Aussie Legacy 2.5i Review

[EJ20H-TT]

Model tested: Liberty 2.5i RRP: $34,990 Price as tested: $34,990 Road tester: Mike Sinclair Date tested: 12 - 19 December, 2003 Distance covered: 651km BOTTOM LINE The value and performance pick of the Liberty bunch If you're after a quick answer, go no further than this first paragraph... The 2.5i in five-speed manual form is our pick of Subaru's all-new crop of Libertys and, all things considered, very possibly the best value for money car Yours Truly drove in 2003. December was Liberty month on my side of the CarPoint garage and delivered time behind the wheel of four of the most popular models in both sedan and wagon form. It was, however, the 2.5i that stood apart from the all-paw boxer-engined crowd. Yes, we liked the frugal, fuss-free nature of the auto 2.0i, and the high-rpm urge and on-throttle adjustability of the turbo GT, but it was the 2.5i sedan that got the overall thumbs up. Unashamedly, a large part of the equation is price. At $34,990, the manual 2.5i is very keenly priced (just $1500 more than the auto 2.0i) and lacks for little. The old Liberty was no clunker but under the handsome new generation car's skin is a stiffer, quieter and more roomy car that delivers serious levels of refinement and equipment. Even the base car gets air, electric windows and remote locking, CD sounds system and cruise control. Step up to the 2.5i and climate control, more speakers, 17-inch alloys, leather wheel and highlights are all added to the mix. Fit and finish are excellent. Safety has been taken seriously with standard twin airbags and belt pretensioners for front seat occupants as well as ABS and overall the driver, passenger and company lack for little. A shade over 120kW falls short of, say, Honda's Accord Euro, but the nature of the power delivery of Subaru's 2.5-litre, horizontally-opposed fuel-injected four goes a long way to smooth any performance-ruffled feathers. Coupled with a sweet shifting five-speed box, the 2.5 litre powerplant never seems to be caught short. There's plenty of go from idle; an engaging midrange and a free spinning, gruff (though not too vocal) top-end that saw me bumping the rev-limiter in the lower gears until fully dialled in. After a couple of hundred kilometres, however, my aural tune-up was complete and the 2.5i was part of the family. Number one daughter liked the BMW-esque looks. My significant other was enamoured with the easy-to-drive nature of the car and abovementioned equipment levels, and the lads (16 and 7) reckoned there was just enough WRC (World Rally championship) cred about the whole package to hold their heads high. At a pinch they could at least pretend they were in the GT! It's not all roses. One question mark we have across the Liberty fleet is the capacity of the air-conditioning systems. In Melbourne's hottest December for many years, the 2.0i's standard (fully manual) air struggled to cope with 36 degree-plus temperatures, and even the climate-controlled GT and 2.5i did not fare all that much better. It's something we've noted to check out when we get hold of the car's Outback stablemate in a month or two. Perhaps the best praise of Subaru's much vaunted Symmetrical 4WD drivetrain is that it is totally unobtrusive in the new Liberty. It just gets on with the job. We particularly like the sharper turn-in of the latest Libertys. It's very eager to perform in the twisties but it really takes a concerted effort to upset the new car, such are the levels of grip and overall balance. Top marks. Indeed, the on-road habits of the new 2.5i should satisfy the urges of all but the sportiest boy racers. Overall, it's perhaps not tied down quite as well as the GT but there's very little (and a cheque for the better part of 20 grand) in it...