I tested the Subaru Levorg 2.0L STI Sport in October 2017. During the week I had the Levorg the thought continued to grow on me that this is a good alternative to the current crop of ever burgeoning SUVs.
The Subaru Levorg 2.0L STI Sport really could be called a STW. I just made that up, although I’m sure some clever marketing guru in one of the automotive manufacturers has used it before.
STW stands for Sports Touring Wagon. You really should ignore the use of STI on the Levorg, as it isn’t an STI in the same vein as the WRX STI. It is a road going Sports Touring Wagon. Owners of the WRX STI often race their cars on track days. The Levorg isn’t designed for that.
Anyway the point of this story is that the alternative nature of the Levorg became more apparent to me on a recent trip to that destroyer of sanity, IKEA. I liked the Levorg so much I asked the nice people at Subaru if they would lend it to me again.
I had to visit to buy some of their ‘easy to put together’ shelving systems. Now having been to IKEA before and having endured the 4km walk through endless displays of seemingly similar items and mind numbing homewares, I decided to take the shortcut through the exit.
You see, IKEA has cleverly designed the section where you actually pick up what you want just before the checkouts. There are rows and rows of stacked items in a massive warehouse style area.
So I look up the computer, locate the aisle and row where my items were and proceed to grab one of their trolleys and load up.
A couple of hundred dollars later, (amazing how all these little items really add up), and I am pushing the trolley towards my car. It is then that I remember that I have the Levorg 2.0L STI Sport and not the cab chassis Ute.
I know, sometimes I am a little slow. The problem is not the myriad of shelves and other items I have bought, it’s the incredibly tall shelf supports that are starting to cause me grief.
The shelf supports are 2.21m tall. My thought as I wandered towards my car is “oh dear, I wonder if these will fit”.
I thought, no problem, I will just lay down the back seats, they fold flat, and push forward the front seatback and all will be good. Well the rear seats do indeed fold flat, but the front seat doesn’t fold forward much, a product of the comfortable side bolsters.
The solution was to slide the front seat forward, take off the headrest, tilt the backrest as far back as it will go and woohoo the shelves slid right in and rested on top of the seat.
By this stage I’m sure you are saying that if I had a SUV or even a people mover, then no problem. And you would be right. An Isuzu M-UX or a Kia Carnival would have swallowed the shelves without a thought.
But that isn’t the point. The point is that the Levorg 2.0L STI Sport was able to take the load with a little work and still I got to drive something really cool to IKEA. I mean after all, if you have to go, you really need to go in style.
On top of that, the Levorg 2.0L STI Sport was able to fit all my gear in the back to take the shelves north to Anna Bay. All too easy really. I also should have got a better picture of my luggage, rather than just chucking it in.
On the freeway, the Levorg’s 2.0L turbocharged boxer engine shows its sporty nature, way more than any comparable SUV. The overall driving experience is sporty, firm and responsive.
Of course, the Levorg transfers the power to the wheels through Subaru’s brilliant Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system that is tried and true. Levorg’s lineartronic CVT transmission has a theoretical 8 gears and is seemingly well mated to the engine. The low profile tyres and tuned suspension gives a firm yet compliant ride, with a degree of road surface irregularity transferred through the steering wheel.
So the point of my diatribe is that yet again, the Subaru Levorg 2.0L STI Sport shows its flexibility in accommodating my lifestyle, while providing the sleek, stylish, fun transport I desire.
There are a few things that the Subaru Levorg 2.0L STI Sport STW (see that terminology is catching on) can’t do that a lot of SUVs can do, not many though.
But the Levorg is more fun to drive than any SUV this side of $80,000 and still has all the practical virtues of a wagon for your lifestyle.
Subaru Levorg 2.0L STI Sport
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Summary
There are a few things that the Subaru Levorg 2.0L STI Sport STW (see that terminology is catching on) can’t do that a lot of SUVs can do, not many though.
But the Levorg is more fun to drive than any SUV this side of $80,000 and still has all the practical virtues of a wagon for your lifestyle.
