Subaru Liberty Exiga 2.5i Premium 2009 Review

Subaru Liberty Exiga 2.5i Premium

Road Test

Price Guide (recommended price before dealer and statutory charges): $41,990
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): nil
Crash rating: five star ANCAP
Fuel: 91 RON petrol
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 8.6
CO2 emissions (g/km): 202
Also consider: Honda Odyssey; Dodge Journey

About our ratings

When Exiga first surfaced at Tokyo Show two years back, it arrived with STI-style bonnet scoop, big wheels and a fair dose of go-fast boy-racer attitude. The reality of the production car is less overtly aggressive but somehow it still doesn't strike yours truly as a family-focussed peoplemover.

Perhaps a large part of the reason for this first in-Oz impression was the colour of the test car Subaru delivered to Carsales HQ. Our Exiga was bedecked in a very, very Subaru tone of bright metallic blue -- great for a factory rally car we'd suggest, but a bit much for a long and surprisingly tall two-box peoplemover.

Fair dinkum, all that was missing was the gold WRC team alloys and yellow sticker kit.

Most buyers, of course will be spared this visual assault. In our case, we're pleased Subaru offers some more conventional paint colours. Though even in a 'sensible' silver or white I'm still not sure that the Exiga is a peoplemover for most people.

Inside, there's plenty of room for four and in the premium version we tested no shortage of mod-cons. Electric front seats make getting a comfortable driving position easy work, leather upholstery gives the cabin a touch of class and the Impreza-ish dash even gets a fully integrated touch screen sat-nav and audio system. Noice...

Most drivers will appreciate the very car-like feel behind the wheel. You can almost pretend it's a normal Liberty. Indeed, those that have driven both, say there's little difference in the drive experience between Exiga and the new Liberty wagon. That's a good thing in our book.

Steering is quite unpeoplemover like, though we'd stop short of suggesting you'll be able to chase Evos. One more appropriate and noteworthy aspect of the Exiga, however, is its very well resolved ride. Perhaps it was the fact that we were stepping out of a low-profile shod and particularly hard riding small sedan into the Exiga, but this car was a joy around town. Indeed, generally the car drew praise from the various crash test dummies we dragged aboard for up to six-up mini test drives.

With six onboard the 2.5-litre four can be a touch underdone, but overall the boxer four and new CVT transmission is an excellent match. It's not particularly frugal (we averaged around 11L/100km over the week) but in comparison to chez Sinclair's own five-speed manual Forester, the in-gear performance seems better. This is in despite of the Exiga's extra 100kg mass (1568 v 1465kg).

We'll forgive a few errant rattles the test car exhibited. Personal experience shows unless Subaru's slipped all of a sudden, the Japanese brand's cars are normally squeak and rattle free well into their service life. Those cabin plastics, while not the classiest in the market, are also proving durable.

But getting back to that peoplemover conundrum, whether it be because of its look or feel, the six-seater Subie doesn't quite fit the mold. For some that will also be a good thing.

In our number some picked on the fact the test car's third row didn't quite fold flat (an issue with our car only?). The counterpoint is that in comparison to the Forester or indeed standard Liberty, with the back two rows folded the space appears cavernous. Plus there's a bonus in the shape of some extra storage underfloor behind the third row.

Though aimed at families with extra kids, this writer reckons the Exiga might better appeal to 'young actives'. It's not the lack of seventh seat that may handicap it in family terms, but rather lack of fifth -- here is a car that arguably suits two adventurous couples or four mates on a weekend away better than the role of full time family truckster. Accessorise with a good set of roof luggage and I can see the Exiga being just the thing for the skiing and biking set this coming year. Full-time all-wheel drive will get you on the piste without those mucky chains too...

Like the Benz R-Class before it, the Exiga's not perfect for mum, dad and three kids. Taking five somewhere means one of the number will always be sharing their personal space with the bags. We wouldn't bet against Subaru reverse engineering a third space in the second row (with lap-sash belt) into a facelifted model down the track, but for the time being...

On the other hand, for families with two kids and the occasional extra body, there's actually some benefits in keeping two juvenile passengers in the back separated. "If I have to stop this car!"...

And if even a 30min journey can be improved by distracting your 13-year-old grumplestiltskin of a son with Anchorman or Talledega Nights on the standard DVD player, I imagine the electronic assistance and that 'proper' centre armrest will be a Godsend to those of you with two of them!

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