Private Fleet Car Review: 2016 Subaru Liberty Premium 2.5L Sedan
Subaru has been an integral part of the Australian motoring landscape for close to five decades now and has sold solidly, if not spectacularly. That looks set to change, if March 2015 sales figures are anything to go by, thanks to the recent update to the Liberty range.
There’s an overall increase for the Japanese car maker of five percent for March, with a three point five percent increase on a year to date basis; Liberty itself sold 425 units whilst the ever popular Outlander moved an impressive and record setting 1180.
A Wheel Thing samples the 2016 Liberty sedan, in Premium spec and 2.5L engine, to see what’s been done to impress an increasing number of Aussies.
Powersource.
The test car was powered by Subaru’s dependable 2.5L petrol engine. It’s also the familiar flat or “boxer” four cylinder configuration, with a hint of the throb the engine is noted for being emitted via the now single pipe exhaust. Power and torque (129 kW/235 Nm @ 5800/4000 rpm) go to all four wheels via Subaru’s Lineartronic CVT.
As are all CVT’s nowadays, it’s programmed with shiftpoints, six in this case and allows manual selection via paddles on the steering wheel’s rear. Petrol is stored in a 60 litre tank, with the engine tuned to run on 91RON, with economy claimed to be at 6.3L/9.0L/7.3L per 100 kilometres (highway, urban, combined). It’s EURO6 compliant, with emissions pegged at 167 grams per kilometre.
The Suit.
The most overt sign of change is at the front, with a larger grille, a more upright look, an aluminuim bonnet and a more integrated headlight assembly, compared to the angular and over extended mess on the previous model. There’s globe lit driving lights on either side of the lower air intake, sitting deep inside the strakes of the aerodynamic front bar.
At the blunt end, tail lights are an evolution of the former, with a nicely styled look across the rear as they sit underneath the integrated rear deck spoiler.
There’s some minor panel join changes, however you’d have to be an “anorak” to notice them. In profile, there’s some minor changes to the rear window line, there’s two crease lines joining front and rear and the Liberty sits on 225/50/18 Dunlop rubber, wrapping some gorgeous 10 spoke bare metal and black painted alloys.
On The Inside.
Seats.
There’s two easily spotted and used buttons to heat the well padded but flat seats for driver and passenger, placed on the lower section of the centre console (no cooling?). The driver’s seat was fully electric, the passenger seat was manual. There’s some bolstering to the sides and hips however the overwhelming impression was sitting on, not in, the seats. The driver does get, though, a two position memory.
Dash and Console.
Simply stated: clean and uncluttered. A Wheel Thing appreciated good ergonomics and it’s here in bucketloads inside the Liberty range. The main dash dials are lit with a deep cobalt blue light, bisected by a full colour LCD screen with information showing instant fuel usage (expressed as a percentage), warnings such as Lane Departure and kilometres covered.
The centre dash console has a touchscreen, 7 inches on the Premium, with an elegant, almost piano black, look to the surrounds. There’s a set of menus, clearly laid out, taking you through to Settings, Navigation and more. It’s a clean and crisp look to the whole system and devilishly easy to use.
Heating and cooling is dual zone, with two large dials to select the temperature and a light gunmetal grey finish to the selection buttons. Temperatures are displayed in large and bright LCD’s; a downside to this section is the tiny clock display; it’s too small and needs to be relocated to a more visible point.
Steering Wheel.
It’s adjustable for reach (in/out) and rake (up/down), is well sized in diameter and has a good grip for the hand. There’s controls for audio on the left and Cruise Control on the right, with the aforementioned paddle shifts easily reached at fingertip length. Again, it’s an ergonomic highlight.
Driving wise, there’s also the SI Drive, featuring two electronic programs, being Intelligent and Sports.
Sound System.
The submenu is, again, easy to follow; there’s Bluetooth connectivity plus USB and Auxiliary, CD and six speakers (top of the range gets 12 speakers via Harman Kardon). It’s well weighted with the sound mix, enough bass to punch through and clear with midrange and treble giving a well defined sound stage, out of the box.
Safety.
Subaru has its proprietary radar system called Eyesight (see end of review). Mounted to the left and right of the rear vision mirror, much like human eyes and a nose, lay two cameras. They tie in with the cruise control, providing a distance and collision avoidance system, tail light recognition, pre-collision steering assist and more.
Naturally, there’s airbags aplenty and electronic assistance; acronyms abound with TCS, ABS, ECT and TVS, the latter standing for Torque Vectoring System, whereby torque from the all wheel drive is sent to the corner needing it most. Airbags feature for driver, passenger and rear seat with curtain ‘bags plus the driver gets a kneebag as well.
Other Highlights.
The front door arm rests have a blue LED highlighting the hand grab and there’s puddle lights in the bottom of the doors. Rear seats are 60/40 split fold and easy dropped down to a prone position via a lever at the top. There’s plenty of cargo space at 493L (seats up). Looking upwards, there’s a sunroof to provide some natural light.
On The Road.
It’s here that, for A Wheel Thing, this car displayed a considerable flaw. In this driver’s eyes, it’s the over sensitive and assisted steering setup. On pickup, the tyres were somewhat under pressured; when brought up to pressure, the ride hadn’t improved but the increase in tyre pressure was noticeable.
