New Liberty and Outback Gain More Safety Honours

BAULKHAM HILLS, AUSTRALIA – August 28, 2009: The new generation Subaru Legacy (known in Australia as Liberty) and Outback have been named 2009 Top Safety Picks by the United States Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS).

To qualify for Top Safety Pick, a vehicle must earn the highest rating of "good" in the Institute's front, side, and rear tests and be equipped with electronic stability control.

Criteria to win are tough because the award is intended to drive continued safety improvements such as top crash test ratings and the rapid addition of electronic stability control, which is standard on the Legacy and Outback.

The news comes just a day after the European specification new generation Legacy achieved a top five-star crashworthiness rating from the European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP).

The Model Year 2010 Liberty is due to be launched in Australia in early September.

"Building safe vehicles is one of the things our customers have come to know and expect from us," said Tom Doll, executive vice president and COO, Subaru of America, Inc. "To have this endorsement by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety for every Subaru vehicle in our line-up is a tribute to our engineers and reinforces to consumers that we focus not only on manufacturing fun-to-drive vehicles, but also vehicles that are durable and dependable."

"Recognizing vehicles at the head of the class for safety helps consumers distinguish the best overall choices without having to sort through multiple test results," says Institute president Adrian Lund.