2001 Subaru Liberty B4 Twin Turbo review from Australia and New Zealand

1. Brant Security Alarm (Standard fitment on all Aus Delivered B4's) failed 4 times in 3 months. Left me stranded with immobiliser unable to be disengaged, needing the car to be towed to Subaru dealer for investigation and repair. Each time it was towed, I was assured the issue was fixed, but this was not true. Only solution offered by the dealer was to disconnect the system - Not impressed that Subaru Australia doesn't stand by their factory fitted options and accessories, and can't work out a proper long term fix.

2. Left hand front drive shaft (CV Boot) split, spilling grease all over the exhaust and causing thick black smoke and a horrible smell. Apparently, this is very common on high powered Subarus - meaning the parts Subaru Japan & Australia have chosen to use is not fit for purpose - $220 each time this goes wrong.

3. Tiny battery standard in this model vehicle, which struggles to crank the engine over on cold mornings. Not enough space in engine bay to upgrade to a decent size battery. Has been replaced 2 times in my 2 years of ownership (1 time as parts warranty).

4. Numerous creaks and rattles, which would be too expensive to track down and fix.

5. Subwoofer in rear parcel shelf - as part of the McIntosh premium sound system, blew up after 12 months of ownership. No obvious difference to the way the CD's or radio sounds, but still a fault.

6. Twin turbo system and top mount intercooler not really set up to handle Australian summer-time temperatures. With air con pumping and temp's over 40 degrees, car is very laggy and un-responsive. Upgrading intercooler or getting a better tune, may solve this issue.

This car is excellent value for money, whether you buy it new, or 2nd hand. The power is excellent (although the power delivery could be a little more linear) and putting it down to the ground through the all wheel drive system is easy. Never any scary moments thanks to the amazing grip available in the wet or the dry.

Subaru tried to find a tricky balance between leather bound luxury (as you can tell from the high spec McIntosh 7 speaker sound system, and BLUE leather seats) and high performance Japanese twin turbo racer.

Unfortunately, I'd have to say that they failed to truly nail either of these demographics, as the car is pretty stiffly sprung, and doesn't like the poor road surfaces around Australia, hence not really performing well as a luxury cruiser.

On the other hand, the noticeable torque hole between 1st and 2nd turbo mean this car can't really be a well rounded performance machine. The fact that you need to keep the revs above 4500 (closer to 5000 to be safe) in order to keep the 2nd turbo spinning means that you need to work this engine VERY hard to get good consistent performance out of it. Too much hard work if you are not driving on race track. It just needs more torque down low!!

What you are left with then is a car that can go real quick (if you focus, and get your gear changes just right), and can be very comfortable (if you find super smooth roads), but can rarely do both things at once. Multi-tasking is not the B4's strong suite.

I think it has loads of personality, and still looks the business (if not different enough from the standard RX and GX models - different wheels and a scoop... that's it?) despite getting on to 8 years old.

I am happy with my purchase and look forward to many more years of working out its little quirks and finding ways to improve an almost perfect package!