Mainly cost of repairs and reckons hassling of "cops"
I owned a R32 Skyline for 2 years with absolutely no hassles etc. just horror stories. but happy wife happy life.

I wasnt going to spend too much on the power side of things with the NA, and i dont need a street racer HAHA
I just want something that can hold speed up hills etc. and if i need to overtake has a little "reserve power"

Having driven my mates Automatic Gen II RX liberty (also stock as a rock), like i was saying it was "OK" on power. But would a manual make the car much more responsive?

Thanks

the manuals are a little more responsive, but if you put a few people in either they do struggle a bit when it comes to hills and overtaking.
in my opinion if you are mainly going to drive the car with just yourself in it then the manual rx is a great car with enough power, but if your always going to have the family and some gear with you then it would be wise to get a turbo for that extra torque

I am quite happy with my Automatic, it can be nice and smooth if I am just feathering around, but if you do give it some, it will change into gear with a similar sensation to a manual box. However the power output on mine is a bit more than those cars. I am assuming your budget is sub $10k if you are considering those models. The Gen3 RX would be more reliable as a family car to be honest.

I don't get any attention from police in mine... you can have a turbo Subaru without it looking like a cop magnet. The better later Forester XT puts down as much power as mine. To the untrained eye it could be considered a turbo diesel 4x4 or something. But yeah, the NA Liberties go ok. It doesn't really get 'real' with a Subaru until its properly turbo'd.. In my opinion anyway.

milo101 wrote:

To be honest I've never thought that small engines that are turbocharged have ever been suitable for the harsh Australian roads/extreme weather conditions and I've never been a fan of the 2L turbo engines whether they've been in the WRX or the Liberties. If it was up to me I'd keep the 2.5L turbo engines for the WRX and make a 3L turbo engine for the Liberty GTs...

That's only because the 2.5T exists now. Power to weight on this shape when compared to a new model is a different scenario. There is only a slight weight difference between Impreza and Liberty. Even in Gen4. If you have $24.5k Lance is selling his 300kw 2.5L B4

I've always thought 2L Turbo wasn't enough, until I drove my car. Granted they do get heat soak, but its only really a problem in Summer heat. The particular Forester he mentioned here is the one I wouldn't bother with, which is Turbo and only makes 120kw, which is pitiful. The regular WRX 2L makes ~160. If I was buying a Forester, it would be 2003+.

But yes, a 3L Turbo Liberty would be damn sexy. Maybe one day, in a new shape after they sack the current designer lol.

Thanks for the replies/opinions

yeah forester is the ealier lower powered turbo one "GT" one... being that im limited to $10k i cant afford the newer ones "XT" or a B4.

Took a genII RX manual for a drive... a fair bit nicer then my mates automatic one (more responsive and can pick gears for corners etc) shame about the bad CV and oil leak.

So in short i think i should be happy with the NA but he hunt continues for a good one

+1 thats a great example as well. robs done a great job with that gtb