Subaru Levorg considered for Australia

Will Subaru Australia import the Levorg 2.0GT, its WRX in five-door wagon form? After six months of speculation, the answer is rumoured to be close at hand.

Available in its domestic Japan since early 2014, it’s long been expected that the weirdly named Levorg would land in Aussie showrooms some time this year.

However, Subaru Australia has for the past six months managed to dodge a firm answer on the will-it-or-won’t-it question, even after the Levorg range was confirmed for European release at the Geneva motor show this past March.

The Levorg has been posted as being ‘around the corner’ on the official Subaru.com.au website since it first appeared, in prototype form, at 2013’s Tokyo motor show.

Why the interest? Of the four-model JDM range, the two high-spec GT and top-spec GT-S models feature a 2.0-litre turbo boxer four outputting 221kW and 400Nm.

And while a kerb weight of 1570kg is heavier than the current WRX sedan sold in Oz, the enlarged and more practical body style represents a more family-friendly package without diluting much in the way of WRX firepower.

The only real rub is that the Levorg range only adopts one transmission type, the continuously variable Lineartronic automatic.

A GT-spec Levorg would not only sit neatly besides the four-door-only Aussie WRX range (we don’t get the hatch version), it would bolster the painfully undersubscribed mid-size performance wagon segment currently only populated by Skoda Octavia RS and Renault Megane GT220.

It’s claimed that Levorg sales have been essentially double that of WRX since launch in its domestic Japanese market.

Why the delay? Perhaps Subaru Oz doesn’t want to cannibalize sales from Impreza-based XV, Forester and, importantly, the recently released Outback, which is currently enjoying huge sales success for the local importer.

It expected that the Levorg will be given an official green light for local release within the next month or so.

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