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)
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