“Subaru Levorg 1000km Test Drive]It’s about time for an alternative to “”Symmetrical AWD “”20April 2, 2010, 19:00
Subaru Levorg 1.8 STI Sport with about 1000km on the odometer. At the Hijiori hot springs, where the scent of the Showa era is in the air. Front view of the Subaru Levorg 1.8 STI Sport. Rear view of the Subaru Levorg 1.8 STI Sport. The face of the Subaru Levorg 1.8 STI Sport. At Hijiori Onsen, Yamagata. Tail of the Subaru Levorg 1.8 STI Sport. It looks like a wall of snow from snow removal, but underneath this snow is a section of Route 458 that is closed for the winter.
Side view of the Subaru Levorg 1.8 STI Sport. The front and rear door opening lengths are generous enough, but the maximum opening and closing angles of the front and rear doors are not so large. The car’s driving stability on icy roads was at a noteworthy level.
We had a chance to tour about 1,000 km in Subaru’s C-segment station wagon “”Levorg”” and would like to report our impressions.
The Levorg is a relatively new model, with the first generation launched in 2014 to cover the growing size of the mainstay mid-size Legacy and Outback models, which were no longer suited to the Japanese market. This is an ambitious project, in which almost all technologies, including the platform, engine, and ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System), have been changed from one generation to the next. In addition to the Japanese market, it is also sold in the European market, where car consumption trends are similar to those in Japan.
The road test vehicle was the 1.8-liter turbocharged high-end “”STI Sport EX”” equipped with the new ADAS “”EyeSight X””. The test drive was conducted on a round trip from Tokyo to Yamagata, with the furthest destination being the famous Hijiori Onsen hot spring resort, which is famous for its heavy snowfall. The outward route was via Fukushima and Yamagata on the highway, and the return route was via Yonezawa, Kitakata in Fukushima, Aizu Tajima, Nikko in Tochigi, and back to Tokyo on the open road. The rough road ratio was 2 urban, 3 suburban, 3 highway, and 2 mountain roads, with one passenger and air conditioning on AUTO.
First, let us list five advantages and five disadvantages of the Levorg STI Sport EX.
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■Pros
1. ease of use in snowy areas, which seems to have been designed on the basis of engineers’ actual experience.
(2) Straightforward and controllable handling on snow and in the dry.
3. high roll rigidity, but not too uncomfortable to ride in.
Front seats have excellent seating comfort and are not fatiguing.
5. spacious rear seat comfort and large cargo space.
Disadvantages
Fuel economy is disappointing for an engine with a maximum thermal efficiency of 40%.
(2) The ride feel is not as luxurious as that of the company’s XV e-BOXER.
Only when guiding the driver along the route can the driver experience the special feeling of the EyeSight X.
4. at over 4.7m in length, it is a bit long for this class.
It is about time for an alternative to Symmetrical AWD (4-wheel drive).
Now, let’s start with impressions.
Good cohesion of driving performance, comfort, and utility
Touring 1,000 km with STI Sport EX, a sporty grade of the 2nd generation Levorg. My driving impression was that it was a very well organized station wagon with a full range of driving performance, comfort, and utility features. The dynamic quality of the car is really high, and it is very pleasant to drive. Winter driving performance was also excellent, and the car was able to drive briskly even in conditions where the road was covered with a thick layer of soft snow. The camera installed under the hood is very useful for ensuring safety in snowy areas where visibility is extremely poor due to snow walls, and the car’s high adaptability to northern regions is a true testament to Subaru.
On the other hand, the energy efficiency of the powertrain was unexpectedly low, and the quality of the interior and exterior was childish. Traditional Subaru users will be very satisfied with the Subaru’s all-weather tourer character, including snow-covered roads, and its high dynamic quality, but if the aforementioned weak points were eliminated, the Subaru would have a wider customer base in Japan and Europe, where the need for a body of this size is high. It was a little regrettable.
Now, let us discuss the details.
The first is the “”Mazda2″”. Driving performance and ride comfort in different situations are
General Roads: The 2nd generation Levorg has a very solid feel. Perhaps due to the good tuning of rubber parts such as the front suspension upper mount rubbers, the steering wheel hardly generates a rattling feeling even when going over rough pavement. Harshness (rumbling and roughness) cutting is also excellent. Also, the steering wheel feels as smooth as that of a high-end sports car, making the drive enjoyable.
