Subaru is no stranger when it comes to station wagons. Looking back, Subaru has offered quite an extensive range of wagons, ranging from the Subaru Impreza wagon all the way up to the Subaru Legacy wagon. The new Subaru Levorg launched here, is positioned as a C+ segment wagon, which we will explain further below.
From the ground up, the Subaru Levorg was designed as not just a wagon, but also features the driveability of a sports car. Taking from where the fifth-generation Subaru Legacy left off, the new Subaru Levorg has a much smaller footprint that the Legacy wagon. Despite that, the Levorg still manages to offer 486 litres of boot space, compared to the 459 litres on the fourth-generation Legacy. Rear knee space for passengers has also been increased over the fourth-generation Legacy, which is 25 mm less than the Levorg.
Powering the new Subaru Levorg is an equally-new 1.6-litre DIT boxer engine, which according to Subaru, “has similar power output to 2.5-litre of fifth-generation Legacy, but higher torque than it“. With the maximum torque of 250 Nm available from just 1,800 rpm, overtaking is a breeze. We did ask Subaru engineers if the power can be raised ever further, and according to them, power can be increased, but then a new gearbox would be required, and may affect fuel economy. The choice to use a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine follows current downsizing trends, which offers the best balance between fuel economy and performance. Despite the downsizing, driving fun has been retained, according to Russ Swift, and the Levorg performs like a 2.5-litre engine.
Interestingly enough, we also asked if the new 1.6-litre DIT boxer engine could find its way into other Subaru models, like the Subaru XV or the Subaru BR-Z, the engineers mentioned that there were no plans to do so, at least for the time being. What about a hotter Levorg STI? Glenn Tan, Chairman of Motor Image Taiwan said that the STI version of the Levorg won’t be coming so soon, but they are working on other STI models at the time being.
In terms of safety, the Subaru Levorg certainly is impressive. The Levorg comes with the Subaru Rear Vehicle Detection, which consists of Blind Spot Detection, Lane Change Assist and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. Blind Spot Detection uses radar sensors at the rear of the vehicle and a visual indicator at each side mirror to warn the driver by flashing an indicator if there is a vehicle in the driver’s blind spot. Lane Change Assist will flash the visual indicator if it senses a vehicle approaching in the next lane when the driver signals to change lane. Lastly, Rear Cross Traffic Alert can detect vehicles approaching when the driver reverses out from a parking lot and emits a warning tone as well as flashing the visual indicators in the side mirrors.
The Subaru Rear Vehicle Detection is available for the Taiwan, Philippines and Vietnam customers for the 2016 model year, while Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand may see the availability of the SRVD in the 2017 model year.
Elsewhere, the Subaru Levorg also features High Beam Assist and Auto Dimming Mirror. High Beam Assist uses a camera integrated in the room mirror monitors oncoming vehicles, and will automatically select the low beam when a vehicle approaches. The High Beam Assist and Auto Dimming Mirror will be developed for all countries, except Cambodia.
Inside, the range-topping Subaru Levorg GT-S features exclusive sport seats which are leather wrapped and features a unique blue stitching. The blue stitching can also be found on the door cards, gear shifter and on the multifunction flat-bottomed steering wheel. The Levorg GT gets regular cloth seats. Both variants do get four USB ports for charging, and one for multimedia streaming. Standard across both variants include paddle shifters, Subaru SI-Drive, voice command, cruise control, auto start-stop, electronic hand brake, Emergency Stop Signal (ESS), Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and keyless entry with push start button.
Both cars are identical on the outside, save for some minor differences. The Subaru Levorg GT-S has silver painted side mirrors, and body coloured ones on the Levorg GT. 225/45R18 rubbers are fitted to the Subaru Levorg GT-S, while the Levorg GT gets 215/50R17 rubbers all round. Interestingly, the Subaru Levorg GT’s rims feature plastic covers which directs air into the brakes for cooling purposes.
As for the Malaysian debut, we spoke to Andrew Lee, General Manager for Motor Image Malaysia. According to him, prices of the new Subaru Levorg has not been finalized yet, due to our continuously-fluctuating currency. Coupled with the fact that the launch is at least another six months away, it is certainly too soon to speculate the Levorg’s price in Malaysia.
Subaru Levorg photo gallery
