2003 Subaru Liberty Reviews

Ewan Kennedy road tests and reviews the 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010 and 2013 Subaru Liberty and Outback as used buys.

The decision to go all all-wheel-drive was a momentous one for Subaru. From a company building cars that no one really cared about it went to one that everyone wanted to know.If the hot rally-bred WRX led the charge it was the Liberty that did the hard yards in getting Subaru's name on the shopping lists of Australian buyers.The Gen 3 was a mid-sized model aimed at middle Australia. It was a family-sized car for people tired of the regular diet of Commodores and Falcons.It was a pleasant looking, sensible car, one that has stood the test of time and still looks attractive even today.The Liberty came in sedan and wagon forms, with three main specification levels in the GX, RX, and Heritage.Inside there was room enough for a normal family, mum and dad had plenty of room up front, and the kids were comfortably accommodated in the back.The Liberty came in sedan and wagon forms, with three main specification levels in the GX, RX, and Heritage.Two engines were offered, both flat-fours in the style Subaru had long used.A modest 2.0-litre single-overhead camshaft engine opened the bidding with 92kW and 184Nm. It was no ball of fire, but with an average fuel consumption of less than 9.0L/100km there was a lot to like about it.The other engine option was a single-overhead camshaft 2.5-litre unit that boasted 115kW and 223Nm, The extra torque not only boosted the Liberty's performance, but it also endowed it with an easy-driving flexibility. Fuel consumption increased, but was still only a touch over 9.0L/100 km.The transmission choices were straightforward, a five-speed manual and a no-fuss four-speed automatic, and the drive went through all four wheels.On the road the Liberty was well balanced with a reassuring grip on the road.It needs to be said straight up that the Gen 3 Liberty is getting on in years, the earliest 15 years old, and the kays are climbing, with many cars well over the 200,000km mark by now.Be choosy; don't buy any old Liberty you come acrossThat means they should be approached with caution, and patience needs to be employed when out shopping for a suitable car.Be choosy; don't buy any old Liberty you come across, look for the one in the best condition, with the lowest kays on the clock, and with a believable history.Having done 200,000-plus kays you have to understand that a car, any car, is nearer the end of the road than the starting grid, so buy in the knowledge that you are likely to be back in the market looking for another car in a couple of years.But that can be fine for some people, like parents shopping for a starter car for their kids who are hitting the road for the first time.For them the most important attributes are safety, low running costs, and reliability, and their kids are likely to be wanting to move on up in the motoring world in a short period of time.Being all-wheel drive the Liberty is miles ahead of other cars liked by youngsters, cars like the Commodore and Falcon, when it comes to safety. In the hands of a novice driver rear-wheel drive Commodores and Falcons can be lethal weapons, whereas the all-wheel drive Liberty is much less likely to bite them when they least expect it.Check for a service record to make sure your chosen car has been well maintainedLook for smoke issuing from the exhaust pipe when accelerating, it could signal wear in the engine and should be a warning.With more than 200,000km up most Gen 3 Liberties could do with an automatic transmission service, so consider doing that for ongoing reliability, even if the transmission checks out ok when driven.Check for a service record to make sure your chosen car has been well maintained, but the service record is a good way of confirming the odometer reading is credible.A service record will also be able to confirm that the timing belts have been changed as required at 160,000 km.

