2006 Subaru Liberty Wagon 2.0 Boxer from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Poor quality Japanese car

Faults:

Door & window rubber seals worn.

Engine & transmission is noisy, slow to respond, not smooth and knocking during acceleration.

Rear interior for a mid-size wagon is cramped compared to the Pulsar & Corolla.

Power window problem.

A/C is sometimes not cold.

Rear window / baggage door shocks are broken.

Rattles & squeaks.

General Comments:

The Subaru Liberty or Legacy in Japan & America is worse than other medium size cars from Toyota & other brands. Interior materials look cheap.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 22nd May, 2012

15th Feb 2013, 10:08

Unfortunately with the introduction of hard plastics, so many cars rattle and squeak now. One of my cars is an earlier Corolla and still has the padded vinyl; no rattles and squeaks despite it being over 12 years old, but the Honda and Hyundai from the late 2000s, well they have more squeaks and rattles.

Subarus interiors suffer from the AWD drivetrain, meaning because the car's frame has to incorporate a centre driveshaft and rear axle drive components, the interior space is sacrificed, especially in the rear. The only way to avoid this is to make the car bigger or higher off the ground; then you end up SUV syndrome. Handling wise the Subaru's suspension is much more sophisticated than any FWD counterpart with a torsion beam rear end, which most seem to have now (another thing my older Corolla has over the newer FWD cars).

The transmission issues you're having are definitely a problem and should definitely be looked at. Unfortunately automatics are more problematic due to their complex nature, and will usually end up costing an owner more in the long run, especially someone who's a second hand buyer.

2006 Subaru Liberty R 2.0 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

A well executed piece of high quality engineering

Faults:

Nothing so far...

General Comments:

Bought a 2.0 auto, not exactly a flying machine but this has the upgraded engine with the same power as the 2.5 and it does the job for family transport.

Dynamics are outstanding - handles really well and 4wd offers tremendous grip - especially in the wet.

Interior quality feels top notch compared to cars I have previously owned - everything works and works well.

Have only had to visit the dealer for routine servicing and I have to say other than the fact that they are always busy, the service offered is excellent and the price is very reasonable. However, it does need to be serviced 6 monthly or 12,500km which seems a lot to me these days.

The only real drawbacks are:

- The stereo - tinny cheap rubbish which looks very difficult to replace or upgrade.

- Interior space not great for a car of this size but that's the price you pay for accommodating 4wd system.

- I can't quite put my finger on why but visibility - especially over the shoulder is limited, this can make parking difficult.

- Fuel economy is ordinary - a little disappointing for a 2.0 but again, the price you pay for 4wd, automatic and lugging around a body that provides 5 star levels of safety.

Overall - highly recommended...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th July, 2008

11th Jan 2009, 03:55

My 2007 2.0R is the same in my opinion - lovely engineering and interior, great handling, but wish it had a better stereo and more power!! Maybe next time, but it was only $34k brand new drive away...

The speakers are worth upgrading in the front and maybe even rear doors to aftermarket ones, my local dealer (Docklands Melbourne) even recommends customers supplying their own sets for them to fit for an hour or so's labour! I've had my driver's side speaker replaced under warranty because it blew incidentally.

A colleague of mine has the Subaru under-seat sub woofer fitted in his MY08 Liberty 2.5 which makes a heck of a difference to the sound quality overall. Having tried a back to back test with the same CD's I can recommend getting it fitted for the $450 approx, if you don't want a huge sub box in the boot and aftermarket wires and amps etc etc...