2010 Subaru Liberty Exiga
November 2, 2009 by Alborz Fallah
Update: Subaru Liberty Exiga Review.
With the all-new Liberty and Outback out and about, the last variant of the all-wheel drive Japanese family car has arrived in Australia. The versatile six-seat Liberty Exiga wagon, better known as just the Subaru Exiga hits dealerships as of today.
The idea is to make the Liberty line-up as appealing as possible with the majority of buyers catered for. The Exiga is predominantly for the modern families. Showcasing that is a DVD entertainment system accessible to second and third-row passengers.
“It means we’ve now got Liberty Exiga for families needing the flexibility of a six-seat cabin, we’ve got five-seat normally aspirated and turbocharged Liberty wagons and for those with a more recreational focus, we’ve got the Outback range.” Nick Senior, Managing Director, Subaru Australia said.
The base model Liberty Exiga 2.5i is priced from $37,490* with the top of the range 2.5i Premium starting from $41,990*.
Using the same new Lineartronic Subaru transmission found in the Liberty range, the Exiga produces 123kW of power and 229Nm of torque from its four-cylinder 2.5-litre horizontally opposed boxer engine.
The combined fuel economy figure for the Exiga is 8.6 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres. Carbon dioxide emission is rated at 202 grams per kilometre.
The Exiga is 125mm higher than the current Subaru Liberty and offers 40mm more headroom. The Exiga is available in five colours; Satin white pearl, Spark silver metallic, Crystal black silica, Sapphire blue pearl and Camellia red pearl.
The new generation Liberty Exiga features:
- Liberty Exiga 2.5i – with Lineartronic CVT and DVD entertainment system
- Liberty Exiga 2.5i Premium – Adds leather trim, satellite navigation, reversing camera, Bluetooth compatibility, eight-way power driver and front passenger seats, and 17-inch alloy wheels
The Japanese brand expects to sell somewhere between 50 and 75 Liberty Exigas per month.
CarAdvice is currently attending the media launch of the new Exiga and Outback diesel, check back in 24 hours for our review.
Liberty Exiga model specifications at a glance:
Safety
- ABS anti-lock brakes with four-wheel discs and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD)
- Brake Assist
- Child seat anchor points
- Curtain airbags
- Dual front airbags
- Dual front side airbags
- Fog lights – front
- Front seatbelts with pretensioners and load limiters. Double pretensioners on driver’s seatbelt
- Rear door child lock
- Side intrusion bars
- Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive
- Vehicle Dynamics Control electronic stability program
Interior
- Climate control dual zone air conditioning
- Cargo area light
- Cup holders
- DVD entertainment system
- Height and reach adjustable steering column
- Height adjustable driver’s seat
- Immobiliser security system
- Lineartronic CVT transmission
- Map lights (2)
- Leather steering wheel with audio and cruise control buttons
- Multi-function trip computer
- Paddle shift gear change
- Power steering, mirrors and windows
- Rear illumination LED instrument display
- Rear seats recline function
- Remote central locking
- Remote fuel lid release
- Six-stacker in-dash CD player with six speakers (non SatNav models)
- Steering wheel audio controls
- Two remote central locking keys
- Vanity mirror
- 60/40 split/fold second row seat; 50/50 split/fold third row
Exterior
- 16-inch alloy wheels – space saver spare
- Chrome-surround grille
- Colour-coded mirrors and door handles
- Headlights auto off
- Privacy glass (rear)
- Rear roof spoiler
- Rear wiper
Other features
- DataDot security technology
- Electronic throttle control
- Auto unlock tailgate
- Three-year unlimited kilometre warranty
- 2.5 litre SOHC horizontally opposed boxer engine – 123 Kilowatts of power at 5600 rpm and 229 Newtonmetres of torque at 4000 rpm.