Subaru's largest passenger car, the Liberty, has a well-deserved reputation for toughness and reliability with Australian buyers. The Subaru Outback is an interesting variant on the Liberty station wagon. On the market since 1996 it is intended as a halfway step between a conventional station wagon and a dedicated 4WD.In its earlier models Subaru Outback had a tougher appearance than the standard wagon because of the additional protective plastic facings on the doors. These were discontinued with the new generation of 2003 to give the vehicle a more upmarket air, though there are many Subaru advocates who preferred the tougher look of the original.Since 1995 only all-wheel drive Liberty models have been sold in Australia, prior to then there were also front-wheel drive versions, even by 1995 these were comparatively rare because buyers had already sussed out the advantages of driving all four wheels.Unusually for Japanese cars, Libertys and Outbacks, indeed all Subarus, are popular with country drivers as well as those from metro areas. Libertys and Outbacks are much loved by snow skiers because their permanent all-wheel drive system makes them safer and more capable in slippery conditions than a 2WD vehicle.Subaru Liberty first arrived in this country in 1989 and struck a chord with local buyers almost immediately. These older models are generally getting long in the tooth so may be near the end of their lives. You’re probably better off avoiding them.Liberty is sold as a four-door sedan and a five-door station wagon, with a much larger percentage of wagons being sold than in other models in the mid-size class. The combination of the traction of all-wheel drive and the practicality of a wagon rear end is a strong one.The engines have a flat ‘boxer’ layout to lower the centre of gravity for improved road holding. Engine capacities in the four-cylinder models are 2.0, 2.2 and 2.5 litres. The 2.0 actually has more performance than the 2.2 being a later design.Flat-six engines began with a 3.0-litre unit in the Outback and later the Liberty range, its capacity increased to 3.6 litres in September 2009. Subaru calls the flat-six engines the H6 - ‘H’ for horizontally opposed, but most owners tend to retain the use of flat-six or boxer for it.There are a couple of high-performance Subaru Liberty variants. The Liberty RS has a 2.0-litre turbocharged unit and was introduced here in 1992. It was on sale for less than two years, when it was upstaged by the smaller and lighter Subaru Impreza WRX, a car that went on to be a huge success.The Liberty B4 sports machine has a twin-turbo 2.0-litre. It first came here in August 2001 but was somewhat of a disappointment in Australia because the engine had to be significantly detuned from the one offered on the Japanese market to run on our lower-octane petrol.These Subarus are reasonably easy to work on and most routine jobs can be carried out by an experienced home mechanic. However, safety items and most areas of the high-performance variants are best left to the professionals.Spare parts prices are about average for a car in this class. The Subaru dealer network, though relatively small, works efficiently. Because of Subarus’ popularity in country areas there are dealers in comparatively remote areas.Insurance charges on all but the turbocharged high-performance Liberty RS and Liberty B4 are moderate. The turbo models can be really expensive to cover, especially if you are a young and/or inexperienced driver. Living in a high-risk area further increases charges. Be sure to get a quote before falling in love with a turbo Liberty as premiums can be scary.Look over the interior trim and carpets for signs of damage, though they usually hold up well to all but the most outrageous of treatment. Mud or a real buildup of dust may indicate a lot of time spent of the beaten track.Check out the luggage area for signs of harsh treatment caused by carrying big and/or sharp loads. Have a look underneath a car, particularly the Outback, for signs of damage through it coming into contact with the ground. Some owners really do treat them as though they are ‘real’ 4WDs.The undersides of the bumpers, especially on their corners, are usually the first to suffer. Be sure the engine starts quickly and immediately idles smoothly no matter how cold the conditions. The sixes are naturally smoother than the fours, but the latter should be pretty good as well. Manual gearboxes should be quiet in operation and gearchanges should be smooth and light. Automatics which tend to hunt up and down the gears, or which are slow to go into gear, could be due for an overhaul. Rust is not common in Subarus, but if one has been badly repaired after a crash it may get into the metal. Call in a professional inspector if there’s the slightest doubt.

No matter how schmick the car looks, though, at this sort of money there are probably one or two expensive time bombs lurking within it.

This particularly blokey Subaru Liberty GT was such a car. The thrill of the traffic light take-off makes life worthwhile with Liberty's turbocharged, two-litre engine and silky gearshift.But the zero to 50km/h sprint takes less time than you can say "hmmm" and it's back to steady coherence of road rules.Just like one of my favourite U2 songs – Running to Stand Still.It makes me wonder why Subaru, which makes its sought-after peppy cousin WRX, bothers with making a more understated version for grown-ups.Subaru Australia general manager Nick Senior has called it "Subaru's interpretation of a European-style sports sedan".Surely this Japanese car maker does not have to kowtow to Euro-styling. It already has a loyal fan club of drivers who understand the delights of a boxer engine and its off-road capabilities.But I'm inclined to think the Liberty GT will be the choice for women, often decision-makers on the type of car a family drives, who must compromise with their men who want the go-fast WRX.Liberty falls somewhere between the sporting man's plaything and the safety-conscious buyer's choice.But while WRX owners hold a badge of honour with a car renowned among rally enthusiasts, Liberty GT owners lack the same grunty pedigree.In fact, its shape and performance seem to blur with other new four-cylinder sedans on the road. I guess that's the problem with compromise.It has all the things that make you go "VROOM" – engine hole thingy in the bonnet, high-performance tyres, fancy neon-like dash lights, black leather interior.Under the bonnet, Subaru says the turbocharged engine can take you from zero to 100km/h in 5.7 seconds. Impressive.Plenty of doof-doof too, with a sound system able to blast out from 13 speakers, squawkers, tweeters, woofers and a "super woofer" on the back shelf.But the "it" factor is elusive.Surely Liberty GT is a status symbol for the more family-oriented petrolhead – too young to drive a station wagon; too old not to be laughed at in the sporty WRX.Costing $52,990, it would perhaps make more sense to pay an extra $2000 for the Liberty GT wagon which has more off-road, camper-cred.A word of warning – an Australian summer and the skin-baking, sauna-like qualities of a black leather interior are a bad combination ... no matter how good the airconditioning is.

