The Ride: Subaru Levorg

The Subaru Levorg is a mid-size car manufactured since 2014 by Subaru. According to the company, the name Levorg is an acronym of three words, LEgacy, reVOlution, touRinG. The Levorg shares its platform with .

The Levorg was first shown as a pre-production concept car at the 43rd Tokyo Motor Show in November 2013. Subaru began collecting orders on the Japanese market on 4 January 2014, and the car went on sale in May. In February 2015 Subaru announced the introduction of the Levorg on the European market, and the car made its première on the continent at the Geneva Motor Show in March of the same year.

First generation (VM; 2014)

Specifications

On the market, the Levorg is available with two DOHC flat-four petrol engines, both turbocharged, intercooled and direct injected: a 170 PS (125 kW), 250 N⋅m (184 lbf⋅ft) FB16 1.6 L and a 296 PS (218 kW), 400 N⋅m (295 lbf⋅ft) FA20 2.0 L. The two are coupled to a Lineartronic continuously variable transmission and four-wheel-drive.

V-Sport

On November 20, 2019 Subaru launched the 2020 Subaru Levorg V-Sport. It features front sports seats with fabric upholstery, a leather wrapped steering wheel with silver stitching, as well as piano black and chrome trim. As with the variant it is based on, it sports Bilstein dampers, ventilated disc brakes and 225/45 R18 tires.

Sales

During its advance sales before launch, Subaru received about 11,000 orders in three months, 2,000 short of its projection.

Motorsport

On 12 January 2016, Subaru announced that it was entering the British Touring Car Championship, as a manufacturer entry, in partnership with Team BMR. For the 2016 season, the team were preparing four Levorg Sports Tourers to the championship’s Next Generation Touring Car specification. The BTCC Levorgs are configured as rear wheel drive rather than four wheel drive (which is disallowed by the championship’s regulations). Former double champions Jason Plato and Colin Turkington piloted the cars, along with team owner Warren Scott. The marque’s FA20 2.0 litre boxer engine was race prepared for the team by Mountune Racing.

The 2017 season saw some changes, including Ashley Sutton joining the team from MG Racing. Sutton went on to win the 2017 British Touring Car Championship for the team. Jason Plato continued driving the Levorg, but struggled to find pace throughout the season.

The 2018 season saw Team BMR switch from Mountune to Swindon as engine suppliers for the Levorg.

Unveiled as a prototype at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show on October 23, the second-generation model will switch to the Subaru Global Platform, with a newly developed 1.8 L CB18 engine. Like the previous generation, this model will not be sold in North America, but will go on sale in Japan in the second half of 2020.

On August 21, 2020, the second-generation Levorg was released in Japan.

Second generation (VN; 2020)

According to Subaru engine designer Tsuneaki Numamiyauchi, the displacement of the CB18 was chosen to balance an increase in maximum torque to 300 N⋅m (31 kg⋅m; 220 lb⋅ft) with improved fuel economy from adopting lean-burn technology. Fuel economy improved from 16.0 to 16.6 kilometres per litre (38 to 39 mpg_‑US) compared to the preceding generation’s FB16 engine. In addition, the overall length of the engine was shortened by 44 mm (1.7 in), allowing for a larger crush zone for safety.