Last week, we asked you if you'd be interested in buying a Hyundai i20, a hatch even smaller than the Accent hatchback currently sold in the U.S. market. An overwhelming 84 percent of our readers said that they would be interested in the i20 if it were available here, perhaps attracted by the 73-mpg combined rating of its fuel-sipping 1.1-liter three-cylinder diesel and its $10,755 base price. Unfortunately, Hyundai has no plans to offer the i20 or its smaller (and for some reason less fuel-efficient) i10 sibling, though we'd love to see how the mere advertisement of a 73-mpg Hyundai hatch would give certain hybrid makers cold sweats. That's more than double the fuel efficiency of the current Accent hatch.
This week, we have something a little different on offer, something that seeks to maximize interior space, as the station wagons of yore strove to do.
The number and variety of station wagons on dealer lots has diminished, even compared to just 10 years ago. The interior capacity of the station wagons that are left has, if you'll pardon the pun, taken a back-seat role with several current vehicles claiming to be proper station wagons coming in shy on cargo room -- hence the "sport wagon" trend. Today, station wagons are trying to look like crossovers (and succeeding), while crossovers are desperately trying to hide their bulk, all at the expense of versatility.
The station wagon may be on life support on our shores, but in other markets one can still get a sedan with a gigantic hangar bay attached to the back. One example is the Subaru Liberty Exiga, sold in Australia, among other places.
The Liberty Exiga is based on a Japan-only version of the Legacy. Photo by Subaru
The Subaru Liberty sedan is basically the Subaru Legacy, itself offered in station-wagon form in Europe and Outback wagon/crossover form in the States. But there is yet another station wagon loosely based on the Legacy/Liberty, and it's called the Exiga.
How proper of a station wagon is it? Let's start with the fact that it offers seven seats, arranged in three rows. That's right, its people-hauling credentials are solid, and that gets it the Peugeot 505 SW8 seal of approval. This isn't merely a Legacy with a redesigned greenhouse; the wheelbase is stretched in favor of the rear-passenger doors, and it is 4.9 inches taller than the standard Legacy station wagon. The rows of seats are positioned in a "theater" layout, with all three rows of seats facing forward, but with the second and third rows sitting progressively higher. So yes, it's a three-row Subaru station wagon with stadium seating.
Putting aside the near-certainty that the mere mention of "stadium seating" in a vehicle would be marketing gold in the U.S., the Liberty Exiga offers all the goodies that the stateside Legacy does when it comes to comfort; this isn't some poverty-spec model. All the driving aids are there, including Subaru's Vehicle Dynamics Control and ESP, in addition to dual front, side and curtain airbags for all three rows. The fuselage ends in a very large clam-shell door that hugs the D-pillars but sits low enough to allow plenty of freight to be loaded into the cargo bay.
Powering the Legacy Exiga are Subaru's trusty 2.5-liter horizontally opposed Boxer engines coupled to Symmetrical All Wheel Drive, at least in the Australian market, which we're using as a comparison. In Australia, the Liberty Exiga comes with Subaru's Lineartronic continuously variable transmission, just as the 2014 Legacy does here. So that means 173 hp going to all four wheels as it would in the U.S. spec, even though power figures may vary a bit in different markets.
The rear two rows are accessed through the longer passenger doors. Photo by Subaru
We think we know what Subaru owners are thinking by now: How is this different from the Forester? The Exiga is just as tall as the Forester, but is 6 inches longer overall and has a wheelbase that is a full 5 inches longer. Its cargo capacity is greater than that of the Forester, given the much taller passenger compartment as it sits lower to the ground (on somewhat tiny 16-inch wheels), and the amount of headroom for passengers is greater as well. The second- and third-row seats in the Exiga can be stowed, and the rear-cargo compartment also allows items to be placed under the floor. In addition, the rear side passenger doors open almost 90 degrees to allow easier entry and exit. The Exiga is basically an MPV folded into the dimensions of a tall wagon.
At first blush, the Liberty Exiga may seem to offer everything the Outback does. While the two cars' overall length and wheelbase are almost identical (the Outback is 3 inches longer overall), the Outback does not offer three rows of seats. In addition, the Outback's interior space loses out to that of the Exiga by a few cubic feet once the second and third rows of seats are folded down, though that's to be expected with the Exiga's tall roof.
The Exiga would likely lose out to the Tribeca in the U.S. market, which also seats seven, due to its slightly awkward packaging; the Exiga was meant for the Japanese market where tall station wagons that offer the flexibility of MPVs are a popular segment. The Tribeca would also beat the Exiga for road clearance, and at the end of the day they would even start at approximately the same price point. The Exiga's trump card, if it has one, would be a car-like rather than crossover profile and interior layout, with a lower ride height and greater outward visibility for the passengers. Third-row seats are an option in the Tribeca whie they are standard in the Exiga, and the Exiga's longer rear doors allow for much easier third-row ingress and egress.
The price? The Liberty Exiga starts at the equivalent of $35,160 in U.S. dollars for the 2.5i model and at $39,330 for the Premium model -- comparable to the pricing structure of the Tribeca, at least at the bottom of the range.
Would you buy one if it were available in the U.S. market? Vote here, and we'll publish the results in next week's installment.
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