Levorg

Subaru released its WRX-based Levorg wagon in June 2016, aiming to attract buyers that would have been interested in purchasing the previously-discontinued Liberty GT wagon.

The Levorg employed the 197kW/350Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged boxer four-cylinder engine used in the WRX, and was offered with three variants – the GT, GT-S and GT-S Spec B.

The Levorg aimed to target the less expensive Skoda Octavia RS and Mazda6 wagons, but with the dearer BMW 3 Series and Audi A4 wagons also in its sights.

It was three-tenths of a second slower than its WRX CVT stablemate on the standstill to 100km/h sprint, at 6.6 seconds. It was also 0.1 litres per 100km thirstier on the combined cycle fuel consumption test, at 8.6L/100km.

Every Levorg featured Subaru’s EyeSight safety system with adaptive cruise control, pre-collision alert, pre-collision steering assistance and autonomous emergency braking (AEB). This was in concert with a rear camera, dual front, front-side, full-length curtain and driver’s knee airbags, and switchable electronic stability control (ESC).

The GT-S also got blind-spot monitor, lane-change assistance, rear cross-traffic alert and LED lower windscreen lights that illuminate yellow or red depending on the severity of an imminent impact.

The GT kicked off the standard kit list with auto-off LED headlights, foglights, keyless auto-entry with push-button start, a 6.2-inch colour touchscreen with AUX/USB/CD/Bluetooth audio streaming connectivity, dual-zone climate control, leather trimmed steering wheel and gearshift knob, and cloth trim.

The $5900 stretch to the GT-S then upsized the centre screen to 7.0 inches and adds satellite navigation, Siri and Pandora internet app connectivity and a side-view monitor, a sunroof, auto on/off headlights, high-beam and wipers, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, plus leather trim with heated sports front seats including driver eight-way electric adjustment.