2017 Subaru Liberty Reviews

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.