Subaru Levorg: Review
Can win on Sunday translate to sell on Monday for PH's in-house Subaru fanboy?
And the kind of product placement that clearly works on impressionable minds, given the connection with the Subaru Levorg I had parked outside was immediate. "Daddy, that's a FAST Subaru, isn't it!"
Hm. How to break this to you, son.
From stage to circuit in a Subaru boxer
To be fair the seemingly tenuous link between BTCC success and the Levorg you can actually buy works on more than just three-year-olds too. Enough for me to book one in on test to find out if its generally lukewarm reception could be offset by that typical Subaru quirkiness and the (now credible) motorsport link. As a Subaru owner I'd like to think audiences don't come much more sympathetic.
OK, so the Levorg ain't no oil painting. But then nor is my Forester and I love that. Defiant ugliness is something Subaru does well, the traditional long front overhang, bonnet scoop and heavy-handed sculpting of the estate car profile all very ... distinctive. Suffice it to say looks alone are not enough to put me off the Levorg, that name a slightly messy contraction of Legacy, Revolution and Touring with Subaru claiming further influence from its brand defining 4x4 Leone estate cars of the 70s onwards.
Reassuring news continues beneath that scoop too - yes, there's a top-mounted intercooler signalling the boxer engine is indeed turbocharged. OK, so it's only a 170hp 1.6 and untypically undersquare and torquey for a Subaru engine, with 184lb ft from just 1,900rpm. But it drives all four wheels. Could this be the thinking man's alternative to an MQB-based estate car like a SEAT Leon ST, Golf estate or Skoda Octavia? Three letters leap off the spec sheet suggesting it might not be.
Yep, it's CVT and CVT only
Yes, the only transmission choice is a CVT. Like the irritating plastic wind deflectors I've recently spent hours chiselling off my Forester (and the JDM Impreza WRX wagon I owned a few years back) their popularity is a quirk of Japanese cars I've never been able to understand. I've driven in Tokyo, not least in a (CVT equipped) Impreza WRX S4. I can appreciate some sort of automated gearbox is desirable there. But, given the quality of modern dual-clutches and regular autos, why this sort? And why, when all the manual Subarus I've ever driven have had great shifts, make it compulsory?
Truth be told it's not that bad in reality. And with the boxer four's smooth power delivery it's actually a remarkably relaxing car to drive. There's just a hint of the distinctive throb when the CVT consents to giving you some revs but the rest of the time it's considerably more refined than the usual in-line fours you get in rivals. And, in the classic Subaru style, the engine's reduced deck height means a very low dash and excellent visibility.
Sure, the interior is a little bit old tech, with many familiar fixtures and fittings from my previous WRX STI long-termer. If lacking in flair it's clean and functional enough, the new and properly integrated touchscreen infotainment system a significant step up from the aftermarket unit on the STI. Subaru badly needed to get with the times here; credit where it's due - the system is there or thereabouts.
Turbocharged Subaru boxer (with 170hp)
This is window dressing though. Because a CVT will never be the enthusiast's choice. Sure, it doesn't do that slipping clutch thing cruder examples might. It's even got a 'manual' mode and paddles to control it. And in everyday driving it's unobtrusive enough. But when you really want some response things just get a bit mushy, revs don't necessarily correspond to forward progress, of which there is actually a respectable amount given the fairly modest numbers on the board. Because of the curious elasticity it's hard to tell what the engine's actually up to as well; conventional measures of response and lag don't really apply but it's clear the Levorg is willing and brisk, if nothing more than that.
Likewise this general powertrain mush doesn't really let you explore the abilities of the four-wheel drive chassis and brake controlled 'torque vectoring'. It'll be there for you when the conditions turn nasty but in everyday driving it's left to the background, fast, precise steering and a sense of agility welcome compared with some of the more inert competition. A pity the ride's brittleness feels out of sorts with the rest of the package. And looking at the nearest rivals it's hard to consider the Levorg as anything other than a bit pricey at £27,495 against £24,040 for a SEAT Leon ST FR with a 1.8-litre, 180hp 2.0-litre petrol engine and sharper DSG twin-clutch auto.
