19 September 2016

Subaru Levorg 2016 car review

If you mourned the loss of the Subaru Legacy GT wagon, you’ll be pleased to know its new spiritual successor has arrived. The all-wheel drive, turbo sports wagon that we all know and love is back, but now it has a new name — the Levorg. And it’s Subaru’s first, all-new model since the 2012 BRZ.


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Subaru Levorg 2016
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There’s only one spec available in the New Zealand market, but don’t worry it’s the best. The 2.0GT-S has all the goodies that you’d expect from a top of the range Subaru. It boasts similar sizing and features to the 5th generation Legacy, yet it did take me back to the days of driving a WRX sports hatch.

The Levorg was a pleasure to drive. Its power delivery was smooth and it had nice turbo acceleration. The well-engineered, Subaru Lineartronic, CVT transmission perfectly matched the famous 197kW, 2.0L, direct-injection, turbocharged, boxer engine. After making good use of the sport mode and paddle shifters, I was very impressed with the transmission operation. It even took a fair bit of concentration to discover that the transmission was in fact a CVT!

Got the blues

I love the colour blue, so I loved the interior. Everything from the blue stitched interior trim, to the illuminated instrument display created a very fresh look. The borderless infotainment screen was easy to navigate and you can customise the extra top dash display to show a digital gauge, fuel information, analogue clock, plus other handy features. Space isn’t an issue as you can configure the stylish rear seats to create extra space for the adventurous soul or extravagant shopper. Adults can be seated quite comfortably in the back seats as well, and the centre arm rest doubles up as one of the many beverage holders found throughout.

All the assist and safety features within the Subaru made achieving a 5-star ANCAP rating easy. The Levorg includes Subaru’s third generation EyeSight® safety technology, and the handling department is taken care of by fitting Bilstein suspension.

The exterior styling is very sleek and the gaping intake in the bonnet gives a hint of the power that lies within. The front resembles the Impreza, but the rear styling throws a Legacy element in to the equation.

At a glance
Models Levorg 2.0L GT-S
Engine 2.0L turbo boxer 4 cylinder
Price From $56,990
ANCAP safety rating 5 star
Power 197kW
Transmission Subaru Lineartronic Transmission CVT
Fuel economy 8.7L/100km combined
Towing capacity 750kg unbraked, 1200kg braked
2WD/4WD/AWD AWD
Seating capacity 5
Safety systems
Vehicle Dynamics Control System (VDC) Blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert
ABS, ESC, TCS Lane change assist
TCS limited slip device Reverse camera
Brake/hill start assists Active torque vectoring
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