Liberty GT or 3.0R-B

[MikeeR]

Fuel economy? well I usually get between 10.5 and 11.5 l/100km in town (between Parra, Bankstown and Burwood) and while I'm not WOT everywhere, I use a fair bit more these days than I did when I got it (when I was averaging around 10.5).

On the highway, less than 8 is easy to achieve and fun driving on backroads is rarely over 9.

All this in a car which apparently should average 12.7l/100km according to the ADR economy test. I've never seen more than 12 from memory.

Hope the anecdotes are of some use to you

Yeah that's very interesting. I've read some of the fuel economy threads on this forum and others and it seems to vary a fair bit what figures people get. Difficult to know whether its driving style or differences between cars. Those figures of yours sound very reasonable.

Is yours manual or auto? Year model?

Thanks

[tmacca]

My current ride is the 08 GT-B and my previous ride was an 06 3.0R-B. On the fuel economy front there is not a great difference in "normal" driving conditions. If you exploit the full power of the turbo on a regular basis then it will use more fuel (and deliver more performance!). On the open road I've seen 8 with both cars.

On the manual/auto issue, it is just that. Do you drive a manual or an auto - paddles do little to change the fact it is an auto. Not wanting to start another debate, the 6 spd manual will always allow you to use more of the available power/torque of either engine (6 ratios v 5 ratios).

[senator]

Re Transmission, I've always been a manual driver, for decades, but the current crop of autos with the tiptronic wheel mounted paddles have got me interested. I'm interested in hearing from people on regrets going to the new autos. I've just had an overnight loan of a 6MT GT-B and was impressed with the box - surprisingly so was my wife (in fact she loved the car so much she wants to buy it - I'm having to introduce a little caution).

And one final question, the car I've had a loan of, has just under 30k kms has had oil changes (using Mobil 1) around 6k, 12k and 19k kms, but not at a Subaru dealer, looks like at a local mechanics. Looks like they changed oil and filter but nothing else. Its still under factory warranty, should I be wary of missing out on dealer services? Are there other important things in those first 3 services that would have been missed?


Thanks again for any and all replies.

this is my first auto, its great in traffic and also great for towing.

but ......... in sportshift mode, its doesn't hold gear when you want it too, and when giving it some stig in auto mode, it will happily hit redline on every gear change, this can be a little surprising when you put your foot down expecting the car to smoothly shift through the gears as would a normal auto would do, not grab a gear and blast you forward.

regarding the oil changes, there is one at 5km 12.5km and every 12.5km from there, strange that its being sold through a subaru dealership but not being serviced through one. A you sure the stamp in the log book is the name of company that owns the dealership?

[coyote]

I'd pay extra for a car that a dealer service department had not touched.

[zorbaru]

ive been a manual driver for 13 years and the my05gt i just picked up is my first auto.

comparing the specs between my 2000 wrx manual that i traded for it and the lib, technically the wrx is .4s (6.4 v 6. quicker in the 0-100kms. but since im not a professional driver, im not going to nail every gear change so i would never hit the 6.4s that is possible, but with the auto, all i need to do is flatten it and ill be able to hit the 6.8 every time.

other than that it was a case of laziness. driving in traffic every day i was just sick of gear changes and all that crap. add to that the danger of smashing a wrx gearbox and the auto was an easy choice for me.

[smythie]

Fuel economy? well I usually get between 10.5 and 11.5 l/100km in town (between Parra, Bankstown and Burwood) and while I'm not WOT everywhere, I use a fair bit more these days than I did when I got it (when I was averaging around 10.5).

On the highway, less than 8 is easy to achieve and fun driving on backroads is rarely over 9.

All this in a car which apparently should average 12.7l/100km according to the ADR economy test. I've never seen more than 12 from memory.

Hope the anecdotes are of some use to you

Yeah that's very interesting. I've read some of the fuel economy threads on this forum and others and it seems to vary a fair bit what figures people get. Difficult to know whether its driving style or differences between cars. Those figures of yours sound very reasonable.

Is yours manual or auto? Year model?

Thanks

MY06 6 speed manual

[davidc]

Great choice with the wagon Mikee but think carefully re the transmission. I've got the auto and the novelty quickly wore off. This is probably my only regret with the car that I will have for the next 57 months...

[MikeeR]

Thanks again for the replies.

