Family sedan comparison review: Subaru Liberty 2.5i Premium

Wheels pitches 10 of the biggest sellers in the medium-to-large car segment to see which is the best of the current crop. Here’s number 9, the Subaru Liberty.

Can’t wait to see the final score? Jump to the verdict now.

CHOOSING a new Subaru used to mark the happy coincidence of logic and lust, and that was before you even reached Subaru WRX territory. Near to offering the complete package, Libertys of old delivered personality with reliability and safety, intertwined with sportiness and a penchant for slippery surfaces (thanks to full-time AWD).

In a homogenised age in which characterful all-rounders are rare, these qualities might have seen a modern-day Liberty prevail, just as they helped earlier generations conquer COTY in 1994 and ’98. But while all-wheel drive and a flat-four engine continue in today’s Liberty, the boxer’s off-beat charm has vanished, and the symmetrical all-paw chassis’ talent is buried.

However, you have to pare back the layers to unearth that chassis talent in the 2016 Liberty 2.5i Premium. The worst offender is gluggy steering that, until you press on, removes any sense of front-end eagerness. Which, with the horizontally opposed engine’s modest weight sitting low in the chassis, does actually exist.

While the Europeans have mastered effortless, flexible, efficient and swift low-capacity turbo fours for every occasion – take the Volkswagen Passat’s sterling 1.8 as a prime example – the Liberty still suffers from a typically Japanese lack of engine diversity, or of one standout powertrain. The 129kW 2.5 is a modest performer, yet it only delivers average economy (10.0L/100km on test). The punchy 3.6-litre flat-six alternative, meanwhile, loves a drink.

Whether you’re working the boxer manually or leaving the CVT to its own mapping, though, there’s no escaping the Subaru’s relative gutlessness, along with its numb steering, as a buzz-killing double-act.

Then there’s the ride, which, while innocent enough on smooth-ish urban surfaces, proves noisy and jiggly on any average coarse-chip country road. It’s enough to irritate over time, and to take the shine off the touring experience, once a Liberty strong suit.

The $36K 2.5i Premium, the least-expensive car here, splits the $30K Liberty 2.5i and the $42K 3.6R, and gets a dose of desirable kit over the already well-specced base car (see breakout). But despite its undeniably strong value equation, a core lack of spirit, unexciting wrapping and a lack of ride polish seals second-last place for Subaru’s former star.

Liberty with egality

Even the entry-level Liberty 2.5i offers compelling value, with dual-zone climate control, automatic headlights and wipers, a reversing camera, 18-inch alloys, seven airbags, no-cost metallic paint and Subaru’s Eyesight active safety suite, which includes AEB, lane-departure warning and adaptive cruise. To this the Premium adds a smart key and start button, leather trim, heated power-adjustable front seats with memory for the driver, an upgraded infotainment system with sat-nav, electric sunroof, high-beam assist, blind-spot monitoring, lane-change assist and rear cross-traffic alert systems.

Want to compare the field? Check out all the Family sedan finalists.