Hi all,
I thought i would share my views of the pros and cons of the 2010 liberty from an owner, drivers point of view. I have a 2.5 premium wagon with satnav and cvt transmission. My first impressions and i guess biggest praise of the car is the increased size over the last model, especially the rear leg room. The interior is definitely bigger, nearly in falcon and commodore territory which is a good thing for families.
But there are just as many pros as cons with this car..... Yesi probably will ruffle a few feathers and raise a few eyebrows with my comments but this is my experience after 9 motnhs of driving the new liberty.

Pros: Space is great, heaps of leg room and overall comfort, very nice, satnav is cool...even if it does cost you $300 to upgrade the maps cd.. fuel economy is brilliant on the highway with the cvt transmission, sitting on 100km/hr your only doing 1500-1800 rpm, makes a huge difference, nearly 900km out of a tank.... umm but thats about it...

Cons: If you someone who just drives a car from a to b and doesnt care how it gets there then this is a great car for you. If your someone who enjoys driving and feeling how the car functions then this car will bore you to tears. Yes i am a bit biased, my last car was a WRX so i do miss it after driving the liberty. The cvt coupled with the electronic throtttle really takes the driving pleasure away, the economical performance of the setup is brilliant but not the experience. Its a bit like using a digital camera.... everyone hold that pose until the camera is ready.... ok now take the shot... and this is a bit how the car drives. When you put your foot down there is a massive delay, 1 - 2 seconds in fact. I can plant my foot while driving and literally have time to pick my nose before the car takes off. Yes this sounds rediculous but its true, you can mash the pedal to the floor... then count.. 1... ....2.... oh now we're away.... It is down right dangerous in some cases. I live in a hill and my driveway slopes down to the road, a busy road... I nearly got cleaned up the other day, i reversed out of my driveway and a car canspeeding down the hill, i quickly put it in drive to get back up the driveway and out of the way, but the delay was again 1 -2 seconds before the car went forward, if i was further out onto the road i would have been cleaned up. I know this is a saftey feature to protect the cvt belt, as i have raised this with the local subaru dealer... but give me a normal gear box, even an auto gear box any day.
Anotherannoying and dangerous characteristic of the cvt is the air con. When your slowly moving as you would when parking the car, the air con compressor will kick in as it does... and the car will lunge forward, i don't know if this is a normal thing, i guess it is the torque converter doing it, but i have nearly hit a car in front of me numerous times at the local shops because of it. You have to have your foot ready to hit the brake as you park just in case.
Overall experience of the cvt is like driving a maunal transmission with a slipping cluth, but that is what a cvt is, some will like it, others will hate it.
One last thing i would like to mention is the build quality, you do get a lot more car for the same price as the last model.... so what does that mean as far as cutting corners.... Well i have the current model has already had 4 nation wide recalls, the fuel sensors on my car had to be replaced, front suspension has been fixed, now there is a really loud rattle and clunk as i ut the car in park. I may be picky but my business partner had the previous model and had none of these concerns, in my opinion the last model was a much better quality car.. Anyway i am sure i will upset a few people with my comments, but this is my experience over the last few months. If i had my time over again, i wouldnb't buy this car, especially with the cvt.