the hardware.The car uses a 2.5-litre boxer unit with a twin-scroll turbo from STi, a tweaked engine control computer with increased boost and a sports muffler. Power and torque are up only slightly, but the objective was instant go and — by tweaking the gearing — maximum torque arrives from only 1800 revs with a strong pull all the way to 6000 revs.It's now possible to take second-gear corners in third, with huge response and plenty of grip.If a word could describe the S402's throttle, steering and braking responses, instant would have to be it. There's less play and greater rigidity in the throttle pedal than the current Liberty, and no understeer.Tatsumi has tweaked the steering rack from 15:1 to 13:1 for quicker turn in, and added STi-tuned dampers and springs. But it's the addition of three flexible performance bars — one across the front strut towers, one under the engine across the front suspension mounts and one across the trunk — that generates the S402's precision.It's a pity about the swanky soft leather seats, which unfortunately don't have the side support you need when pushing through fast bends.We don't have to forgive anything about the brakes, though. They are phenomenal, thanks to a monoblock six-piston Brembo package.First impressions lead to conclude this car is made to punish.The car is not coming to Australia until at least 2012, when the next STi Liberty is ready for the road. 

1233 Foresters, Imprezas, WRX, WRX STi, Liberty GT sedans and wagons locally are potentially affected, Subaru Australia spokesman David Rowley says.The cars were manufactured between January 8 and April 5.Rowley says there have been no reported incidents with the turbo engines in Australia. However, Fuji Heavy Industries, the manufacturer of Subaru vehicles, has temporarily suspended the production and sale of all 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engines built between the notified dates.Cars affected are the Forester XT, chassis number 002070 onwards; Impreza WRX and WRX STI, chassis number 015006 onwards; Liberty GT sedan, chassis number 038385 onwards; and Liberty GT wagon, chassis number 068148 onwards. Cars fitted with any other engines are not affected.Concerned customers can contact Subaru customer relations immediately on 1800226643. 

We collectively bought more than 82,000 vehicles last month, close enough to a 7 per cent rise over January 2007.Looking at it another way, contracts on 213 vehicles were signed for each of the 25 selling days in the month. That's a record over last year, which in itself was a record over 2006.Toyota remains king of the sales heap and the big movers were the small, medium and SUV sectors. Sales of large cars continued to plummet, which must be a worry to Ford as it prepares to launch its new Falcon.Mitsubishi, which is pulling out of manufacturing here, finished a distant sixth in the sales race, with Honda and Mazda both outselling the former car giant. So, according the industry statistician facts, who were the winners?Toyota's Yaris dominated the cheap and cheerful light market, with the Mazda2 and Honda Jazz also popular with buyers.The hotly contested small car market continues to be a bloody battleground. Toyota's Corolla was streets ahead of its opposition but the real fight was for the crumbs, with the Mazda3, Ford Focus and Honda Civic all doing well.The mid-sized market, which has been quiet, is picking up pace as buyers downsize. Most went for the Toyota Camry ahead of the Mazda6, with Subaru's Liberty a distant third.The large car market was a disaster for the local players. The Commodore was the best seller but it, along with the Falcon, Mitsubishi 380, Honda Accord and Hyundai Grandeur, lost ground.The star performer was Toyota's Aurion, which outsold the Falcon.Of the rest of the new car fleet, Honda's Odyssey beat the cheaper Kia Carnival in the people mover market, while the big surprise was in the SUV sector where Honda's CR-V outsold the Subaru Forester, Toyota's RAV 4 and recently launched Nissan X-Trail.The sales stats throw up some interesting facts and figures.Private buyers are taking a big liking to diesel engines (sales are up 82 per cent but still a low volume), while vehicles running on LPG are out of favour (down 64 per cent). Hybrid models enjoyed 11 per cent growth.And just to show how global the industry has become, last month we bought vehicles made in 23 countries. While most cars still come from Japan, there were models from the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. 

