> new models > subaru > liberty > 2.0r > Liberty's change of heart

Make / Model Search

New models - Subaru - Liberty - 2.0R

Liberty's change of heart

Base beat: The new twin-cam 2.0R Liberty enjoys a 20 per cent power hike over its 2.0i predecessor.

More power should boost the base mid-sized Subaru’s appeal against popular rivals

4 Jan 2006

AFTER a year of bolstering its top-end Liberty range with extra turbocharged and six-cylinder models, Subaru has turned to the bottom end.

A naturally aspirated 2.0-litre four-cylinder Liberty returns in the form of the base-model 2.0R.

It sports a revised version of the previous 2.0i’s 1994cc ‘Boxer’ engine, featuring a double-overhead cam - instead of a single-cam - configuration.

As a result the 2.0R’s power output is 121kW at a lofty 6800rpm, compared to 101kW at 5600rpm for the 2.0i, which was discontinued just last August.

However torque output remains the same at 187Nm, but tops out at a more-accessible 3200rpm previously that happened at 4400rpm.

Interestingly the 2.0R’s maximum power output now matches the 2.5i’s, although as expected it occurs earlier (at 5600rpm) in the larger engine.

Gearbox choices continue to be a four-speed automatic or five-speed manual, married to Subaru’s constant all-wheel drive system.

With either transmission the 2.0R’s fuel consumption combined average is 9.1 litres per 100km, up from the 8.3 and 8.7L/100km figures the respective manual and automatic 2.0i Liberty managed.

Other changes to the range include the deletion of the entry-level ‘2.5i’ model, leaving the ‘2.5i Safety’ as the cheapest 2.5-litre Liberty you can buy.

To compensate Subaru has reduced each 2.5i variant by $1500, beginning at $35,990 for the manual sedan.

Subaru has also implemented the five-star ANCAP-achieving dual front, side and curtain airbag armada in all models.

Limited capacity from Fuji Heavy Industries – Subaru’s Japanese parent – means that only 100 to 110 2.0R Liberty sedan and wagons are slated for Australia each month in the short term.

Nonetheless Subaru hopes it and the re-priced 2.5i Safety models will boost the Liberty against the big-selling Mazda6 and Honda Accord Euro competition.

“We had a little bit of a gap with the 2.0i-litre cars (since their recent demise)”, says Subaru Australia’s national corporate affairs manager David Rowley.

“But with the twin-cam 2.0R model and new pricing we feel that both are very likely to bring new customers into the Liberty range,” he adds.

Prices for the 2006 Subaru Liberty range start at $31,990 for the 2.0R five-speed manual sedan.

All new models

Liberty pricing

Motor industry news

GoAutoNews is Australia’s number one automotive industry journal covering the latest news, future and new model releases, market trends, industry personnel movements, and international events.

Download page

GoAuto can help you buy a new Liberty

Customer Terms and Conditions – New Car Lead enquires

Agreement

This is an agreement between GoAutoMedia Pty Limited ACN 094 732 457 of PO Box 18, Beach Road, Sandringham, VIC, 3191 (“we/us”), the owner and operator of the GoAuto.com.au website (“the website”) and the person wanting GoAuto.com.au to provide them with a lead for the purchase of a new car (“you”).

By completing a New Car Lead Enquiry, you agree to the terms and conditions and disclaimers and acknowledge the policies set out below.

Terms and Conditions

In order for us to effect a lead you must you must complete a New Car Lead Enquiry (“Enquiry”).
We will call you as soon as possible after you complete the Enquiry and certainly no later than the next business day. When we call, we will discuss with you your new car requirements.
You consent to our passing on the Enquiry and your requirements to an appropriate authorised motor car dealer as a lead.
We will contact you again in approximately eight days following your initial enquiry to check on the progress of the Enquiry.
While we will provide the dealer with the Enquiry and details of your new car requirements, we take no responsibility for what happens after passing on that material as a lead.
You acknowledge that we are a new car information service providing new car editorial information, pictures and prices to our customers as a guide only. Any new car prices published on the website are the manufacturers’ recommended retail prices and do not include delivery charges and on-road costs. Any authorized motor car dealer to which we pass on your Enquiry as a lead will provide you with full details of the price at which the vehicle will be sold to you.
You acknowledge that we do not sell motor vehicles. Any sale of a new car to you by a dealer after we have passed on your Enquiry to that dealer as a lead, is a sale by that dealer not by us.

Privacy Policy– New Car Lead Enquires

We take privacy very seriously. We understand that you will only complete an Enquiry if you can trust us to protect your personal information and use it appropriately. Our policy is to ensure that the personal information collected when you make an Enquiry is only used for the purposes of connecting you with an authorised motor car dealer.
We do not on-sell information collected from you or any other customer.
From time to time, we may email you with information or promotions that may be relevant for car buyers. You will continue to receive communications from us unless you tell us that you do not want to receive any advertising or promotional information in the future by unsubscribing from these communications.

Click to share

Click below to follow us on
Facebook Twitter Instagram