Subaru Liberty GT Premium 2009 Review

What we liked
>> Cabin refinement
>> Chassis poise and grip
>> Plenty of performance

Not so much
>> Noisy tyres
>> Electric handbrake needs better illumination

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

About our ratings

Just as Subaru was a pioneer in the softroader segment, it also knows a thing or two about turbo all-wheel drive performance sedans. Indeed, it has been building rally-bred road cars for 20 years, although this one is more for the BMW crowd than the boy racers.

This is the fifth-generation Liberty and it is by far the best yet.

The Carsales Network secured early access to the all-new Liberty and Outback ranges to bring you this first drive on the day of the car's official launch Down Under. In the weeks to come we'll publish full launch reviews on the wider ranges. In this case, however, we've tested the range-topping Liberty GT Premium, which replaces the superseded GT Spec B.

With a starting price of $52,990 the new flagship of the Liberty range is $4500 less than its predecessor -- despite having more power, more performance and more equipment.

The engine capacity is the same as before -- turbocharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder -- but power and torque are up, from 184kW to 195kW and 339Nm to 350Nm. Significantly, the peak torque is available across a much broad rev range, from 2400rpm to a high 5200rpm. This makes the new Liberty GT much more driveable which we'll get to that shortly.

The extra power comes courtesy of the significant changes to the turbocharger and the intercooler. The turbocharger has a larger compressor (or turbine) and the unit itself has been mounted closer to the exhaust port. This has the net result of boosting power sooner in the rev range. And a 25 per cent larger intercooler improves overall efficiency.

The choice of transmissions is the same as before: five-speed automatic with sports shift or a six-speed manual. We drove the manual version, as it's most likely to appeal to enthusiasts.

The power delivery is much smoother than before, but you can also feel the car's new levels of eagerness. Throttle response is impressive and it takes a while to tame your right foot.

Despite the new Liberty's bigger body putting on weight (at 1564kg it is 19kg heavier than its predecessor) fuel consumption has dropped from 10.9L/100km to 9.7L/100km.

The Liberty cabin is a pleasant place to be. There's more room for back seat passengers, because there is now more distance between the front and rear wheels. The body structure is bigger and safer (earning high 34.8 out of 37 five-star score from independent crash test authority Australian NCAP) and a driver's knee airbag brings the airbag tally to seven, standard across all Liberty models.

The Liberty has certainly matured over the years; this one feels like it's gone to finishing school. The cabin layout and controls are clear, simple and stylish.

It makes sense when you consider that this top end model in the Liberty range is designed to compete with the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class. Of course, at this price, you get a fairly breathless four-cylinder engine from the German marques whereas in the Subaru you get absolute power.

The Liberty GT Premium is a nice drive and the grip is superb. The trade-off for that grip, however, is the slightly noisy tyres, depending on the surface.

The other minor foible (also mentioned in our Outback review) is that the electric park brake button needs better illumination. It's hard to find at night.

Apart from that there's a lot to like about the new Liberty GT.

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