Subaru Liberty (Generation 2)
Reviewed by Unique Cars and Parts
Our Rating: 1
Introduction
by Dominic Franco
In 1994 Subaru released the Generation
2 Liberty. The new model carried over the conservative
styling, with most commentators of the day describing
it as an evolution rather than a revolution.
This
was something that, until now, had been the styling
methodology applied to car design by the more prestigious
European marques, and it seemed totally out of character
for a Japanese manufacturer.
The Liberty carried over
the same three window profile, however it was now
50mm longer and 10mm taller.
The wheelbase was stretched
by 50mm, although the width remained below the Japanese
limit of 1.7 metres.
The engines remained the same
as those fitted to the outgoing models, with no increase
in cubic capacity.
However there was a dip in power
output, it decreasing to 94kW. Fortunately this
loss of power was to some extent overcome by an increase
in torque, now at 180Nm @ 2000 rpm.
You had to look
beyond the sheet metal to reveal the quality and
drivability of the car, and that is exactly what
Wheels magazine did.
That it won their 1994 "Car
Of The Year" award
came as no surprise, for the owners of a Liberty
anyway.