The STI Sport is equipped with an electronically controlled suspension with three levels of shock absorber damping force, and even at the firmest Sport setting, the thrust was minimal and comfortable. The softest setting, Concort, softens the suspension considerably, but the up-and-down movement of the heavy 235-mm wide tires is slightly less controlled, resulting in a slight bouncing sensation. In the end, I spent most of my time in the Sport, which is highly agile and has little to lose in terms of ride comfort.
On the highway, straight line stability during highway cruise is excellent, and the ride is basically comfortable. The suspension mode is also suitable for this stage where the road surface itself is clean and it is more important to absorb long period undulations (undulations of the road surface), such as on the Tohoku Expressway and the Tohoku Chuo Expressway.
However, compared to Subaru’s XV e-BOXER crossover SUV, which has a fixed suspension but is smooth enough to make it lose face in the premium segment in Europe, this vehicle is a step behind in terms of quality. It was marginally better than the regular XV, but we did wish this car had that mellow taste.
The car’s stability on icy roads was at a noteworthy level.
The car’s driving stability on icy roads was at a noteworthy level.
Mountain roads: Even with the STI Sports grade, the Levorg is not a sports car, but its performance is more than adequate for driving on public roads in Japan. The roll balance of the front and rear suspensions is very good, and the car is not dependent only on the grip of the front tires, but is also well tuned to feel the friction of the road surface while driving hard. The car was a very good example of the type of car that can be used in the market. Subaru vehicles are characterized by long front overhangs due to the structure in which the horizontally opposed engine and transmission are arranged in series, but I hardly felt the weight of the nose.
On snow and ice: This is where the Levorg really shines. Even when understeering occurs on low-muelled roads, the rear wheels are set up to control the driving force to create a clean turning posture. We also tried driving on deep snow in the Hijiori Hot Springs area, and even if one of the four wheels idled for a moment, the other wheels recovered quickly, and there was very little meandering. The temperature from Yonezawa in Yamagata Prefecture to Kitakata in Aizu was minus 11 degrees Celsius, and almost all of the road was icy except for the tunnel, but the combination of the Blizzak VRX3’s good grip on ice and constant four-wheel drive made it possible to drive through the snow without any worries.
The tires installed were Bridgestone Blizzak VRX3 studless tires in 235/40R18 size. The performance is excellent not only on ice, but also in dry grip and quietness. The price was well worth it.
The Bridgestone Blizzak VRX3 studless tires are 235/40R18 size. The performance was excellent not only on ice but also dry grip and quietness. The price was well worth it.
Symmetrical AWD is Subaru’s signature technology, and it is a wonderful thing, but I also felt that it was time to look for the next strong point. The opponent is electric AWD, which is being refined by Tesla, Volvo, and in Japan by Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, etc. Usually, electric AWD provides supplementary driving force to the rear wheels, but these are equipped with powerful motors on both front and rear axles and have no mechanical restrictions on the distribution of driving force between front and rear. The range of tuning is wide, and because electric motors are used, the degree of control is much greater than that of engine-powered vehicles. It is amazing that a mechanical drive force distribution can compete with such a car, but I had the feeling that there was not much time left for me to spend leaning on this technology.
The “”speed”” is perfect. But is it fuel efficient enough?
The Levorg’s engine is a newly developed 1.8-liter horizontally opposed direct-injection turbo with maximum output of 130 kW (177 ps). The transmission is a metal chain-driven CVT (continuously variable transmission), a specialty of the company. The acceleration time from 0-100km/h was 7.9 seconds based on actual measurements using GPS. This time is respectable for a model with a power-to-weight ratio of a little less than 9 kg/ps. A 2.4-liter turbo engine with a maximum output of 202 kW (275 ps) is also available for those who want even more speed.
The dynamic performance was good, but fuel economy was not as high as expected, even taking into account some driving on snow. The 864.3-km segment starting from Katsushika, Tokyo, and reaching Oyama, Tochigi, after touring around Tohoku, was fueled with 55.54 liters and the actual fuel consumption was 15.5 km/liter. The 91.7-km segment from there back to Tokyo was fueled with 7.94 liters, for an actual fuel consumption of 12.2 km/liter. Over all, 15.1 km/liter.