We've just been driving the surprising Hyundai Elantra, which feels much nicer than ever before for just $18,990, and we've also spent quality time in the Toyota Prius II, the supercharged Jaguar XJ-R and Audi's sensational RS6.But it's the Subaru Liberty that has really grabbed our attention.We drove it for the first time early in the year at the worldwide press preview in Japan, where it looked and felt newer, tighter, safer and more substantial.We were waiting to drive it on local roads for a final verdict, and now we have it.The new Liberty is the second-best car we have tested in 2003.That sounds like the first of the losers, behind the Honda Accord Euro, but the Liberty is a great car that will be a first-place finisher with many Australian drivers.And it has a broader spread of models, including wagons and the punchy GT as well as the gravel-focused Outback, to ensure it fits in a greater range of driveways.It's well priced from $30,990, extremely well built and the sort of car that's going to take business from everything, including the top-selling Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon.The Liberty chants to the mantra we expect of all good cars in 2003: it's lighter, faster, greener and safer.But this time the good news runs across the range, in ways we can all appreciate.The basic body is 60kg lighter but much stronger, which means Subaru was able to build in everything from better crash performance, including the pedestrian protection that's becoming more of a priority, to tighter suspension, sharper steering and an engine that has more punch but uses less fuel.The latest Liberty range is as varied as always, but broken up by a choice of 2-litre, 2.5-litre and turbo engines with appropriate equipment up to the fully loaded GT with premium pack at $57,990.That sounds like a lot, and it is to most people, but it's a relative bargain in a car with 180kW of power, all-wheel-drive and all the gear you'd expect on a high-priced European car from Audi, Alfa, BMW, Benz or Volvo.When we first saw and drove the new Liberty, we realised that Subaru had joined Honda in creating a new style of car, the EuroJap machine.It's one that looks and feels European, but is built with Japanese quality and a Japanese price.It would take pages to run through the full update deal, but it's most important to focus on the new look – smoother and more elegant, but still Subaru through and through – and the basic engineering and quality equipment.On the roadThe Liberty was a slow burn during our test time. We originally planned a week in the starting-price Liberty 2.0 sedan, which takes the place of the GX, but couldn't resist a sprint in the fully loaded GT.So we took things easy, learning the basics before uncorking the turbo. And we came around slowly because we'd already been won over this year by the EuroJap Accord Euro, the new Suby's deadliest rival.What we found is a car that's a little roomier, a lot more refined and more enjoyable – a car we'd happily point to Sydney, or even Cairns, for a summer escape.It drives extremely well, with sharp steering and well-controlled suspension, and the noise levels are commendably low.We also like the look of the new Liberty, even if some people say it's too much like the old car.It's easy to park, has good headlamps, and a big boot.But we really enjoy the Liberty when we let the turbo spin and unbottle its 180kW of power and the 310Nm of torque that contribute even more to its sprightly performance. The new five-speed auto helps, too.Frankly, we were never fans of the previous B4 Liberty turbo. It was too harsh, too abrupt and too childish. The newcomer, called B4 in Japan but gets the GT badge here, is quick, controlled and refined.The latest turbo motor comes on strong almost from idle, has turbine thrust from 3000 revs, and really honks to the redline.And, as always, the all-paw grip means you can use more of the go for more of the time.We particularly like the way the long-wheelbase Liberty body cuts the front-end push and lateral bounce you get in an Impreza at the same pace, which means it's just as quick as a WRX without the fuss.But it's also refined. And that's good news for people who are over the toy-racer stage in their lives.The GT comes with plenty of good stuff, from supportive seats and bold vacuum-fluorescent instruments to a MacIntosh sound system that's my personal benchmark for in-car entertainment.We also like the latest five-speed automatic, which keeps the engine spinning but boosts economy.It has a user-friendly touch-change mode, with buttons on the wheel that are some of the easiest we've used.You only have to touch a button, even if you're not in manual mode, for a quick downshift and the box will hold a gear against the redline -- instead of making an auto upshift -- if you're in the driving mode.The Liberty's bottom line is we like everything and give it high scores in every category.It rocks the Accord Euro, but the all-round refinement and design advances of the Honda keep it on top of the Cars Guide star rankings.It's just ahead of the Mazda6 and it destroys Euro rivals such as the underdone Jaguar X-Type.But the GT is something else, and we reckon a lot of WRX owners are going to graduate to the Liberty sprinter. Soon.

