Subaru Liberty Exiga Premium 2010 Review

Subaru Liberty Exiga Premium

What we liked
>> Lively performance
>> Funereally quiet
>> Adult accommodation in third-row seating

Not so much
>> Cornering
>> Lack of a seventh seat
>> Ponderous looks

Overall rating: 3.0/5.0
Engine and Drivetrain: 3.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.0/5.0
Safety: 4.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 3.0/5.0
X-factor: 3.0/5.0

About our ratings

OVERVIEW
-- Stemming the flow of buyers
Subaru, the company better known for turbo rally rockets and esoteric engineering is fed up with buyers trading in the trusty Liberty on something like a Honda Odyssey once the family headcount exceeds five.

That's why it has now come up with the Exiga (pronounced with a hard 'g', like 'Sega', rather than a soft 'g' as in 'Exige'). Although the design of the new Subie is constrained by the need to build it on an existing platform -- the Liberty -- it nonetheless appears to have been benchmarked against the Honda.

It's smaller than the Odyssey (other than in height), but the Exiga has the advantage in offering all-wheel drive, five-star ANCAP safety and slightly better fuel efficiency. But, as a new entry in a previously unexplored market segment, the new car remains something of a gamble for Subaru, which is why it's officially named LIBERTY Exiga -- just to make sure everyone knows it's a Liberty under the skin and there's no reason to be perturbed.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
-- Are you taking notes, Honda?
The Exiga is sold in two levels of trim: the entry-level Exiga 2.5i and the Exiga 2.5i Premium. Based on the manufacturer's list price (excluding on-road costs and dealer delivery), the base Exiga will set you back $37,490 and the Exiga Premium adds $4500 to the outlay ($41,990).

As standard, the base Exiga comes with: dual-zone climate control, a DVD entertainment system, height/reach-adjustable steering, height-adjustable driver's seat, map lights, leather-bound multifunction steering wheel (audio/cruise), trip computer, transmission shift paddles, electric windows/mirrors, 60/40 splitfold second-row seat with recline, 50/50 splitfold third-row seatremote central locking, six-disk CD audio system and 16-inch alloy wheels.

Over and above the base specification, the Exiga Premium adds leather seat trim, eight-way electrically-adjustable front seats, Bluetooth connectivity, voice recognition, reversing camera, satellite navigation (reverting to single-disc CD audio) and 17-inch alloys.

MECHANICAL
-- Boxing above its weight?
Both Exiga variants (base and Premium) are mechanically identical. Power derives from the same 2.5-litre SOHC horizontally-opposed four-cylinder engine found in the Liberty, and drive is taken to all four wheels via Subaru's new 'Lineartronic' Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT).

The oversquare engine develops 123kW of power at 5600rpm and torque peaks at 229Nm from 4000rpm. Fuel consumption, according to the ADR 81/02 combined-cycle test, is 8.6L/100km and, based on the same testing regime, the Exiga emits 202g/km of CO2.

Suspension is a combination of MacPherson struts at the front and double-wishbone IRS at the rear.

Power-assisted rack and pinion steering provides variable assistance according to engine speed and the Exiga turns through an 11.0m-diameter circle, measured from kerb to kerb. Brakes comprise front ventilated discs and solid discs at the rear.

The Exiga is fitted with 205/60 R16 Bridgestone tyres on the base model's 16.x6.5JJ alloy wheels and the Premium model gets 215/50 R17 Yokohamas on 17x7.0JJ alloys.

PACKAGING
-- Sixes and sevens
The driving position in the Exiga is practical. There's a clear view of the easily legible instruments through the steering wheel and such items as the switchgear for the electric mirrors are easily reached and used. The seats, trimmed in leather, were comfortable and supportive. Interior design is reasonably stylish and accommodation is impressively spacious, but there's a hitch with that.

Unlike the Honda, the Exiga is a six-seater only. Follow closely, because this is a long story. We have it on good authority that while the Exiga is available in Japan with seven-seat configuration, there's no centre-position lap/sash seatbelt in the second-row seating. Since it's a pre-requisite that all vehicles must be fitted with three-point seatbelts to qualify for five-star ANCAP consideration -- and that's a must for Subaru's brand image in Australia -- the Exiga could only be sold here in six-seat layout.

So the Odyssey has one extra seating position available. Exacerbating the situation for the Subaru, should you need to fold the third-row seating down for added luggage space, that further limits the seating to four, not five.

If you can live with that though, the Exiga does offer very good head and legroom in all three rows. Even the third-row seats provide an appropriate measure of head- and legroom for adults -- which is praiseworthy indeed for a vehicle with rear-wheel drivetrain components beneath that location.

But being built on a Liberty platform, unlike the Odyssey (designed from the start to be a low-riding peoplemover application) the Exiga feels a little upright. It doesn't really translate in the vehicle's dynamics or packaging to any great degree, but the car does look a little like a first-generation Mazda2 from behind.

