the price of liberty used to be eternal vigilance. But these days, you can have one for just 34,000. That's a significant discount. And yet Some people still think a Mazda 6 or Accord Euro is a better deal. To walk us through the mid-size maze, here's car advice road tester Albows Mate, the Liberty.
It's had a recent major upgrade. Well, it's not a major upgrade, it's a brand new car. What do you think of it? I think it's great. I think it's probably the best Liberty they've put out so far and it needs to be [xx]. Well, let's be kind. This is the kind of styling that polarizes opinion. I don't know if it does.
I just think it's ugly. the previous generation Liberty was a beautiful car. It was really classy but it was also aggressive. The current one just looks a bit weird. So what has Liberty got going for it if it's ugly, maybe that's only skin-deep. It is. I think it's got everything else going for it.
It is a really good package. It's one of the very few cars in the segment that is all-wheel drive and affordable. So starting at about 34 and going all the way up to the mid-50s. You get a good wide variety of different options, different packages, different engines. So think it's a really good car both safety-wise, interior, practicality, everything.
The CVT transmission is quite good, it's made it really to the 2.5 so it doesn't feel like it's struggling to get anywhere. So for everyone at home, if you haven't driven a CVT, it's It's really not that hard. You can't just put it on drive like any other automatic. And just matter down the road. Maybe you won't even know.
That's right. Most people probably won't even know that it doesn't struggle. like some other CVTs like the Lancer. A few years ago, it was only prestige cars with the paddle shifters even, and these days, everything's got them. Pretty much, yeah. And they're quite handy. Most people think they're gimmick.
But in a car that does have CVT, it's very handy if you want to quickly go back a few car ratios so that you can get up a hill So talk to me about interior comfort. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised from the exterior my outlook is good but from the interior it's a whole different car. There's lots of room lots of practicality, like you can store your drinks, everything.
Even the base model looks good. So you don't need to go for the top of the range just to get a better interior. For many people who buy a Liberty this will be their first go at an electronic hand brake. Explain to us how that works.
You just press a button, it engages, and when you drive off you can always disengage it before you drive or it will do it by itself.
Let's step up into the expensive end of the Liberty range and talk about the GT Premium. Yeah, just before the GT there's a 3.6 as well which I wouldn't recommend because it's only a few thousand dollars less than the GT and if you're going to get a car with more power, you might as well go for the GT.
Because you get much better suspension, much better handling, and a sportiness with a bit of better wheels and brakes. So I think the GT apart from possibly the Kizashi all-wheel drive is the best handling car in the medium size segment. It drives very comfortably around town but also when you want to get going, it will really hammer.
The STI is a pretty hard edged car. Is the GT Premium the same sort of thing, or could you drive it every day?
Absolutely. It's very comfortable. You it's got great handling but it's not harsh. So you'll be able to absorb the Australian roads quite well but you can still go around corners.
So if I'm in the market for a Liberty at any price point, what are the competitive cars though I have to go out to other dealerships and test drive, just to make sure I'm on the money.
I think the Hyundai i45 as well as the Suzuki Kizashi. The Kizashi particularly, if you love a car that handles well, that would be one to certainly check out.
nd what about the Mazda 6 and the Accord Euro, are they on the list as well?
They're very popular cars, probably not my cup of tea, especially the Honda, but the Mazda 6 is is a great one.
Thanks, Alborz. And if you're in the market for a Subaru Liberty, and you can get past the exterior, maybe you're on a winner. You can read the full Liberty review, download the specifications, add your comments, and even get a quote from a Subaru dealer. Just follow the links on this page.
