Subaru Liberty

I've had my beast for 9 years and its still going strong. It has been regularly serviced and the interior is as good as it was the day it came home,and that's with dogs regularly on board. I can confidently drive on the open road, its fast acceleration keeps me out of trouble when overtaking on hills and cruise control makes open road driving a breeze. The rear seats fold down to take extra long loads when required. It's just done a weekend in the bush, give adults and two dogs, all rode comfortably. Highly recommend the Subaru Liberty to anyone for any purpose.

My 2015 Liberty's CVT gearbox has shuddering, slipping and is jerky as reported by other owners. The torque converter fails to lock up most of the time leaving me with no power. Likely a problem with the torque converter itself or solenoids (many similar problems in American Legacys). Local Subaru service department gave me the runaround for years. Traded the car for something more reliable. Very disappointed.

I love my Liberty. Stylish and sophisticated with more safety features than you can poke a stick at. It drives and handles beautifully, particularly In wet condition. It is zippy enough for me to buzz around the city, and big enough to comfortably accomodate the whole family. The boot is quite big. Great for all of the shopping or kids stuff. Fuel economy is quite reasonable too.

Transmission has a 2 second delay when engaging from reverse to drive. This is how it works from new. In my view this a serious defect and could be dangerous as i didnt know about it and almost hit a car when it rolled back at the shops.

I purchased the Liberty Premium last year as a brand new car.
Probably the two biggest Achilles heels for this car are the CVT and suspension; both of which are doughy and slow to respond.
The CVT takes getting used to and even in conjunction with the beautiful 6 cylinder engine (which could use just a bit more “poke”) it still suffers from the dreaded “rubber-band effect” of taking its time to spool up and react to the engine revs and demand for action (5/10). As a result, the otherwise fantastic EyeSight system (9/10) in conjunction with adaptive cruise control suffers when maintaining a relatively constant speed without limiting factors - such as slow vehicles in front. If you come to a hill for instance, with cruise set @ 100, you find it dropping as low as 90 before the transmission finally catches up to the extra engine revs to bring the speed up again. Not a deal-breaker but annoying. Sport and Sport# modes help a little, but there’s no getting around the inherent CVT way of doing things...
Suspension is also very ordinary in this car and clearly not tuned for Australian roads (4/10). So soft is it in fact, I’ve discovered the bump stops more times than I care to remember on Victorian back country roads. As I use the car to travel all over Victoria for work and travel an average of 60,000km a year, this has become a real letdown for this car.
Then there’s the front seats. The seat base is way too short for me (I’m 6’3”) and wasn’t apparent at the time of test drive but after 55,000km from new I still for the life of me not get comfortable in the drivers seat. The lack of leg support is painful on a long drive. I was far more comfier in my 2015 Lancer XLS than I can get in the Subaru.
The infotainment system is functional (6/10) but the inbuilt TomTom navigation system is pretty ordinary in both its accuracy and functionality. As for the stereo, the Harmon Kardon sound system is a letdown for the premium price tag; especially the 8 inch subwoofer that has an extremely narrow frequency band that causes some to be overbearing whilst others inaudible. Very little ability to finely tune the system doesn’t help here. As an audiophile, I am definitely disappointed with the overall sound system performance.
On a good note: the EyeSight system is extremely well designed, very trustworthy and never intrusive. The car is definitely a cruiser (as was its intended purpose when I purchased it) but the above mentioned CVT, suspension & seats let it down.
Interior is nice otherwise with a roomy back seat and little comforts like USB charging ports in the back and so on.
Servicing - even at the “capped” pricing - is on the higher end of the scale. This will be an expensive car to own in the 3 years and 180,000km I’ll likely put on it. I’m worried about the 100,000km CVT oil change as I believe this is prohibitively expensive. CVT reliability will also be a consideration.
Also, make sure you tick the box on your insurance for windscreen replacement. One chipped and cracked windscreen after 8 months of ownership was a cool $2,600 to replace - buyer beware!

I use my car for daily travel to and from work, on a freeway as well as local running to and from school.
I love the handling of the car, which was one of the main reasons I chose a Subaru in the first instance, especially in the wet, i felt extremely safe in the car. The size of the car is great for a family (we have 2 children and initially had car seats in the car when i first purchased). Boot size is also great for shopping.
Features are all great, parking is a breeze with the rear camera and guiding lines, and bluetooth is extremely clear when talking with people on the phone.
Cruise control is awesome for freeway driving, allowing you to stay a set distance from the car in front. My only concern is the auto breaking when going a round a roundabout, as it can sometimes sense you too close the the outgoing car on the roundabout and break for you - it has never been dangerous, but just a word of warning as the first time this happens it can freak you out a bit.

2008 subaru liberty has plenty of power leather seats sunroof luxury edition popular car very smooth on roads steering wheel is smooth as well I clean my cars one a week always protected with wax the liberty's will not let you down

I have now owned my 2018 Liberty 2.5i for 12 months and I’m extremely happy with the purchase. The car is fantastic and is a pleasure to drive.