Subaru Australia general manager Nick Senior is confident the Liberty will lift the stakes in the battle for a greater share of a market segment stuffed full of European-manufactured competition."With the advances in interior and exterior design, the Liberty will appeal to a much wider audience . . . with even more appeal to traditional buyers of European prestige vehicles," Senior says."The core Subaru strengths of innovative engineering, NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) levels, build quality and overall quality of materials have been addressed to achieve a result we are confident takes Liberty and Outback to a whole new level."Senior concedes the improvements to Liberty and Outback the jacked-up soft-roader version of the model which will be launched at about the same time will mean a price rise but he has declined to say how much."(This week) we will sit down and sort it all out," Senior says. "The improvements in the car over the outgoing model are substantial across the range and it will be competing directly against European competition."Of course, we are getting some help from the strength of the dollar and, while we don't have a figure, it is pretty obvious that domestically (in Japan) the increases are in the order of 5 per cent."The entry model for the new range will be a SOHC 2-litre wagon and sedan with either a four-speed automatic or five-speed manual.In the middle of the range, in place of the RX and Heritage models, will be the 2.5-litre naturally aspirated wagon and sedan with manual and automatic gearboxes, while the range-topper will be an automatic-only 2-litre turbocharged sedan or wagon badged as a GT to replace the B4.The current model range extends from the GX manual at $29,990 to the B4 at $55,130.Badged as a Legacy in all markets except Australia, the fourth generation of the car, which settled Subaru as an all-wheel-drive manufacturer when it first was launched in 1989, will reach Australian showrooms in September.The fresh-faced Liberty shows the strong influences of Greek-born designer Andreas Zapatinas, who joined Subaru from Alfa Romeo early last year fresh from his success with the Alfa 147.Zapatinas has an impeccable heritage in Euro design, having worked with Chris Bangle at Fiat and then at BMW for a short stint before moving back to Alfa as head of design at the Italian manufacturer's Centro Stile studio.Both the sedan and the wagon have finer, more flowing lines than the outgoing model, giving the cars a compact stance despite their marginally larger dimensions.The rear of the sedan is reminiscent of an Alfa 156 but it is the wagon which is destined to be the star of the range, with a sweeping roofline and sloping rear side glass giving it such an instant attraction that hiding it in a garage would be selfish.In engineering the new Liberty, the development team was set the goal of retaining traditional family design elements in a more rigid, lighter and performance-orientated package, senior general manager for product and portfolio planning Hideki Ishido explains."The traditional key Subaru elements of maximum driving pleasure, symmetrical all-wheel-drive and driver-in-control are retained in the new Liberty," Hideki says."The three elements of sport, speed and safety are present in the reassuring performance of active driving and active safety."Re-engineering of the safety cell and the use of lighter materials throughout the chassis and body shell including extensive use of aluminium in the redesigned suspension resulted in a 230kg weight loss over the previous model.With 130kg of that given back in structural strength to ensure a stiffer chassis and improved sound-proofing for NVH, there still is a 100kg net benefit.Coupled with engines which have had about 80 per cent of components re-engineered, the benefits in power and emission outputs have breathed new life into the horizontally opposed boxer engines.Precise specifications for the Australian cars have not been finalised but they will run fairly close to the Japanese domestic models, with front and side airbags, the superb Macintosh 13-speaker sound system in the GT, a new range of 16-inch and 17-inch alloy wheels, sports shift on all automatic models and a full-sized steel spare in place of the space-saver in the Japanese market.DID YOU KNOW?Subaru's new Liberty was developed with a close eye on the car's environmental performance, mindful of previous criticism of fuel economy and emission performance levels of previous horizontally opposed (boxer)engines.The 2-litre SOHC engine in the Australian entry-level model is the first Subaru engine to comply with Japan's Ultra Low Emission Vehicle standards set by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The 2.5-litre and 2-litre turbo engines meet Good Low Emission Vehicle standards. To qualify for U-LEV recognition, emission levels must be 75percent below those of 2000, while G-LEV requires a 25percent reduction.The engines, with the exception of the 2-litre turbo, meet Japan's 2010 fuel economy standards.Exterior plastic components in the Liberty are increasingly recyclable through the use of polypropylene similar to that used for interior plastics. Recycled plastic materials have been utilised in its manufacture.The use of lead in the manufacturing process has been greatly reduced. The level of lead used in the new Liberty has reached the 2005 target of the Voluntary Action Plan of the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association to cut levels to one third of those in 1996.