Comments on: 2008 Subaru Liberty and Outback

By: Kruise

Kruise — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 13:14:48 +0000

To all you fools who complained about the Liberty not changing it’s look for years, I hope you’re happy about the driving disaster that Subaru have turned the Liberty into now. 2008 was the last of the good shaped Liberty’s and fun to drive with the STi package, but now the Liberty is one UG-A-LEE beast. Yuuuuuuck!!!!!

By: aza

aza — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 02:49:17 +0000

The Liberty uses unleaded petrol whereas mazda 6 and accord euro use premium unleaded. So fuel costs are the same or cheaper than the competition.

By: Blitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 11:55:06 +0000

Yeah another toyota,don’t forget your cardigan.

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:49:21 +0000

Frank, thats interesting because the MY08 Outback, in all models comes with audio controls on the steering wheel. Which leads me to think you don’t actually have a MY08 model. The 2.5L engine is also as powerful as any other 2.5L NA engine available, so the gutless comment seems a little odd. Subaru do offer the 3L engine which is as powerful as the GT with just a little less low down torque. And the interior plastics? No way are they cheap feeling in the Outback and Liberty. There are all soft touch, which is probably why if you really dig your elbow into the door trim you get a dimple, soft plastics are good because they better absorb interior noise, and they don’t feel like they are made from melted down lego.

I’d feel sorry for your experiences, if I didn’t get that slight wiff of bullsh!t from your story. Check if you actually have the MY08 model, because what you’re saying doesn’t indicate that.

By: Frank

Frank — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:31:49 +0000

After owning a 98 Toyota Camry for 7 years I decided to upgrade to a MY08 Outback Premium 2.5i auto and I have had the car for a couple of months now. Being a first time Subaru owner, I am still getting to know the car but I definitely have discovered a few points that, in my opinion, Subaru have obviously overlooked and/or deliberately under-engineered. I am happy with the styling, maybe aging according to some, but the vehicle looks smart, each to their own I suppose.

I might be fussy and don\’t expect near perfection, but apart from the car having many positive points, it definitely does have some obvious negative points.

As follows:
• Glove box light comes on only when you have the keys in the ignition and the headlights turned on (how ridiculous).
• Storage areas in the console are way too small (can hardly fit anything in them), to get any lighting over the front seating area.
• You have to turn on the map lights otherwise it is too dark.
• Interior plastics feel cheap, scratch easily and dimples develop from resting your elbows on the top of the door trim and arm rests,.
• Interior floor carpet is an embarrassment to a car that is in the high 30s, low 40s second hand price range. It is 100% polypropylene, cheap as chips (my 30 year old Falcon has a better quality original carpet in it.
• Being a premium model it has no audio controls on the steering wheel, no option available to get ivory leather or the turbo engine which it desperately needs as the car is gutless on the open road if you are towing or have a full load and lastly, not enough front passenger leg room, don\’t talk about the rear. Like I said, apart from these negative points, I am happy with the car, just came back from a trip to the snow and the Outback handled well in snow conditions. I\’ve heard people stick to Subaru\’s but I think the car is not up to that standard that would attract me again. I think I\’ll be looking towards Toyota territory in a few years towards the end of the Subaru\’s warranty…..

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:14:47 +0000

Love all the comments guys and I’m looking to buy a new car around Xmas, but the things that matter to me are safety, reliability, running costs, practability, resale value, price and a good test drive, and if the vehicle looks not half bad then I will purchase it. I find Subaru’s have alot of good points for the price but I have still got more home work to do. Have a great day guys.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 04:18:00 +0000

Roberto, FYI I eat dinner when I get hungry – on some days it’s at 5:30 while on others it could be 8, 9, 10 or later. I also try not to eat the same type of meat in the same day (e.g. chicken for lunch means i have something different for dinner). I also enjoy walks on the beach, rock climbing and WHAT THE HELL HAS THIS GOT TO DO WITH THE PRICE OF FISH IN CHINA?! If you want to know the diff between the MY07 and MY08 models I suggest you visit:

http://www.subaru.com.au/about-subaru/news/breaking-news/2007/08/13/liberty-and-outback-power-up-for-08/

Once you read up you’ll see that the difference is little more than between the BA & BF Falcon. However, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Styling isn’t everything. When it is, you end up buying cars because “look pretty”. That’s probably why people are actually forking out cash for the Daewoo… err, sorry, Holden Epica and the like.

Regarding the Porsche comment, I didn’t mean to imply that Subaru have anything in common with Porsche. I only mentioned it to illustrate that when it comes down to it, styling can be at the bottom of the priority list. Moreover, there are so many places that do custom body work that it should be easy to find one that would even make Carson happy.

Finally, while I’m here, I want to voice my disappointment with a number of Japanese car makers that supply the Aussie market. Why, oh why don’t we get the same creature-comfort options that are available in the USA, Europe or Japan? Subaru, are we not good enough for an auto-dimming mirror with homelink? Mazda, is it that hard to give us the option of SatNav? There are many more to complain about, but these two will do for now.

By: David

David — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 10:03:13 +0000

I know what people mean,yeah it is time for a change &
Subaru probably know it.It has become very middle class unimaginative.Remember the original Liberty?
Very different to many of the mainstream competiton at the time & proved to be durable.It was a bargain.
Hope the replacement is worthy of that reputation built.If not I will move on somewhere else or wait for them to come back to their senses.
Perhaps Subaru are sparing us a change such as the likes of XF TO EA TO EB TO ED to EL to AU Falcon etc(dont look to hard you might start seeing similarities) or the utterly ordinary VB to VC to VH to VL to VN (nastiest by far,close your eyes I thought I was in dad’s old EJ)to VP etc Commodore.
I have not forgotten what was served up by Nissan,Toyota(have yet to understand Avalon),Mitsubishi(Lemons belong on trees,have they got it right yet?) during the same era.
All had model changes but none were a real step forward.Just made for the masses.Subaru does the same thing just executes its designs better than the before mentioned.
Remember how some of these were promoted SO HARD Car of the year etc
That is what I meant by Boring compared too….
Have a look at.
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/01/10/detroit-auto-show-2008-subaru-legacy-and-outback/

By: ROBERTO

ROBERTO — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 05:23:07 +0000

Mark… do not compare the exotic brand called Porsche that has a different heritage with Subaru as you are comparing gold versus gold dust and not same level playing field.

As for your rest of the comments about big cars offering raised seating… HEAR HEAR AS IT IS SO DAM TRUE

By: ROBERTO

ROBERTO — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 05:19:39 +0000

Mark, are you one of those types who eats dinner at the same time, same menu and watches repeats of the same show???? Sure it is not too bad a design, but mate it is old hat, I reckon when I get to 70 and wear a tartan cap, I will put it on the rear shelf behind back seat in sedan and be proud that the design is still the same.

Mark, my challenge to you is to find the differences to the latest model versus the previous model????

Go to Japan and they do not overly have the same disco or restaurant as they upgrade and change for the better; fact of life it is survival of the fittest and if Subaru stand still and leave this design as is; other car makers will jump ahead in style, design and engineering and then this car will be yesterdays hero quick. When you do running when you were at High School, did you walk and if you did did you win????

Everything goes forward, not sideways or backwards like this dinosaur look of the Liberty or Outback!