I bought mine new from a dealer, after being given one to drive as a loan car for a few days. My previous vehicle was a WRX, so the Liberty was a very different car to drive altogether. For my circumstances, it is a far more comfortable and practical daily commuter, as well as being an awesome family car.

The Liberty handles beautifully. I travel about 70kms a day, some of that on quite poor road surfaces, and the car is great. You don’t feel like you are being bounced around constantly as the suspension does a good job at soaking up the bumps. It’s a very comfortable ride for both driver and passengers.

In terms of the engine size, mine is a 2.5i (2.5 Litre). I find it’s great for everyday driving. The CVT does a great job and the car accelerates well and is smooth. There is an intelligent mode and sports mode that you can select for driving. The sports mode does add a bit more pep to the driving experience and is good when you need a bit more performance, especially if you are passing someone on the highway etc. The intelligent mode is fine for most daily driving though.

When it comes to fuel economy, I am actually quite pleased. This is a mid to large family sedan and I get 7.9 L / 100km. I drive roughly 70km Mon-Fri in peak hour periods and I’m often sitting in heavy traffic. When I compare this with previous vehicles I have owned and taken on the same daily commute, this is by far the best fuel economy I have had. It is certainly costing me less in petrol and runs on 91 Unleaded.

I have the standard Liberty and didn’t opt for the premium package that has leather seats and sunroof. Mine has fabric seats, which are very comfortable. The drivers seat in the standard model doesn’t have the electronic adjustment that the premium model has, but it’s not a concern for me.

The interior of the vehicle is nice and neat. In the standard model you have a chrome type trim on the interior doors and the glove box. The car has cup holders in centre console and in the rear, and the lighting on the interior is good too, including the puddle lamps that are in the front doors.

My car has apple carplay which is great, as it doesn’t have a built in GPS. I use CarPlay when I need to use GPS. The car has a 6 speaker system in it and it’s absolutely fine. It also has Bluetooth tech.

The boot space in the car is great, and you can always push the back seats down (60/40 split fold seats) if you need extra space.

As for servicing, I got a capped price service deal for three years and the 6 month (12,500km) and 12 month (25,000km) services are around the $300 mark each. The 50,000km service will be just under $550 according to their service schedule on website.

So far I have not experienced any servicing/maintenance issues with the car. Everything has run like clockwork and the servicing centre I take it to has been very professional and efficient. I have owned Subaru’s before as well as other makes, and the servicing costs would be in line with those, certainly not higher.

For anyone looking for a great family car or daily drive, I would highly recommend this car. Great handling sedan with AWD, lots of room, good on fuel and really comfy to drive. I love my Liberty and hope to have it for a long time to come.

This has been a great vehicle overall. It's comfortable and reliable and very easy to drive. The features are plentiful and I've never had a problem with it. 6 month servicing is annoying and the fuel economy isn't great around town. I'd definatley recommend a Subaru however. The AWD system is excellent and the car feels like it's glued to the road

I was given this car after having to leave my Mercedes with my ex.

Best thing ever, sticks to the road, entertaining to drive (love Awd now), and surprisingly quick (mid range) also good on fuel.

I should be replacing her, but why, she never misses a beat

Oh the tiny battery has been an issue (once) but hey small issue in a great car

My Wife said to buy any car as long it was a manual as she didn't like automatics.
The only standard family type car I could find at the time was the 2010 Liberty wagon.
A manual in other makes would have been a sports/performance, diesel or smaller car which was not an option
I would never buy the first series car of a new model but I had no choice as I needed to accommodate 3 baby seats in the rear due to baby number 3 on the way.
The liberty is my first new car and has been very reliable and cost effective to service. Being a Mechanic I service it myself.
Purchased new and has been fault free apart from 4 factory recalls. Only recall that required attention was wiper motor park/stop position that was attended to and front passenger air bag replacement which will need to be replaced again as the new replacement is only temporary.
The latest recall as from October 2018 is to do with the electric park brake. I think the circuit board in the module has a fault causing park brake not to engage or disengage but I've had no issues. Just waiting on recall letter from Subaru.
Recalls for steering wheel, 3rd gear issues in manual gearbox and ABS pump did not affect my build.
My Subaru Wagon is used daily with a lot of short start/stop trips. School drop offs, swimming and dance lessons,shopping, etc. Since owning this car I replaced the original Yokohama tyres after 8 years and 65000 kms only due to tyres getting old. I still had 4mm of tread depth left on tyres.
I've only done regular oil and oil filter changes usually every 9 to 12 months due to low kms travelled. Replaced the air filter and cabin filter once. It has the original brake pads not showing much wear and clutch has plenty of life left in it.
Still has original spark plugs and fuel consumption average is between 8.5 and 9.2 litres per 100 kms city driving.
Being the first series of a new model I have been presently surprised with it's reliability. My Wife drives the car the majority of the time and is most happy with it.
Unfortunately the Liberty wagon is no longer produced and the manual transmission has been dropped apart from 3 model line ups which doesn't suit us should we have to buy another Subaru. So we'll be keeping this Liberty for a long time to come.