The steering had the Lane Departure warning system activating on a constant basis, such was the excess in assistance. Even the lightest of touches seemed to have the car veering left or right. To say it was disconcerting is an understatement. Left to its own devices, on a flat and straight surface, the car would track straight and true, but it rarely imbued the driver with a full feeling of confidence.
The suspension itself was well sprung, if a touch soft at times; again, that tyre pressure differential was noticeable. Over the short metal speed bumps in car parks, the give in the ride was apparent, however there was minimal body roll.
Acceleration is reasonable, not brisk, (Subaru says 9.6 seconds to 100 kilometres) with those torques coming in at a relatively high 4000, it takes a good shove of the go pedal to reach them. There’s also that unavoidable delay between Reverse and Drive, taking somewhere between a half and full second for forward motion to be re-engaged. braking is good, with enough of a progression on the pedal to not feel as if the system is underbraked.
The Wrap.
Subaru’s 2015/2016 range of Liberty variants are good lookers; it’s a definite case of quiet evolution and it’s working, judging by the numbers I’m seeing on the road, even though the car hasn’t been on sale for long. It’s a handsome enough looker, reasonably frugal if you don’t have a heavy right foot, full of safety features and the interior freshen up has given it some new life.
The over assistance in steering, the odd decision to shrink the clock to almost insignificance and the somewhat weird (on the test car) suspension pull the Liberty Premium back a couple of notches. Pricewise, it sits just under $40K driveaway, putting it within reach of the lower level Euro cars.
Backed by a three year, unlimited kilometre warranty (falling behind compared to the Koreans) and a 12 month Roadside Assistance package, there’s peace of mind included.
Follow the link for information and pricing for your area: http://www.subaru.com.au/liberty/specs
Specs.
Engine: 2.5L, horizontally opposed (boxer engine).
Power/torque: 129 kW, 235 Nm @ 5800/4000 rpm.
Fuel: petrol, 91RON compatible.
Tank: 60 litres.
Economy (claimed, city, highway, combined) 9.0L, 6.3L, 7.3L per 100 km.
Dimensions: 4795 x 1840 x 1500 (L x W x H in mm).
Weight: 1528 kg (tare).
Warranty: 3 years, unlimited kilometres, 12 month roadside assistance.
Cargo: 493L (rear seat raised)
Subaru’s 20/20 Vision Wins Over Starry-Eyed Judges
Subaru’s new generation EyeSight® driver assist system has won an innovation excellence award from respected researcher, Canstar Blue.
EyeSight is one of eight innovations recognised within the automotive industry for offering a range of new features and services available to Australian motorists, with safety a key aspect of many.
The system uses stereo cameras mounted at the top of the windscreen, capturing “live” images of the road ahead – helping car and driver to react instantly to potentially dangerous situations. This can help prevent collisions, or reduce impact damage.
Megan Doyle, Canstar Blue General Manager, said: “A great safety feature to have as standard on any vehicle, EyeSight by Subaru is not only innovative, but most importantly it could help prevent some of the needless collisions that occur on our roads every day.
“As a driver you would have to be super-human not to experience the odd moment of tiredness or dip in concentration behind the wheel, which could potentially lead to disastrous results.
“Fortunately Subaru has created what is essentially an extra pair of eyes – alerting a driver to potential collisions and helping to mitigate the consequences of them.
“We applaud Subaru for its innovation and dedication to improving the safety of both road-users and pedestrians.”
Subaru Australia Managing Director, Nick Senior, said: “We’re delighted our EyeSight driver assist technology has been recognised for excellence in innovation.
“Safety has always been a top priority for Subaru, and when we introduced the EyeSight driver assist technology in 2012, we elevated our safety commitment even further, potentially preventing collisions or reducing the severity.
“In Australia, EyeSight has attracted insurance premium reductions for vehicle owners, while late last year in Japan, Liberty and Outback models equipped with EyeSight were awarded top ratings in a new type of assessment conducted by the Japan New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP).”
Other international acclaim for EyeSight includes a maximum six point rating in Front Crash Prevention (FCP) tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in the United States.
In 2012, EyeSight won a prestigious Japanese government science and technology award. The five Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) engineers who developed EyeSight received the prize for Science and Technology 2012, Development Category, from Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
The award-winning third-generation EyeSight system, adds brake light recognition, pre-collision steering assist and approximately 40 per cent improvement in obstacle detection distance and camera angle view, to its already impressive credentials:
- Adaptive Cruise Control
- Lane Departure Warning
- Lane Sway Warning
- Lead Vehicle Start Alert
- Pre-Collision Braking System
- Pre-Collision Brake Assist
- Pre-Collision Throttle Management
Third-generation EyeSight comes standard on all new generation Liberty and Outback petrol variants which start from just $29,990 MLP*.
For more information on Subaru’s EyeSight driver assist system, head to www.subaru.com.au/eyesight
*Prices are Subaru (Aust) Pty Limited’s Manufacturer’s List Prices only and include GST on the list price but exclude dealer delivery charges and all other government and statutory charges. For the actual drive away price of Subaru vehicles consumers should be advised to contact their local authorized Subaru dealer.
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