By Ewan Kennedy
IN A fascinating move, Subaru has decided to import a people mover version of its Liberty.
Called the Liberty Exiga, it sits on a similar platform to the Liberty but is taller and uses squarer body lines to maximise occupant and luggage space.
In the manner of the popular Subaru Forester, the Exiga is a tall station wagon rather than an SUV.
Exiga’s compact body makes it simpler to drive and park than an SUV and it will also use less fuel.
Exiga’s chief competitor is likely to be Honda’s long-running Odyssey, though buyers of vehicles such as Ford Territory and Toyota Kluger may also be interested.
In the people mover market it’s all about seats.
The 2010 Subaru Liberty Exiga has six of them, not the seven that are the norm in the compact people mover class.
That’s because the seven-seater version sold in Japan doesn’t have a lap-sash safety belt in the centre position of the second row of seats.
Subaru Australia is proud of the fact that all its models have the maximum five-star rating for occupant protection in Australian NCAP testing, hence the decision to bring only the six-seat Exiga here.
On the other hand, it’s not unusual for upmarket variants of people movers to have separate single seats in the centre row to suit it to adult sized occupants who are looking for plenty of space, as well as a plethora of luxury fittings.
Standard equipment in the Liberty Exiga is generous. All models get alloy wheels, dual-zone air conditioning, six CD audio, a DVD entertainment system with wireless headphones and a leather wrapped steering wheel with audio controls.
The upmarket Exiga Premium adds full leather trim, power operation of both front seats, satellite navigation (but this pulls the audio system back to a single CD unit), Bluetooth compatibility, the alloy wheels are 17 inches in diameter instead of the 16 inches of the Exiga 2.5i.
Safety is looked after by all-wheel drive, ESP (Electronic Stability Program), ABS brakes with brake assist and six airbags.
The centre row of seats in the Exiga gives occupants the choice of an armrest, or a table with built-in drink holders between its pair of seats.
This seat folds flat in a 60/40 split, whereas the rearmost seat has a 50/50 split.
Thus there are plenty of ways of configuring the seats according to the luggage area you require.
With all seats in use there’s precious little luggage space but that’s not an unusual complaint in vehicles of this size and type.
We managed to fit six moderately tall Australians into the Subaru Exiga and all found they had enough legroom.
However, the Subaru designers have deliberately restricted the rearwards adjustment of the front seats to make space for people sitting behind them. I found the front legroom was just OK for my six-foot frame.
There is plenty of headroom in the front seats with slightly less but still more than enough in the other two seating rows.
This changing headroom is due to the so-called theatre-seat arrangement that places each row at a higher level than the one/s in front to give good forward vision. The latter is an important factor in keeping boredom at bay in the junior travellers.
Power comes from the same 2.5-litre boxer petrol engine as installed in the Subaru Liberty. With 123 kW of power, and 229 Newton metres of torque at 4000 rpm it’s a sensible powerplant.
During the drive program in Canberra as part of the press launch of the new Exiga, we found the engine gave the vehicle decent performance without being in any way exciting. It pulls well up hills and provides plenty of grunt for safe overtaking.
Transmission is by Subaru’s new design of continuously variable transmission. It has six preset ratios for conditions where drivers feel they know better than the computer which ratio is required.
The latter are controlled by the central lever or large paddles behind the steering wheel.
Handling suffers slightly because of the higher centre of gravity compared with the standard Subaru Liberty wagon but it holds on well enough and answers your commands through the steering and accelerator without any hesitation.
Ride comfort is good as the designers have deliberately leant in the comfort direction in the eternal comfort/handling compromise.
Some of the initial testing of Liberty Exiga was done in Australia a year ago to help engineers tailor the suspension to our local roads and driver preferences.
Warranty is three years with no distance limit.
The two Subaru Liberty Exiga models, with prices (excluding dealer and government charges) is: Liberty Exiga 2.5i: $37,490 (CVT); Liberty Exiga 2.5i Premium: $41,990 (CVT).
Inquire at Subaru Fountain Gate, 1 Prestige Place, Narre Warren. Phone 9771 4500.
