Subaru Liberty 6GEN (2014-2026)

Excellent engine, best cvt of the lot, comfortable for long journeys. Excellent value. Show details

Head unit failed – Car was bought new in 2015 and no problems until recently when my starlink unit failed. Subaru Australia offered no help saying it was not a known problem but suggest the dealer performs a reboot at a cost of $160. No guarantee it will work and no other offer. Show details ·  5

Closest thing to Flying – I drive this beauty to do my job, she’s a smooth, fast, powerful, comfortable, mod cons filled, roomy car . Runs efficiently, is reliable and is an utter pleasure to drive. Show details ·  1

Can’t fault it, great car. Great safety features. Does not lack power. Smooth drive and good visibility – Driving every day to and from work, using highway and freeways normally. Not bad economy. Servicing, average once a year or 12500kms. No issues as yet. For the price there’s good features. Show details ·  1

Great family car – Great car and value for money with so many features. The all wheel drive adds to the safety of the car and it has enough room to fit a family of five comfortably without compromising on the power. The semi automatic with paddle gears lets you have some fun with the 3.6 engine especially in sports mode. You really do not need any more power than this in the city or for cruising on highways Show details ·  1

Satisfied – After 4 years and 64,000 klms, I am still happy with my Liberty. The fuel economy is even getting better with the more klms I do. Open hwy regularly getting 6.3- 6.8 ltrs per 100 klms. My "only dislike" is the cheap clunk when closing the boot. So if that is the worst thing, yes, I am happy. Currently looking for replacing my Dunlop Max 050 tyres. Any recommendations? Show details ·  1

CVT Issues – 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. Show details

I love my Liberty – 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. Show details

Not entirely convinced – 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… Read more

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!

Great car. Really quite impressed – 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… Read more

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.

Pleasure to drive – 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… Read more

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 !

What an admazing car – Enough power to push you back in your seat and to make passing a snip. I really hate CVT thought Subaru would have been better going for dual clutch but heard the new tune is good, took for a test drive and was impressed and brought it. On b roads and highways I'm getting mid 8's l/100kms very nice for 3.6, flat 6 one of the few truly balaned… Read more

engines so super smooth 1700rpm at 105 km. All this nice stuff aside (apart from the loud tyres) eyesight is f$@ken awsome for motorway driving, could save your skin one day also makes driving more relaxed.

Pitty the high beams are not LED, also no DRL well no fancy LED ones anyways, small sunroof from 1990's. Very happy with the car.

Impressive reliable and functional – 2014 model, safe all wheel drive great in the wet weather, timeless look, powerful yet doesn't guzzle fuel 95/98 petrol, comfortable seats yet sporty looking and dont feel every bump on the road. easy seats 5 people, all the extra safety features makes it a car that will stay in our family for years having just passed it down to my son.  Show details

Safe, solid and Subaru – Our 5th Subaru so we have a bias but whenever we try other brands we end up back with a Suby. This is the safest and most electronically advanced Subaru yet sold in Australia. Same engine and same suspension setup as always but loaded with hi-tech safety features like autonomous braking, lane departure warnings, very intelligent cruise control all… Read more

controlled by Subaru's proprietary Eyesight system. All Liberties and Outbacks share the same engines and internal setup with $10k worth of mods to the Outback's ride height and body kit making it a great package but $5K too expensive. A safe, solid car, the 2.5i version with the best CVT in the business is still about 30KW under powered. The 3.6 litre engine is great but at $50K far too expensive for the extra power. The 2.5 Liberty or Outback (now with a diesel option!) is pretty good value in a crowded market place, it's incredibly reliable, long lasting and it runs on standard fuel but is still set back a little by: hard, noisy Dunlop 18" low profile tyres, lack of fixed price servicing, underwhelming SatNav/iPhone integration and annoying warning notifications designed by lawyers and insurance companies. The dashboard layout lacks the elegance and logic of the better European makes and the sedan misses out on a rear wiper on the rear window. Still worth buying though, especially as a demo or a year old model.

I've already lost my licence since owning this car – I've pretty much owned Subaru's for the past twenty years (except for two other vehicles). Since learning to drive in a 1992 Liberty I have fallen in the love with Subaru's and have driven more different models then I can be bothered counting. From foresters, impreza's and now my 2016 Liberty I have seen it all. Broken headgaskets, leaking CV… Read more

joints and drive shafts and destroyed suspensions. I've seen more obtuse mechanics then i can shake a stick at.

Normally I would have considered buying a second hand Liberty but on viewing the vehicles on sale at my local dealer I was amazed at the offering. Since the free trade agreement with Japan the cost of new Japanese vehicles has plummented. Not only that but the base models are now loaded with the sorts of extra's that the mid & top range vehicles come with.

From reversing camera's, the eye drive system (more on that), big wheels, mags, and leather inserts the car comes more loaded then an american in Los Vegas.

So the good.

- the eye drive system is fricken amazing. Once activated and locked onto the vehicle in front the car will automatically accelerate and brake to keep you within a defined distance of the vehicle. This has taken a huge amount of effort and stress I used to feel when driving. Its something you don't realise until you experience the absences of having to constantly accelerate and brake but once you've got this system and you go back to driving an older vehicle you'll realise how much of a difference there is.

I suffer from a sleep disorder (related to stress ) that I am very aware of and can manage it (with legal and medical support) but since getting this system I've found myself far less susceptible to it. Its a great layer of insurance.

- even when the eye drive system isn't activated the vehicle will intercede and automatically brake for you in the event it thinks you won't be able to do this. I've had it intercede twice, both times I saw the offending vehicle and was more then able to stop myself however it was interesting to see the system in effect. It braking ability is far more adept then my own.