Engine bay of the Levorg 1.8 STI Sport. The intercooler is placed on top of the short horizontally opposed engine, among other things, a familiar sight to Subaruists.
The engine bay of the Levorg 1.8 STI Sport. The intercooler is placed on top of the short horizontally opposed engine, a familiar sight to Subaruists.
One might think that an AWD station wagon weighing in the 1.5-ton range would run this well, but Subaru engineers were confident in the engine’s 40% peak thermal efficiency. Even though the engine is not highly efficient throughout the entire range, I felt that I could not improve the fuel efficiency as much as I wanted in the early part of the drive, so I tried to find the sweet spot in my own way, and being a person who lacks patience, I was careful not to waste energy throughout the drive except for a few sections. But I found this figure to be a little disappointing. If the same driving style could get at least 17 km per liter, the impression would be different, and we would like to see the car improved.
The engine sound is not the Subaru sound of the days of unequal-length exhaust pipes, but it is clearly different from the sound of a normal inline 4-cylinder engine, with a “”shrollrollrollrollroll…”” sound. The driver can still feel the satisfaction of being equipped with a special type of engine.
Comfort and cargo space as good as those of the European wagons
The horizontally opposed + AWD powertrain, in which the engine and transmission are longitudinally arranged in series with the front wheels’ shaft coupling located far back, has a large front-to-back length, which is less efficient in terms of packaging than a typical transverse-mount engine. However, with an overall length of 4755 mm, the second-generation Levorg is considerably longer than a typical C-segment station wagon, and both the interior and cargo space do not feel cramped at all; in fact, they are quite spacious.
Front seats. The shoulder support is very effective and provides excellent stability.
Front seats. The shoulder support works very well and the body stability is excellent.
The design of the front seats is very good. The STI Sports seats have leather upholstery, which is also non-slip, and the minimal feeling of fatigue after 1,000 km was first-rate.
The seats are leather, but they are also slip resistant and the feeling of fatigue after 1000 km was first class. The instrument panel of the STI Sports EX is a large, all-LCD display that can be changed dynamically between pointer type, digital type, and car navigation screen, just like an imported car. The car navigation screen is particularly useful, as it is quite large and allows the driver to grasp map information at a glance. There are many arguments about where the car navigation screen should be placed for safety, but at least this one is incomparably easier to see than the one in the center cluster.
Since there was only one passenger in the car throughout the trip, we were not able to check the rear seats while the car was running, but at least the space did not feel cramped at all. Legroom is generous and relaxing. The seat backs are bucket-shaped, although not as much as the front seats, and when I sat down and swung my body from side to side, I got the impression that the lateral G-force resistance was not bad at all.
Thanks to the long body, the cargo capacity with the rear seats folded down is comparable to that of a D-segment station wagon, which is one class higher.
Thanks to its long body length, the cargo capacity with the rear seats folded down is comparable to that of a D-segment station wagon, which is one class higher.
The cargo area is vast and can hold a lot of tools. When Subaru rents out its vehicles for the winter, it includes seven tools for getting out of a stack. A ladder to hook onto the tires, a shovel, tire socks, hand wipers and brushes, snow melting chemicals, boots, etc., are all packed in a fairly large box emblazoned with the STI logo. The box occupies only a small corner of the cargo area, so it would be no problem to load a large amount of other large items into the cargo area.
The cargo space is said to be 561 liters according to the VDA system, but it is much larger than the 600-liter European C It did not look so inferior to the Volkswagen Golf Variant and Peugeot 308SW, the east and west champions of the station wagon segment. It would be well suited as a vacation express.
EyeSight X value, luxury car-like active high beams
The instrument panel is as versatile as a premium segment model in terms of display switching, including a pointer type, EyeSight X mode, and in-car navigation system. It also provides signal alerts as shown in the photo.
The meter panel can switch between a wide variety of displays, including the indicator type, EyeSight X mode, car navigation system, etc., just like a premium segment model. As shown in the photo, signal alerts are also displayed.