Liberty Exiga Premium adds:
- Leather trim
- Power driver and front passenger seats – eight-way adjustable
- Bluetooth enabled with voice recognition
- Reversing camera
- Satellite navigation** – factory fitted
- 17-inch alloy wheels – space saver spare
** (Fitment of SatNav replaces six-stack with single disc CD)
MY10 Liberty Exiga Manufacturer’s List Pricing*
- Liberty Exiga 2.5i (from $37,490)
- Liberty Exiga 2.5i Premium (from $41,990)
|
MY10 Liberty Exiga engine specifications |
|
| Type Cylinders Displacement Bore x stroke Compression ratio |
Horizontally opposed
Four 2457 cc 99.5 mm x 79.0 mm 10.0 SOHC Multi Point Sequential Injection 123 kW/5600 rpm 229 Nm/4000 rpm |
| Liberty Exiga dimensions | |
| Overall length mm | 4740 |
| Overall width mm | 1775 |
| Overall height mm | 1660 |
| Wheelbase mm | 2750 |
| Tread – front mm | 1525 |
| Tread – rear mm | 1530 |
| Min. ground clearance mm | 150 |
| Tare weight kg | 2.5i – 1562
2.5i Premium – 1568 |
| Fuel consumption and emissions (L/100km / CO2 g/km): Combined |
8.6/202 |
| Fuel tank capacity (litres) | 65 |
| Recommended fuel requirement | 90-98 RON |
| Steering |
Engine speed sensitive power assisted rack and pinion |
| Turning circle | 11.0 metres, kerb to kerb diameter |
| Suspension: Front Rear |
Coil MacPherson strut-type
Double wishbone type independent |
| Brakes Front Rear |
Vacuum assisted ventilated discs
Vacuum assisted discs |
| Tyres/rim | Liberty Exiga – 16×6 1/2JJ 205/60R16 Bridgestone
Liberty Exiga Premium 17×7JJ 215/50R17 Yokohama |
| Towing capacity kg: With/without brakes |
1400
750 |
Print it: 
Attractive pricing and great value for money considering the equipment you get, 6-seater cabin should work well a-la gen 2 Odyssey V6-L…
Is it just me or does the front look like a toyota corolla hatch. (Especially the first picture)
How? How is it possible to have a car that looks this dated in 2009? This literally does look like and early nineties model. Why do they have such trouble designing cars at Subaru these days? They got the previous Liberty right and the face-lifted Tribeca’s a pretty handsome car, but the new Liberty, the Impreza and this just look awful. The interior is just as ugly and going by other current Subarus, it probably won’t be made of particularly high quality materials either.
And of course, the million dollar question, why no diesel? They can obviously sell the diesel in Australia now because of the Outback, so why not put it in this? What’s even the point of a car like this if it doesn’t have a nice diesel?
I think the people mover segment is a dreadfully dated one with the likes of the Mitsubishi Grandis, Toyota Tarago and the Kia Carnival. The Exiga isn’t helping anything.
I’d like a diesel too, but where the he’ll is the turbo version!? The Exiga is regarded as the best driving MPV in Japan, with the turbo being the best. Subaru Australia hello?
The annoying thing is that because most people buy SUVs for 7-seat duties, none of the nice and interesting MPVs will make it here (Ford S-Max/Galaxy, Citroen C3 Picasso, Vauxhall/Opel Zafira well the new one anyway, Mazda5 and the Toyota Verso etc etc etc) because the companies aren’t game enough to even try!
At least Subaru had the guts, abd for that I commend them. But bring the bloody turbo version!
The most Toyota looking Subaru yet….. So does this mean they are ditching Tribeca??? Or are they just going to take que of their bedfellow and make so many different cars that they’ll increase thier market share but decrees thier individual model volumes and devalue the brand name they faught so hard to build up???
Ugly or bland? Ugly I reckon. First of all this car looks nothing like the rest of the Liberty range. Where are those scallop headlights? Secondly it looks dynamically numb and stylistically pointless. Alex couldn’t be more right, this car looks like its from the nineties! Why can’t Subaru design cars anymore?
The dated styling being mentioned is because its headlights, grille & glasswork looks quite similar to the just superseded Liberty wagon. Its like they’ve added a couple of inches of height to the old wagon’s interior cabin & boot(from A pillar onwards).
Poor Subaru’s design team have again screwed the pooch. They really need to work out an aesthetically pleasing (or at least unoffensive) design language & stick with it!
Subaru would be onto a really good thing had they managed to get the 7-seater Exiga here. Apparently in overseas models the middle seat only has a lap seatbelt which is why we only get the 6-seater here.
I dont think it looks too bad…. not compard to that horrible Liberty… that new Liberty…. *shudders*
It doesnt look nineties at all?
It just looks fat and bulbous like every other car these days…
Look out! Honda Odyssey :)
Agreed. Look out Odyssey, close your eyes! …or you’ll go blind!
Why release a 6 seater? In order for this car to have a chance and to be relevant it needs 7 seats not 6. I predict Exiga will sink like a stone and be gone from the new car price lists within 18 months… what a pointless car.