I do have a preference for manuals. Its just my commuting in heavy traffic has made me think about the ease of an auto, but I do get a fair amount of time on open roads where I enjoy changing gears. I guess I also don't want to waste or lose those skills of heal-and-toeing and double shuffling that are just a habit these days.

The cars is not being sold through a Subaru dealer.

[cpitts]

Being an ex WRX owner ('98 GC8 and '05 GDB) and an ex Lib owner (02 RX Lib), I chose the turbo option again with this Lib based on 2 factors:
- highly predictable mod path (c.f. WRX)
- extremely well understood engine in after-market service scene

The H6 is relatively 'new' in the mod and after-market mainetnance scene.

Erring on the side of performance, mods and more importantly, support.

Saying that though, the H6 is getting around now so it's not like there's NO support out there, just not as much as for the 2T or 2.5T 4 cyl.

[subnub]

For me, the 6sp 2.5T wins it hands down.

Engine - I love my turbos and have done so for ages, I love the rush and the midrange torque. For normal driving I felt that the 2.5T put its torque in a more useable place than the 3.0, and if you get into the top end it still pulls nicely. The 3RB is a sweet motor, it just makes its power differently - which one is "better" is up to you. Oh as a bonus, in QLD at least, 4 cyl rego saves about $200 a year from memory... not much but it's better in your pocket than the govt's

Transmission - I drove an auto GT-B immediately followed by a manual GT-B and I couldn't believe the difference. The manual brought the engine to life, IMHO it feels like the gearing in the 6 speed is a much better fit for the engine. The manual is extremely easy to drive in traffic too, the clutch isn't too heavy and it's nice and smooth, so don't be put off using it in traffic.

Spec - There is no t/b STi version of the 3RB that I'm aware of, and once I saw the STi I knew that it was what I wanted.

As far as economy goes, on an interstate trip (Brisbane - Melbourne) the trip computer on my GT showed ~7.6L/100km, around town in heavy traffic it hovers somewhere around mid 10's through to low-mid 11s L/100km depending on how bad the traffic has been. That's the STi tune, but I can't imagine it being massively different to the 'standard' GT-B tune.

[MikeeR]

Yep got to drive a 3.0R-B today in auto form. Was impressed with the smoothness of the 6, I can see why some people would love them. The auto was OK too but I've convinced myself the six speed manual is for me, just need to positively decide 3.0 or GT. Unfortuanately there just aren't too many examples of late model GT-B wagons in manual form close to where I live other than the one I've already sampled. Might have to cast my net a little further.

[Std08GTB]

I was lucky to get less than 15 lp/100 around town in my 3.0RB in stop start traffic (06 model auto).

When I got the 2.5GTB it was more like 10-11 for the same conditions right from the start and down to sub 7 at 100kmh indicated on a longer drive out of town. Can manage 6.5 lp/100 if I'm out in the country on straight roads and keep it at 100.

[MikeeR]

I was lucky to get less than 15 lp/100 around town in my 3.0RB in stop start traffic (06 model auto).

When I got the 2.5GTB it was more like 10-11 for the same conditions right from the start and down to sub 7 at 100kmh indicated on a longer drive out of town. Can manage 6.5 lp/100 if I'm out in the country on straight roads and keep it at 100.

Wow they're pretty good figures. That further pushes me in the direction of a GT.

Have to say from what I'm seeing at dealers, they're struggling to sell cars at the moment for obvious reasons. Some of these showrooms seem deathly quiet. I might curb my enthusiasm for a couple of weeks and wait for the end of the financial year to see what sort of deal I can make. Gives me time to test drive a few more cars too.

[cpitts]

Feul econo on the 2.5T GT-B is very consistent for me. I use V-Power 98 and heavy city cycle sees me get ~10-10.5l/100, throw in a bit of freeway and I'll easily get 8-8.5l/100km.

A full tank of country will see me in the 6's.

[MikeeR]

Feul econo on the 2.5T GT-B is very consistent for me. I use V-Power 98 and heavy city cycle sees me get ~10-10.5l/100, throw in a bit of freeway and I'll easily get 8-8.5l/100km.

A full tank of country will see me in the 6's.

Yeah sounds good.

Do you think minor mods like less restrictive mufflers and air intake have a beneficial effect on economy? I'm guessing they might help to slightly lean things out a lttle. I remember from my WRX days these sort of mods helped models like my '99, but I thought that in the later models it wasn't advisable unless you were going to get some sort of ECU tune as well. Would it be true the mufflers/intake mods are so minor, tuning is not repuired?