- The suspension and ride is stunning. I love it. Not too soft (unlike older luxury Subaru's) but not too ridge. Its just so well balanced.

- Grip. This vehicle has more grip then a 2 year old holding a chuppa chomp. By god I have tried to spin my vehicle out (in safe, empty spaces), in the rain even, and it is just so firm and planted. I used to own a Honda Jazz and Nissan Silvia and although I loved the front and rear wheel drive system of those cars they were susceptible in the wet to sliding. Not my Liberty. I have a family now and I know that this car, especially during the wet and icy conditions that I drive in will work in spades.

- Cabin, seats and stereo. The cabin is luxury. Its the best looking cabin ever for a base model subaru. The seats a grippy and comfortable, the cabin colours and material are the best yet in a base Subaru and in fact beat the luxury models of previous vehicles like the 2008 RS Impreza. I would strong recommend the fabric shield the dealer offers. The rear seats are fricken amazing. I spend a bit of time in the rear and as a tall person I am able to stretch out. I have a gammy leg (war injury). The rear space is huge, voluminous and comfortable. The centre arm rest and cup holders are also classy and well done as is the rear AC vents.

- Finally a Bluetooth system in a base model. I cannot tell you how frustrating its been using AUX for the last 10 years. That said you will have trouble with Windows Phone and the Bluetooth stack that Subaru use. The Lumia 950 works but the 950 XL doesn't (go figure).

The stereo and radio are very good, although not a digital radio system (that's in the mid-range) i'm not particular fussed. If it want digital radio i can use my phone and tune in there. I like the phone integration and the quality of calls. The sound quality is really good. It comes with a great centre speaker, and the controls are great, with the ability to balance the music and voice outputs anywhere across the cabin.

- dual zone airconditioner is powerful, fast and good.

- Cupholders are everywhere (thank god).

- CVT and the engine. This gave me pause because of the horror stories that I've read about CVT transmissions however after several test drives I was very impressed with the advances. No longer does the system sound like a never ending drone. The engine has distinct gears and sounds great.

It has loads of torque which has fixed a big issue with Subaru's 2 and 2.5 litre engines which I found in early models to be under powered.

Its fast. Even in the NA. Beware, take your eye off the dial and you can easily be doin 90 kph.

Summary:

I love this car. It looks great and performs far better then expected. Its fast, with useful automation that aren't gimicky but actually improve the driving experience. The capped service schedule pricing is great as is the RRP which is increadibly sharp considering its AWD, fast and well equiped.

I would buy this car again and again and again.

Prefered my 2002 Subaru Manual Liberty – We love this car, it has a nice drive.. some issues I've found include clock is very small and the car is quite big which makes manouvering into small spaces difficult. Disappointed that parking sensor was an addition and only works for the rear. I wish it was still made in manual.  Show details

Excellent Car. Happy to be back in a Japanese vehicle! – Switched from a 3 year old VW which had been a reliability nightmare. The Liberty lacks the refinement of the (admittedly much more expensive) Passat however is a much better car overall. AWD feels like it's glued to the road. The 2.5L engine is a little slow off the line but performs well in the mid-rev range when the CVT gets to work. CVT takes… Read more

getting used to but it is better than the DSG. Fuel economy isn't great around town, but that's fairly common with most Subarus. Cabin is comfortable. Go for the ivory seats if you don't have kids to wreck them. Has been generally reliable. A battery required replacement very early on after it died (car left for 10 days) and wouldn't take charge again. It was frustrating to jump it, have it die, jump it again, take it to the dealer who said it was fine, have it die again (at 6pm in the rain at Bunnings)... but it was eventually replaced with a new battery and has been fine so far.

This is our second Subaru and won't be the last, however they really need to improve customer service at the dealers (and at head office) and extend the service schedule to 12 months.

Good car.. Great road grip – Good value for money. You get almost everything that a European car offers but at an affordable price and with reliable Japanese engineering. The all wheel drive by Subaru is great and the new look is very good. It is bit more efficient than the Toyota aurion I had before this car. The only thing I am not very impressed by is the CVT engine. It… Read more

is ok but not great though it's very smooth.

I will however definitely recommend this car. I am also a Subaru fan now :)

Good Value for Money – 2.5i sedan has good fuel economy around town and on the freeway. Good balance between exterior size and interior space. Well finished inside and out. Feels solid. Handles well. Boot capacity only slightly smaller than Commodore sedan but much easier to park with its lighter steering. Would have liked daytime driving lights to come on… Read more

automatically. Digital clock display is small and hard to read. Could be bigger and better placed closer to driving position say on info screen. Need to take eyes off road for too long to find it and read the time. Dual zone climate control good. Very good safety features with eyesight and lane departure warming beeps. Seats comfortable but would have liked electric seat adjustment plus tilt front up or down as per Commodore. USB outlet hard to get at particularly on the dark.

A great car – Very comfortable, power to burn and surprisingly very good fuel economy(6.5ltr 100km) on the open road and averaging 8.4ltr 100km overall. Eyesight safety system is fantastic and has already saved us from an accident. Good boot size and rear legroom but rear head height is a bit tight. Rear suspension was a little spongy but this problem was fixed… Read more ·  1

by Subaru pronto and at no cost. All wheel drive gives great confidence and predictability on twisty roads. It produces a bit of road noise at higher speeds but is not unbearable and is probably related to the tyre type.

Luxury and good on fuel – Very cumfy and smooth drive.large interior and trank.very good on fuel efficiency.but the annoying thing about its rattle noise and can't fold rear seat which is really upsetting...other then great car..  Show details