Talented but still the outsider
As the only traditional wagon in Subaru’s lineup, is the latest Levorg a hidden treasure? Richard Bosselman finds out.
More efficient, more fun to drive, often better-looking . . . salient reasons why performance-themed station wagons make better sense than sports utility-based equivalents.
And against? They’re not SUVs. Case closed.
Such is life for the sole lowriding wagon in Subaru’s otherwise SUV-centric lineup.
Forester, Outback, XV. These are the Subarus with a room at the back we buy into. Levorg? In aiming at a vanishingly narrow arc of the market, it has struggled to gain traction.
The desertion of wagons in general for SUVs hasn’t helped. But has the recipe ever been right? Combining a practical wagon body with the potent WRX engine, plus the performance icon’s front-end styling and all-wheel-drive system, is a tasty proposition. Yet high price and low equipment plus a less-than-ideal ride and handling setup undoubtedly were off-putting at release.
In the main, those factors still inhibit the 2020 edition that is surely effectively a runout of the present format.
Even with enhanced equipment and accessories, said by the maker to have around $10,000 value, yet with the price just $1000 higher than before, it struggles to make its point.
OK, so I’m not dissing the Subaru Technica dress-up. Those 19-inch black STI wheels with cross-drilled brake rotors, a black mesh grille, black badges and all accents that were in chrome being given a matt black treatment? It’s a striking alteration, especially with the grey added to the palette this time around.
The equipment also achieves a light refresh, with introduction of more driver-assist features and an infotainment upgrade that allows the same Apple CarPlay and Android Auto operability that has been a feature of the SUV models for some time, with a 7-inch touchscreen. All the displays have better graphics and the menu layouts make more sense.
Satellite navigation allows mapping and software updates, and it achieves quick-charge USB ports suitable for recharging tablet devices.
Subaru’s brilliant stereoscopic EyeSight camera system that triggers the brakes itself if it reckons you’re about to run into something has been improved so that it now detects the presence of pedestrians and cyclists earlier. The safety suite also provisions plenty more – including pre-collision braking and rear cross traffic alert – but the lane keep is so over-zealous you’ll hate it.
The interior layout isn’t as smart or ergonomically adept as the latest Forester and Outback, yet is on the right side of the brand’s transition to a modern look and better plastics quality. Importantly, it also feels robust.
What’s the appeal of a roadsorted wagon that costs more than others set up for off-seal driving and that have more cargo volume yet cost less?
That’s a massive factor going against Levorg. It’s not just that the boot (489-911 litres) is more modestly sized than those in a Forester and Outback. Cabin storage is also average, and even though the lack of a sloping roofline aids headroom in the back, compromise is required to ensure rear passengers get enough legroom.
Fair dues, handy bag hooks and a pair of netted-off recesses
for stowing small items are useful touches in the boot. The roll-out style cargo blind less so.
No change occurs to the body shape, but that’s no bad thing. The model has always benefited from having an air of Impreza turbo visual aggression.
Around the front, there is a deep air dam and that big, hoovering air intake atop the bonnet and the car’s hunkered stance, all the more accentuated by those big rims and low-profile rubber, add weight to the brand promise of this being, foremost, a car for driving enthusiasts.
Which it is. What it isn’t, always, is a car passengers will love as much. At least, that was the feedback from two rellies I ferried to their rural home.
I guess they had to excuse my enthusiasm for wanting to exploit its sporting nature over what is a cracking road. Certainly, you’re inspired by that engine, not only its thrust but also the note.
The Levorg is one of the last Subarus in which that classic flat four forest gravel stage soundtrack still evidences loud and clear. Also, the trademark fulltime four-wheel-drive also enables it with astounding traction. It plays a strong game. I’d suggest anyone who manages to get this car out of shape while running on a grippy surface would’ve had to be trying stupidly hard. It demonstrates excellent body control and delivers good brakes and light, accurate steering.
So it has talent. And yet . . . it’s still something of a frustrating car. I’ve banged on enough in the past about why I think Subaru is chancing it in tying so closely to CVT technology.
On the plus side, the Lineartronic is about as good as a CVT can get. On the negative, it still leaves an impression that even the best CVT is not as good as a half-decent automated manual. The overly fussy Subaru Intelligent (SI) Drive setup hardly helps; the sports settings are overly enthusiastic, anything less too slow. And who’s going to buy a sporty wagon to drive gently? Exactly.
Fair dues to my passengers. They’re right. That Bilstein setup is stiff, almost the complete antithesis of Subaru’s SUVs, which also deliver tremendously reassuring traction yet have much more yield. I’m not suggesting the Levorg needs to go soft, but it would benefit from having a more flowing feel.
Basically, then, there’s really no change to what it does, just to how it appears. And even then, the changes are marginal. I’d say that’s not enough to alter preferences and prejudices. It’s still the outsider.