The world's first common-rail, horizontally opposed turbodiesel has just arrived in Europe in the Liberty and Outback. In Europe diesel is cheaper and demand for diesel-powered cars is high. In the UK

Expected high demand for the new turbodiesel Subaru engine in Europe has effectively ruled it out of the Australian market this year.The world's first common-rail, horizontally opposed turbodiesel has just arrived in Europe in the Liberty and Outback. In Europe diesel is cheaper and demand for diesel-powered cars is high.In the UK, diesel Libertys and Outbacks are expected to account for about 80 per cent of sales.The new Forester receives the engine in September and Impreza three months later.Subaru Australia had initially hoped to get the diesel into the Forester when it's launched in March. Now this is unlikely, according to spokesman David Rowley.However, the redesigned Outback and Liberty due next year are tipped to have the engine. The 2.0-litre TD Subbie engine develops 110kW at 3600 revs and 350Nm at 1800 revs.Subaru set out to make the common-rail engine exceptionally smooth, quiet and refined.It is similar in size to the 2.0-litre petrol engine.Like its petrol cousins, the turbodiesel sits low in the engine bay, providing a low centre of gravity.The company says the Liberty TD will hit 100km/h in 8.5 seconds and has a top of 202km/h. The Outback takes 8.8 seconds to reach 100km/h and has a fractionally slower top of 199km/h.The engine is Subaru's first diesel developed in-house after more than 40-years expertise in boxer engine technology.Compared with Subaru's 2.0-litre petrol engine, the 2.0-litre diesel has a 11mm longer stroke and 6mm smaller bore for a capacity of 1998cc versus 1994cc.Thanks to a bore pitch shortened from 113mm to 98.4mm, the overall engine block length is only 353.5mm, compared with 414.8mm in the petrol engine. The block is made of an extremely rigid design, and all five main bearings in the alloy cylinder block use metal composite supports for strength and durability.The diesel has liquid engine mounts, with the body benefiting from extra soundproofing. The five-speed manual gearbox has higher ratios to suit the diesel's stronger torque and lower engine speed.The variable-vane turbocharger is mounted under the engine for low centre of gravity, and a fast-warm catalytic converter is also mounted under the engine.The power-steering is electric, to improve fuel economy, yet is tuned for strong feel and response.The front spring rates and front brakes have been beefed up to cope with the extra weight.Even the airconditioning unit has been modified to provide hot air earlier in the engine's warm-up cycle.Visually, the Liberty and Outback diesels share the same bonnet scoop as the turbocharged petrol models.The Liberty TD will hit 100km/h IN 8.5 seconds and has a top of 202km/h. 

A Subdued Subaru is about to start making some noise with more power and a range of new models to be introduced over the next year.In Australia, the 2008 Liberty and Outback models will arrive with beefier engines and extra safety features.They will be followed by the launch of the new Impreza later this month, then a facelifted Tribeca luxury SUV with a more efficient 3.6-litre boxer engine and five-speed auto, and a new Forester in March.Subaru Australia managing director Nick Senior said “It has been relatively quiet for us on the model front, but the avalanche is here.”Subaru will also launch a new model blitz at next month's Frankfurt Motor Show.Leading the line-up is the new Impreza five-door hatchback, an Impreza-based World Rally Car Concept, new Justy one-litre supermini and a horizontally opposed boxer turbo-diesel engine, due to be progressively installed in models from early next year.Subaru Australia corporate affairs manager David Rowley said there were “no firm dates on diesel yet”.“We understand Europe will be the initial focus,” he said.The new Liberty and Outback, on sale now, look the same from the outside, but feature new engine technology, safety features and new prices.While the entry-level $31,990 Liberty 2.0R has gone and the new entry level is the Liberty 2.5i at $32,490, that price is down from $34,990.The automatic entry-level 2.5i is also down $2000 to $34,990.“The 2.0R was replaced in line with customer preference for the larger engine in an entry-level Liberty,” Rowley said.Senior also points out that these vehicles now have more power and features.Power in the Liberty and Outback 2.5 litre normally aspirated engine is up 5 per cent to 127Kw at 6000rpm.On the safety front, Outback 2.5i and 3.0R now get curtain airbags to complete this feature throughout the Liberty and Outback ranges, and Vehicle Dynamics Control is now standard on all Sportshift automatic 2.5-litre Liberty and Outback models.Also new to Liberty is a Heritage variant that adds rear privacy glass, black leather trim, eight-way adjustable power driver's seat and sunroof.Liberty 2.5i Premium adds a McIntosh audio system with six-stack in-dash CD and 14 speakers and self-levelling bi-Xenon headlights with pop-up washers at an extra $1300.Of the 22 Liberty variants, four are new, 10 are the same price as superseded models, three have decreased up to 7.1 per cent in price and five have increased, while adding features.