SAFETY
-- A safe marketing strategy
In common with all Subaru models, the Exiga is a five-star car, based on testing by ANCAP (Australasian New Car Assessment Programme). In addition to the car's ring-shaped safety structure, the Exiga boasts high-tensile-strength steel throughout the body and enhanced pedestrian protection for the bonnet and engine bay.

Standard safety features for the Exiga include: stability control, ABS/EBD, brake assist, airbags for frontal and side impacts (with curtains for head protection of occupants in all three rows of seats). The front seatbelts feature pretensioners and load limiters.

COMPETITORS
-- Exiga: not an SUV, not quite a peoplemover
If it were up to us, the Exiga would be treated as a peoplemover, since it carries more than five people. It doesn't pretend to be an SUV, despite driving to all four wheels. Its sales are actually being numbered in the medium car segment, along with the Liberty.

Anyway, the VFACTS peoplemover segment offers plenty of variety for the buyer who wants to carry more than five, but doesn't specifically need a fully-fledged SUV. Within that segment, the vehicle that comes closest to the Exiga, in our view, is the Honda Odyssey. That is provided you overlook the Subaru's all-wheel drive and the Honda's seven seats.

Now while there are many large, van-based vehicles in competition with the Exiga, according to VFACTS, the likes of Hyundai's iMax, the Mercedes Vito and Volkswagen's Caravelle are larger again than the Subaru and that leaves them out of the running, in our view. One of the appealing elements of the Exiga's design is that it's not like a modified commercial vehicle -- with the bulk and (lack of) manoeuvrability that entails.

Vehicles such as the Citroen C4 Picasso, Toyota Avensis and the compact Kia Rondo are closer in nature to the Exiga and there are larger vehicles such as the Dodge Journey (the peoplemover that looks like an SUV), Kia Carnival, Mitsubishi Grandis and Toyota Tarago that might be viable alternatives to the Exiga -- certainly viable by virtue of their seven-seat accommodation.

In addition to rivals from the peoplemover segment, the Exiga could also conceivably face competition from without the segment. Medium SUVs (two-wheel drive jobs in particular) could match the Exiga on price and, in some cases, refinement. Then there's also the Peugeot 308 Touring, which offers a third-row seat option, but, being a 'small' car, won't compare well with the Subaru for interior space. It's a genuine contender for those who have younger kids to cart around, though.

ON THE ROAD
-- Just like a Liberty, only taller
The boxer powerplant that drives the Exiga remains subdued whether the car is cruising or working harder. Its rich exhaust note won't deter drivers from using more revs for extra performance. And in respect of straightline performance, the Exiga provides respectable acceleration.

The Honda Odyssey develops more power, but less torque than the Exiga -- and higher in the rev range for the most part. Add to that also that the Exiga is lighter, spec for spec, and the CVT may be just a little more efficient at transferring engine output to the drive wheels -- and we would expect the Exiga to get the drop on the Odyssey in an acceleration test.

The Exiga's Lineartronic CVT is very capable and provides a good match for the engine. It allows engine revs to vary during acceleration, to overcome the 'static display' effect often experienced with CVT-equipped vehicles.

We have little doubt too, that it contributes to the decent fuel efficiency of the Exiga. Over the course of the mostly open-road drive program, we recorded a fuel consumption figure of 9.2L/100km.

Where the Exiga suffers a little, in comparison with the Odyssey, is its steering and handling. While the ride in the Exiga soaks up all sorts of bumps, and it's fairly well controlled for typical Australian country roads, the suspension lets the Subaru down in the corners.

Turn-in is adept and the steering provides a little more feel away from on-centre, but the Exiga can be a little lively in corners. At times, the seat of the pants is telling you that the rear of the car is busy, but there's less communication of that through the wheel. There's less control and consistency in its cornering than we recall for the latest Odyssey.

But that's comparing the Subaru against the Honda, which is probably the class leader for peoplemovers where cornering dynamics are concerned. The Exiga remains a competent blend of ride comfort and active safety by comparison with the market segment mean. Many shoppers will prefer the Subaru's driving characteristics over the Honda's, we suspect.
 
NVH is quite outstandingly low in the Subaru. Wind noise won't prove troublesome at legal open-road speeds. Tyres are a little noisy over coarse-mix bitumen, but not unduly so.

Overall then, the Subaru handles many different criteria well, particularly those that tend to be high on the list of priorities for buyers in this market segment. Against the Honda Odyssey, it loses out for seating and cornering, but more than compensates in price, equipment and safety.

As a first attempt in this sector of the market, the six-seat Subaru is therefore a highly commendable effort, but hopefully the company will find a way of upgrading its capacity to seven seats. In the meantime, Subaru fans who don't want to jump ship to Honda better hope that Mum's not carrying twins.

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