How on earth can this car be CHEAPER than the standard Liberty wagon? The normal Liberty wagon is $38,990 (for the automatic), while the Exiga is $37,490!! So you get 6 seats for $1500 less than the 5 seat version!! Great logic there, Subaru!!
I think it is correct that this car is cheaper than Liberty. Subaru wants to call it Liberty Exiga. I think it should be called Impreza Exiga. Have a look at the dashboard and the steering wheel. They are the same as Impreza and Forester.
^agree
This is a bigger engined Impreza/Forester wagon with 7 seats… oh wait 6, because the Subaru Australia can’t be bothered to fit a three pointed seat belt to the middle seat which is available in Japan (with a 2 pointed seat belt).
Mind you, the current gen Honda odyssey in Japan (like the old gen) is only available with 2 pointed middle seat belt. NOW, Honda Australia finally decided to add three pointed middle seat belts.
Same with Tarago, in Japan its 2 Pointed middle seat belt, and Toyota Aus just added the three pointed middle belt.
This car is not really a Liberty, it is only badged as a Liberty for Australian market probably because Subaru Australia feels it is safer to introduce this car as part of the Liberty range than a new model by itself. In Japan it is simply known as the Exiga.
The underpinning of this car is meant to be shared with Liberty as suggested by the size of it, but looking at the interior it seems to share many components inside with Imprezza/Forester. May be those switch gears are cheaper to make than those in the proper Liberty? The interior of the Liberty definitely feels more expensive and of better quality than those in the Imprezza/Forester.
Nick K –
I totally agree, and am just telling you that the Jap-spec model has got the lap-only belt in the middle 2nd-row seat, and if it came out here like that Wheels etc wouldn’t count in the car of the year, so they left it a 6-seat.
Mark G:
The Mercedes Sprinter with 16 seats is much cheaper than Mercedes S class with 5 seats. What do you think?
It is back to the drawing board for the Subaru designers, this new Liberty is so ugly. It looks like some bolted a set of wheels and fenders onto a wardrobe.
For a little fun, see if you can count how many different colours and textures are present in the interior. At least there’s something for everyone. Two different shades of beige plastic, two different shades of silver plastic, charcoal plastic, black plastic, two different shades of beige cloth (perhaps 3, unless the seats are third different shade of beige leather), and let’s not forget that wonderful finishing touch that adds an air of timeless sophistication to any interior…plastic imitation woodgrain.
I didnt like it much in the photos, but seeing it up close in person it is actually a very good looking (people mover)!!, has a very functional and useful seating arrangement and is very very well specced for the money, cheaper than liberty wagon and has extra seat and rear dvd standard, should be a big seller only car in its class to have cvt and awd aswell!!!
oh and i believe its based of the impreza platform, (not as wide as new liberty), but has the liberty engine/gearbox, and liberty front styling, dash is diffrent to impreza, has completely diffrent dash centre with dual zone climate and diffrent top gauges and a extra storage comp on pass side, plus door trims get proper velour inserts instead of hard plastic, overall a good functional car/design,,
to those people saying that this should be called the Impreza Exiga, and that it has the same interior as the impreza/forester… i have an MY08 Liberty and trust me, this has the exact same auto gear shift and steering wheel, which also happens to have the same gear shift and steering wheel as the forester… guess what, they all had the same interior components. but the front exterior looks almost the same as my car. it is clearly based on the MY03-MY09 Liberty (not MY10).
Subaru has officially stuffed up every car in it’s line up(minus the forester). The new liberty is horrid, the Impreza looks like a Kia, the Outback is a plastic pumped Liberty, the Tribeca is a frog, and then Subaru decide to bring in the most awkwardly proportioned car to date.
I doubt Subaru care about your opinion, or the other sheep here who are bagging Subaru styling because it’s fashionable to do so and they think it helps their skodoyotaissanishiwagen cause.
You see “al”, Subarus biggest market, the USA, is lapping these new styled Subarus up at a greater rate than ever before and the commercial success of these has been excellent.
Now don’t you feel better for knowing just how insignificant you really are and that your pathetic little opinion means absolutely ’squat.
Ta ta microbe!
ROFL
…and yet you took the time to carefully construct and post a response to this little microbe. So I guess someone does care about its opinion.
So saying that you dont care is somehow caring what is said? You sound like a woman.