I've been dodging this question for a while now, but it keeps getting batted around the office so let's, finally, address the elephant in the showroom: who would actually buy the Subaru Levorg?
If that sounds harsh, sorry. We’ve had the Levorg as our trusty long-termer for the past three months, during which time we’ve assessed its driving ability as well as its whether or not it’s value for money in terms of equipment.
When driven in isolation, the Levorg is a highly confident cruiser – if not quite as sporty as first impressions might lead you to believe – and well equipped with things like DAB radio, satellite navigation and Subaru’s fantastic EyeSight safety kit all as standard.
The dilemma is that in its market segment, the Levorg is far from alone. It’s surrounded on all sides by estate cars that are more practical, sportier, cheaper to run, less compromised and equally well-equipped – often all at the same time and for less money upfront too.
Again, sorry. In this writer’s opinion, part of the car’s problem is that it seems to try to inhabit several different niches, but as a result doesn’t really fit into any of them.
With that classic Scooby scoop, the same chassis as the WRX STi, symmetrical all-wheel drive and a 167bhp turbocharged boxer engine, on the surface it looks like it would be gunning for the best in class in terms of driver engagement; a new incarnation of the Legacy Spec B wagon for the modern day.
Yet although the car is suitably agile and can shift itself at a decent pace, the CVT gearbox – this far the only transmission option available with the Levorg – feels like it robs the engine of its acceleration and doesn’t sound particularly great either. You can thank the Japanese market for that one, where CVTs are the latest must-have item in your car.
With the option of a manual gearbox and perhaps a few STi-inspired tweaks we reckon the Levorg could be a real cracker along the lines of the hot Subaru estates of yore, but in its current format it feels like its potential has been blunted.
What the CVT transmission is good for is refinement, and we can’t deny that the Levorg is an incredibly smooth car to drive, which is part of the reason why we recommended it as more of a cruiser than a B-road weapon. But then the WRX-based chassis makes it much too fidgety and largely unsuitable as a car for families.
Fuel efficiency, something with Subaru’s cars have traditionally struggled with, isn’t great either with economy rated at just 39.8mpg on the combined cycle, a figure which lags behind virtually any of its rivals. Given a diesel engine to match the CVT, along with the option of a manual and a bit more power for the petrol and the car might be on to something, but again its true potential is compromised.
Okay, well, aren’t Subarus good at off-roading? Absolutely they are, and cars like the hardy Outback and Forester models prove that if capability and rock-solid reliability are what you’re after then a Subaru will rarely do you wrong. Except that for the Levorg, Subaru makes a point of stating how its ground clearance is much, much lower than many other cars in its estate segment. Hmm.
Given that prices kick off from £27,695, you also could get a lot of car for the same amount of money. How about something like a Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer or a Volkswagen Passat Estate if you’re looking for a family car, both of which start from several thousand pounds less than the Levorg?
Or, if it’s a hot estate that you want, how about the Ford Focus ST Estate, which starts from just over £25,000? Or the Skoda Octavia vRS Estate, which is more powerful, faster, much more efficient and even comes with the option of four-wheel drive if you’re committed to having all wheels driven?
By all definitions, the Levorg is always going to be a niche car. It doesn’t really do anything better than any other car of its type, except that it’s a bit different. So, I ask again, who would buy the Subaru Levorg?
It’s a difficult question to answer by conventional standards, because if there’s a car that defies virtually all conventional standards and logic, it’s this one. But perhaps that’s the point…
Maybe it seems like I’m now trying a little too hard to justify the Levorg and there’s possibly a kernel of truth in there; despite everything I’ve just written above I can’t deny that I do have a soft spot for the big bescooped Scoob. But, just for a second, consider this: maybe by measuring the car by conventional standards, you’re looking at it from the wrong perspective.
Thing with Subaru is that it’s perfectly happy satisfying its existing customers rather than trying to attract any mainstream attention. Maybe making a niche car for a niche audience might seem a bit counter-productive, but then the manufacturer has always been about catering to its relatively modest but diehard fanbase.
True, there are many cars in the Levorg’s segment that’ll do the same job either a little bit better or for less money, but it’s not a car that tries to compete with anything else. It’s the modern incarnation of the Legacy, made for Legacy owners looking to update their car. They don’t want anything else; they want a Legacy, but a bit more modern.
Even the name ‘Levorg’ is a mashup of ‘Legacy’, ‘revolution’ and ‘touring’, and that’s all you need to know, really. The manufacturer’s entire business is built on the fact that, while not everybody likes its cars, those who do keep coming back to them again and again and again.
We still reckon that the option of a manual gearbox and a diesel engine would broaden the car’s appeal and abilities much further, while we’re also still keeping our fingers crossed for a proper STi version making its way here to the UK.
There are definitely times that the Levorg seems out of its depth compared to what’s available elsewhere in the market, and in reality it’s unlikely that its appeal will stretch beyond the dedicated Scoob fans. But then there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
