2008 Subaru Liberty Reviews

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

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.

Yes, Subaru does have cars in the luxury car sector complete with leather interior and high performance. Its top car is the Liberty GT tuned by STI.The “tuned by STI” is the suffix that makes the difference. The GT Spec.B sedan and station wagon are pretty good things already, but the STI extras take them one step higher.STI is to Subaru what AMG is to Mercedes-Benz - giving a bit more hard-edge engine performance, some chassis (therefore handling and steering) improvements and some aerodynamic and aesthetic touches to the bodywork.STI stands for Subaru Tecnica International and enthusiasts already know that the STI version is the one to have if you're serious about performance in the Impreza WRX small sports hatchback.Let's take a quick look at the Liberty GT Spec.B and then see what STI version adds.The GT Spec.B uses Subaru's four-cylinder boxer engine of 2.5 litres, double overhead camshafts and turbocharged to give 184kW power and 339Nm torque.It's $55,990 for the sedan, in either the six-speed manual or five-speed sequential automatic, and $57,990 for the wagon.It comes with black leather interior, dual-zone climate control, eight-way power adjustment for the front seats (driver's with memory), 18in alloy wheels, satellite navigation, all-wheel-drive, airbags for front, front side and curtain, Momo sports steering wheel, ventilated ABS brakes front and rear plus Bilstein sports suspension. Sound system is a six-stack CD with six speakers. And it has the Subaru Intelligent Drive for programmed car settings. The new Subaru Liberty GT tuned by STI gets a series of enhancements (see Small Torque, right) to the above - starting with power raised to 194kW at 6000rm and torque to 350Nm at 2800rpm.The STI Liberty sedan is listed at $65,990 and the wagon $67,990, again regardless of being the six-speed manual or five-speed sequential automatic. SMALL TORQUESTI good stuffAs well as the lift in power and torque, the Subaru Liberty GT tuned by STI gets suspension upgrades and interior treatments.The Bilstein shock absorbers have damping ratios unique to STI, aimed at giving a flatter ride. The rear suspension kit has partial ball-bearing jointed bushes. This is said to reduce friction and improve road holding. STI springs lower the car by 5mm.Brembo brakes - four-piston at the front and two-pot on the rear - are painted black. A stainless-steel, mesh-type brake hose is fitted.The 12-spoke Enkei wheels with STI badging are 2.5kg lighter than the standard Liberty GT wheels and come in what's called luminosity silver.The front lip and rear boot spoilers are said to suppress lift, give better aerodynamics and stability at speed. The front grille is unique to this STI model.Inside, the leather and alcantara front seats get a cherry-coloured STI logo. There are further STI logos on instruments and door sills.Body colours for the STI versions are black, silver, grey and white. The cars carry “tuned by STI” badging. 

Odd to remember when the current generation Subaru Liberty was launched here in 2003 this moveable feast consisted only of the usual Japanese dishes and a Holden-badged European, which has now been 'replaced' — for want of a better word — by a re-badged Daewoo.To this satisfying fare add a Mexican-manufactured Volkswagen (the Jetta), a Czech-made version of the same (Skoda's Octavia), a garnishing of Swedes and even a few high-calorie but wholly unappetising Yanks. This segment is the most competitive and the richest in terms of choice of any in the passenger-vehicle market.The middle class offers family friendliness without causing Commodore- or Falcon-sized pains at the bowser, with no little styling and what marketing types call 'sophistication'.The best of them stand favourably with 'prestige' cars from BMW, Mercedes and Audi — but without being subject to the iniquity of the luxury car tax. The least of them are ignored - deservedly for some - but not so in the case of Hyundai's Sonata V6.We felt it high time to revisit the singular Soob. The Liberty has a bit over 12 months to run on its six-year cycle before the arrival of what Subaru Australia says is an all-new model.To the flock of front-wheel-drives it brings the marque's trademark symmetrical all-wheel-drive and its equally synonymous horizontally opposed boxer engine to a field of more conventional petrol (and, increasingly, turbo diesel) fours. It's largely for these that Subarus has a special cachet in a country where more are sold than in all of Europe. Owners tend to become devotees, and not readily lured by the newer and spicier items on the menu.And though it's approaching pensionable age, it isn't at all hard to see why this is so. Even back when most offerings were blandly functional in this realm of the auto lexicon, the Liberty always had something approaching personality, and an endearing one at that. The Soob's essential soundness, augmented by some smart upgrades, have seen age weary it very little. Some signs, though, can't be retrieved by cosmetic surgery.While people tend to shrink with age, the Liberty has been outgrown. To line it up with the latest Mazda6 is to line up cars that appear to belong to different classes. The Subaru is comparatively compact, oppressively so for any rear-seat passengers with bigger than the Japanese average foot size.Telescopic adjustment was added to the steering column during the mid-life upgrade, but not a lot of it. The driving position is a question of making do, though you have the consolation of interior materials that manage the feat of being both highly functional and rather pleasant.Unlike some others, the Liberty is one model line that's not had to be rushed in for an earlier-than-scheduled facelift. It's discreet but hardly anonymous, not so swept as the newer cars, but with lines that remain pleasing.Really, there are two active safety omissions but we were willing to forgo dynamic and traction controls simply to have the five-speed manual version of the 2.5i. These devices are listed with the auto, but so too is an old-world four-speeder. We just wanted to change gears for ourselves.Doing so in the Liberty is felt by some to be a chore, and it's true that the manual's action is some way from buttery in the Honda fashion. The gates are tightly sprung and the stick can need shoving into the old slot, but it's no chore and again less a fault than a personality trait.Even with AWD, the kerb weight is shy of 1400kg, making for what has always been one of the more agile handlers in the class and what remains the most rewarding. Its willingness to be thrown about is such that it takes time to trust it fully. The trade-off for the initial Soob-like understeer is the ability to launch out of corners with poise and power. Fun, you'd have to say. Though uneven surfaces can give the back end the skitters, ride is supremely competent in the main. Even my dear mum remarked on it.The distinctive thrum of the Boxer engine is best heard when accelerating firmly through low gears, something to which you'll have gratifyingly regular recourse with Liberty's comparative lack of low-down torque. And if the current Liberty's still a more-than-worthy competitor, becoming familiar with it makes the next generation model a prospect to positively savour.Verdict: 6.9/10The bottom line Liberty maintains equality with its fraternity … personality, poise and a large dose of fun in a medium-sized package. Snapshot Subaru Liberty 2.5i sedanPrice: from $32,490Engine: 2.5L/4-cylinder 127kw/226NmTransmission: 5-speed man; 4-speed autoEconomy: 8.2L/100km (manual tested) Rivals Honda Accord EuroPrice: TBA (due in June)Engine: 2.4L/4-cylinder 140kW/223NmTransmission: 6-speed man, 5-speed autoEconomy: 8.8L/100km claimed Mazda 6 classic sedanPrice: from $33,880Engine: 2.5L/4-cylinder; 125kW/226NmTransmission: 6-speed man; 5-speed autoEconomy: 8.4L/100km 

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.