The test car was equipped with “”EyeSight X,”” a new-generation driver assistance system that can use the positioning of the quasi-zenith satellite “”MICHIBIKI. This system performed very well when the car’s navigation system was guiding the route. First of all, the system did not hesitate to keep the car in its lane and did not try to go in strange directions even when the road surface lines were slightly fading or the center pole was irregularly lined up. The lane change assist that works with the turn signals was also much smoother than the Tesla Model 3, which requires a much higher margin of safety.
The system can be used as a normal ADAS without route guidance, but the performance then was less than with route guidance…or rather, the sensation was that it would be a normal EyeSight. In Japan, roads are more irregular than in other developed countries, and the lines on highways, the length of exits and inlets, and the curvature of curves can be rather varied. In such places, one sometimes makes a mistake in recognition and gets pulled onto the outflow road, and so on, which makes one’s ability to be on par. If the system can be improved to the point that it is completely different even when not being guided, people will find it more valuable.
The headlamps implement active high beams that avoid vehicles ahead and oncoming traffic. This performance was very good.
The headlamps are equipped with active high beams that avoid vehicles ahead and oncoming traffic. This performance was very good.
The headlamps are equipped with active high beams that avoid vehicles ahead and oncoming traffic, which is a big plus when driving at night. The adaptive beam system, which changes light distribution characteristics in conjunction with the steering wheel, also provided ample illumination capability. The car was safe to drive even on the pitch-dark roads between Yonezawa and Kitakata. Incidentally, the number of vehicles equipped with active high beams has been increasing recently, but the Levorg’s system not only switches between high and low beams, but also seems to operate in such a way that the high and low beams change continuously. It is a luxury car.
The deciding factor in choosing the Levorg was its “”snow resistance.””
Some deep snow roads. As expected, there was a lot of idling, but the car rarely swung sideways. Normally, we would have liked to test the car on a more severe road.
Slightly deep snow. As expected, the car idled a lot, but it rarely swung sideways. Normally, we would have liked to test the car on a tougher road.
Although the drive in heavy snow ended in a disappointment, the second-generation Levorg is a model with a unique product lineup: an all-weather AWD wagon that can perform well in dry, wet, snowy, and icy conditions, as well as on good and bad roads. The ride feel is closer to that of the WRX sports sedan than to the more sedate XV e-boxer. It was a very pleasant ride, but we would have liked to see the electronic suspension tuned to soften the ride so that it would lick off all road irregularities like the XV e-BOXER.
A non-premium C-segment vehicle with a starting price of over 3 million yen is a bit of a unique position, and there are no rivals that seem to compete directly with it. If we had to pick a domestic car, we would say the Toyota Corolla Touring, but its price range is about 1 million yen different, and its body size and space are completely different, so it would not be a difficult choice to make. In terms of price, the 8th generation Golf Variant and the 308SW, which were cited in the section on cargo space, are close, but they are also different in terms of speed and drive system.
The reason to choose the Levorg is not only its speed and fun factor, but also its ability to withstand snow. Many of Subaru’s R&D staff are from northern countries such as Hokkaido and Tohoku. Because of their firsthand knowledge of snowy regions, they have a wealth of ideas not only on performance, but also on what problems are encountered in car life in snowy regions, and how to solve them.
Driving while looking at the silvery white Chokaisan in the distance.
Driving with the silvery Chokai Mountains in the distance.
Three years ago, I drove a Subaru in a snowy area, and I remember how hard it was to get snow on the tail lamps. Recently, LED lamps, which generate less heat, have become widely used, and it often happens that the tail lamps are covered with snow, making it difficult for following cars to see them. Subaru cars are also increasingly using LEDs, but if you look at the rear of the car, you will see that the garnish-like part of the car is covered with snow, but the lamps are almost completely free of snow.
In the past, the combination lamps of Mercedes-Benz cars had sharp bumps on them, but I remember that this was done so that the brake lamps and direction indicator lights could be seen even if only in a glimpse. I was made acutely aware once again of this fact. In order to see where such ingenuity lies, I attempted to drive in the snow in a Levorg, but came up empty this time. I would like to try again if I have the chance.”
