2001 Subaru Liberty B4

I bought this off it’s original owner, with very low kilometres. I enjoyed it quite a lot. It was very fast, comfortable, and handled well. Although a Subaru enthusiast could spot a B4 a mile away thanks to the BBS alloys (is there a more painful wheel to keep clean?) and the bonnet scoop, most people didn’t realise what it was at all, which I like in a car.

Compared to a WRX of the era, the Twin Turbo setup did do what it was supposed to and make the car easier to drive down low in the revs, with less lag there, and if you got it up onto the big turbo beyond about 4000rpm it REALLY pulled well, especially in third gear.

I personally felt it could have done with quicker steering to help make it feel a bit sportier. It rode and handled well, but compared to the WRX I’d owned in the past, the B4 didn’t have that go-kart feel, I would often tell people it was more or less like a normal liberty with a rocket strapped to it if you got up in the revs. :) That probably sounds more negative than I mean it to be, it was a fantastic car and behaved exactly as it was designed to - a fast, comfortable tourer.

Like almost all Australian delivered B4’s I suspect, mine had been dyno tuned to remove the infamous B4 flat spot that occurred in the transition from the primary to secondary turbo. At the same time a cold air intake was added.

This work, done by the original owner saw the car go from a standard ~130kW at the wheels to around 160kW, quite an improvement and made for a quick car.