I was lucky enough to come across a 1-owner, always garaged 1991 Subaru Liberty Heritage (the top of the range) with only 57,000 km on the clock, in perfect mechanical condition.

The car is a delight to drive, with leather seats, power steering, cruise control, a sunroof, a good stereo system, a roomy boot and all the bells and whistles of its era. (Unfortunately, that didn't include airbags in those days - but apparently they can kill you, too!) The exterior is close to perfect, with only a few very minor defects in the paintwork (certainly no evidence of any serious prangs). The car has permanent 4-wheel drive (not just AWD) which allows for excellent road-holding in all conditions. It has the highly regarded "boxer" engine, which gives the car a low centre of gravity and operates with minimum vibration.

It doesn't have GPS, parking sensors/cameras or accident-avoidance technology. I have to know where I'm going, park the old-fashioned way and avoid accidents by... avoiding accidents. Yes, I know, very 20th century. I think I can cope.

My wife and I are really enjoying this car and looking forward to getting many years of use out of it.

The Good:-
I have owned my 2010 year Liberty GT from new.. I have been very happy with all aspects of the car , it runs perfectly well, it has excellent road grip in all weather conditions and feels safe and comfortable.

The Bad:-
Definitely no "bad" with the Liberty, the problem is with the Service Department at the main dealership,
I had a minor oil leak from a seal in the mid drive box, the mechanic said "don't worry mate that will be OK"
Then I had the clutch plates replaced at 65,000Ks, which is a straight forward job, the dealership gave me a long list of other problems that needed attending to so a clutch replacement cost of approximately $1,200 suddenly jumped to $3,700.!!
I took the car to a small local garage who specialists in Subaru and Jaguar, they said the clutch plates need replacing ($985) and there were no other problems. I have now covered 110,000 Ks problem free.

Good Advice:-
ALWAYS get a second quote...the problem with main dealerships is they have very large overheads to pay for, do not be seduced by the fancy service waiting room with TV, coffee and biscuits. Find a local specialist who has a passion for a particular make of car.

I love Subaru’s & when I was looking for one I was looking for the WRX at the time. While searching I found these awesome rides. Kind of like the luxury version of one I chose it due to having all leather interior (STi stitched), momo steering wheel, sunroof, climate control plus it was the STi model & looked sexy as. So I chose this 6 speed weapon & I am overall very happy with it. It had great legroom for me, a nice sounding turbo, great suspension package & awesome rims. The sound system is amazing for a stock one too! The only thing is I wished it had a slightly more throaty exhaust but apart from that (which can be modified) is overall a really good car :D

i brought this car used, and this is my 9 th car in 9 years. and i ll have to admit that i found my match.
its a beautiful looking car with great driving. i have the Sports Premium model and its looks great inside and out.
interior is just perfect and every switch is exactly where is should be, EXCEPT Eparking brake switch, for some reason the decided to put it on the right hand side of the steering near boot release button and i accidentally press it some times.
apart from that it has been a perfect car and haven't had a single issue. ride is nice and smooth and that boxer engine had some power in it. probably on the fastest 4 cylinder NA car in the market. one of my friends loved my car so much that he brought the same car in blue color.

Good car and easy to drive, really cheap on fuel. Subarus are good cars because they are all wheel drive. I feel safe when I'm driving in the car and it's a reliable car to get you where you need to go, not much to fault on this car very happy

I have had this car for 6 months and it has been nothing but a pleasure to drive. I have not had a single issue with the car, except that i drive more enthusiastically which uses more petrol! the spec-b suspension is unbelievable. Interior looks modern and up to date even though it is 10 years old design. The mcintosh sound system is OK, i installed a parrot bluetooth to add bluetooth experience.

This is my first car and I love it. As the vehicle is AWD, it creates a smooth and controlled driving experience, in addition to that, the cruise control function makes driving so much easier. The interior and cosmetics of the car has a modern feel despite being a MY05 model. Unfortunately there is no bluetooth or AUX audio function, however with two cigarette lighter ports, it allows me to use a FM tuner to play music through my mobile device. It's current running cost is $55-$65 a full tank which usually lasts 1.5 weeks with day to day commutes. I've owned this car for over a month now and have had no problems.

We didn't know what car we wanted to replace our Ford Escape? Subaru had a pretty good deal on a car I hadn't considered. The test drive and sales man was rather good and we decided on the suburu liberty. This was exciting but we never imagined how awesome it would be until it was ours and we got to drive it permanently. It's smooth, quiet and powerful enough to be zip yet a rather decent sized car. We are a family of 5! Very spacious for what appears to be a small car. AWD once you've had if I don't think you'd ever want to go back, very happy customer !

Brilliant wagon. Not luxury but everything you need, comfortable, accessible, well designed, roomy, easy to service etc. The Liberty is a simple to maintain point and shoot wagon that does what a vehicle that it is should do. I use it for everything from everday travel to going camping and skiing and it's never failed me.