You thinking what we're thinking?
So we've got an engine with the performance. We've got the pedigree to make it count. We've got the quirkiness Subaru fans like yours truly will happily sign up to. Translating motorsport success to the High Street worked a treat for Subaru back in the era of McRae and Burns. As it stands the Levorg is a decent transmission and some STI trimmings away from doing the same in the BTCC era of Plato and Turkington. C'mon chaps, you know you want to!
SUBARU LEVORG GT
Engine: 1,600cc flat-4 turbo
Transmission: 'Sport Lineartronic' CVT, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 170@4,800rpm
Torque (lb ft): 184@1,800-4,800rpm
0-62mph: 8.9sec
Top speed: 130mph
Weight: 1,554kg (not specified)
MPG: 38.9
CO2: 164g/km
Price: £27,495
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BTCC images: LAT
Inside its hardly different from out 2007 Outback, in other words dated compared to other cars and even when compared with the current Outback. It really felt like a parts bin special. Its small inside for its size, doesn't appear to be especially economical or fun.
I don't get this at all. It's a typical PH thing to say but it needs more power. It's just about adequate for daily use and who buys a Subaru for that? That's what the German marques are for. Subaru's are supposed to be something special and this really isn't. I can't see them selling very many, in the UK especially.
The one good thing to take away from this is the potential for them to put this engine into the GT86/BRZ. Tweak the engine and up the power a bit or even leave it as it is and let tuners do that as aftermarket upgrades. Food for thought...
WRX STi - Only one model, only manual.
BRZ - Two models, base and Lux both offered with either manual or a traditional auto box.
Impreza - (Yes the still do this apparently) One model, N/A 1.6 with manual or CVT.
Levorg - One model, turbo 1.6, CVT only.
XV - Four models, Petrol or Diesel, with manual or CVT for Petrol... but only manual for the diesel
Outback - Six models, Petrol or diesel, Most CVT but manual available on the diesel. And the 2.5 is slower than the 2.0.
Forester - Five models, Petrol and diesel with manual or CVT... but the XT, the only vaguely fast one is CVT only.
*gives up in confusion, rocks back and forwards hugging his Forester STi close*
*gives up in confusion, rocks back and forwards hugging his Forester STi close*
Dan
It seems the aftermarket is where solutions lie to a new-off-the-showroom-floor car. How strange.
Failing that, and warranty issues aside, its back to the second-hand market to get something interesting, like maybe a Spec C Type RA, or similar.
I just don't get why Subaru UK don't bring in some of the more stripped out cars; there surely is a market in the UK for 350+ bhp AWD cars that weigh in around 1350-1400 kg, with a warranty, for £25-30,000.
not good
"I can forgive the weird looks and interior because when I drive it great things happen"
until they can get that back I think the range will continue to be a niche of its very own
Presumably more money can be made with the XV/Forester/Outback chasing the school gates soft-roader market than fighting VW, Audi, Honda and others in the congested hot hatch/non-premium sports car market. Because it would be the well established market of fast golfs, Focus ST/RS and Civics that they would be fighting against at the price point in question.
Or perhaps to put it another way, they *are* trying to fight that market... but the chosen tools are the WRX STi as a low margin, very low sale numbers "Halo car" and the BRZ as the offbeat, something slightly different offering (N/A RWD).
I do think they are missing a third vehicle in that strategy though, because there is surely a niche for a non-German fast estate that a proper full fat, turbo, manual version of one of their estates could do well in. Either a Levorg Spec B, or a proper 2016 Forester STi.
The question was raised in the Swiss press upon its launch about the lack of a really 'hot' model. But truth be told the only way an STI model will make it over is via grey imports to Dublin or Liverpool. I suppose therefore people should be happy that the Japanese drive on the same side of the road as the UK and Irl. In a nutshell they wont sell these STI cars in europe as they dont see enough of a market for it. This is a shame for enthusiasts such as myself but thats the reality.
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