CAPE TOWN – Subaru fans (or indeed anyone who read our news piece from back in February) will know that the Levorg is headed to South Africa in the relatively near future. Bona fide Subaru aficionados, however, will recognise that the one pictured here isn’t.
Confused? Let us explain. The Levorg is indeed coming to our shores (with the launch pushed back to the first quarter of 2018), but Subaru SA will instead bring in the freshly facelifted version.
Why, then, do we have the pre-update model – one that you will not be able to buy in SA – on these pages? Well, the local arm of the Japanese automaker happened to have an example knocking about (after it conducted some local testing of its nifty EyeSight driver assistance technology), so we were offered an early taste. Needless to say, we gratefully accepted.
Interesting name, that…
So, what is it? Well, despite the nameplate being conceived via a somewhat tenuous blend of existing words – Legacy, Revolution and Touring – the Levorg is best thought of as a WRX wagon. Simple as that.
Indeed, under its bonnet – which features the obligatory, signature scoop – beats the same 2,0-litre, four-cylinder heart that does duty in the WRX. The turbocharged, horizontally opposed unit churns out 197 kW and 350 N.m (again, matching the peak outputs of the sports sedan), with the latter figure on tap between 2 400 and 5 200 r/min, splitting its oomph neatly between the front and rear axles courtesy of Subaru’s trademark symmetrical all-wheel-drive system.
In the Levorg, however, there is no manual gearbox. Instead, your only option is a continuously variable transmission (CVT). But while we’ve identified foibles with the stepless transmission in the past – chiefly when pressing on, particularly in the most aggressive of the three driving modes in this case – the Tokyo-based automaker’s CVT (which it dubs Lineartronic) is undoubtedly the best of its kind currently on the market, emitting noticeably less drone than examples from other manufacturers and going about its business with little fuss at town speeds.
In fact, in combination with the eager flat-four turbopetrol mill and grippy AWD, the transmission affords the Levorg surprising verve off the line, cleverly camouflaging some of the turbo-lag and allowing a claimed 0-100 km/h time of just 6,6 seconds (just three-tenths slower than the WRX sedan). Subaru has again built in “virtual” gears and included paddle-shifters, but since these offer little in the way of driver involvement, the CVT is best left to its own devices.
Big on composure
While the current-generation WRX is somewhat more civilised than its forebear, this Boxer-powered Levorg is a little more cultured still. However, despite it being quieter on the open road, the ride is still firm, with the wagon seemingly favouring performance over outright comfort … just. The low centre of gravity (and relatively squat driving position) certainly does lend itself to enthusiastic cornering (for a wagon, anyway), goading the driver to take advantage of the AWD-flavoured surefootedness once the tarmac turns twisty. We do know, however, that the facelifted model destined for local dealers will benefit from “suspension enhancements”, although the effect of such fettling remains to be seen.
Of course, being a station wagon, the Levorg boasts oodles of usable interior space, with enough rear legroom to satisfy grumpy six-footers and a luggage compartment capable of swallowing more than that of your average compact SUV (at a claimed 522 litres). A simple tug on a pair of boot-mounted levers, meanwhile, sees the 60:40 split rear bench fold down almost flat, further expanding the already significant loading space.
Although equipment levels of the SA-spec models have yet to be determined, we can tell you that our test vehicle featured as many as six USB ports scattered around the cabin, a neat seven-inch touchscreen, a reversing camera (with a second, passenger-side-mounted camera streaming its feed to a smaller, 4,3-inch screen higher up the facia) and heated seats up front.
In addition, local Levorg models will come fitted with the aforementioned EyeSight safety technology, which is set to be rolled out to other models, starting with the new XV. Subaru says this tech – which works off a stereo camera system and includes a series of warning lights in the driver’s eye-line at the bottom of the windscreen, plus secondary warnings in the instrument cluster – is designed to “reduce or circumvent” collisions caused by driver error and fatigue. We’ve written a separate piece on our experiences with this driver assistance system, which you can read here.
First take
So, our first impressions of the Levorg? It’s really rather good, commendably blending the pace of a performance-oriented vehicle with the space of an estate. Add a spot of revised exterior styling and an updated interior – as well as those upcoming suspension tweaks – and you may just have a compelling alternative (depending on final pricing, of course) to the plethora of mainstream SUVs pottering around our roads.
Whether wagon-phobic South Africans will agree, however, remains to be seen. Ultimately, the Levorg seems destined to fill another narrow niche in Subaru SA’s underrated local line-up and, while it probably won’t find that many buyers in SUV-loving SA, those it does (likely from the stable of brand aficionados mentioned above) will be eminently satisfied. It is a WRX underneath, after all…
