Subaru Levorg Review 2024

If you’ve gotten this far, then there’s a slim possibility it is, but we’d seriously recommend you look elsewhere, even within Subaru’s own range, if, as is likely, you really don’t want to offend the Subaru dealer who you’re on first name terms with and have always bought your cars from. 

You could have a bigger Subaru Outback with its more rugged small SUV looks, larger boot, four-wheel drive and much the same equipment levels, for less than the Levorg. 

We’d call that an absolute no-brainer, particularly as the Outback comes with a larger 2.5-litre engine which produces more power and is actually more efficient. If you’re absolutely determined to be different, perhaps being the sort of person who might run a marathon in a stiletto heels carrying a fully-loaded brick hod, then, yes, consider a Levorg, but even then, only if it comes with a massive discount.

For best, read only, the sole Levorg option being that 2.0-litre CVT gearbox, four-wheel drive estate car. The best Levorg, then, is the only one you can have, and even then, taking the Subaru’s own sales pitch on the Levorg - practicality, all-wheel drive stability and capability - then it’s bettered by Subaru’s own (cheaper) Outback model. 

Significantly bettered, too. Indeed, it might be considered unusual for us to say so, but, in the best interests of our readers and good consumer advice, the reckon best Levorg you can buy isn’t in fact a Levorg, but is Subaru’s own Outback. 

That the Outback does everything the Levorg does and more, and for less money. Cross the showroom then, and buy it instead, you’ll thank us for it, and you won’t ruin your long-standing friendship with your Subaru dealer.

Ignoring that Outback across the Subaru showroom for a minute, the Levorg’s price means it can count among its rivals cars like the Volkswagen Passat, Audi A4 Avant (or Audi A4 Allroad), xDrive versions of BMW 3 Series Touring models, Skoda’s massive Superb Estate in 4x4 form, as well as any number of other mainstream and premium estate cars with, or without, four-wheel drive. 

Muddying the buying road further is a huge choice of SUV and small SUV models with greater four-wheel drive capability than the Levorg. All are similar, and, in reality, much better. However, if you want an estate with a 2.0-litre boxer engine, CVT and four-wheel drive we can’t think of another car that’s identical in specification, evidently, for good reason.

Think longevity when you look at the materials in the Subaru Levorg’s interior. It’s taken Japans other car brands decades to shake off reputation for hard surfaces in their cabins, but Subaru still has some way to go. 

It’s a cultural thing, apparently, Japanese traditionally seeing hard surfaces as high quality, which is at odds with the Western idea of soft-touch materials and tactility. In fairness to Subaru there’s some softer surfaces around the Levorg’s interior, the top of the dash having some give, while there’s leather covering the seats and around the lower centre console.

It doesn’t take too much digging to find some hard, scratchy plastics, though. In defence of Subaru, it all feels like it’ll outlive you, with any squeaks or rattles evident inside certain to be coming from any errant kid’s toys littered on the back seats, and not the cabin itself. 

There’s a 7-inch multifunction colour touchscreen in the centre of the dash which takes care of all the Subaru Levorg’s entertainment and information functionality. It works decently enough, with practice, though the icons can be a bit fiddly with plenty of distracting sub-menus. 

Within it there’s DAB radio, sat nav, Bluetooth connectivity, Subaru’s six-speaker audio system featuring both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as having voice recognition. There are steering wheel buttons for the audio, too. Given it was launched back in 2015 there’s a surprising number of USB sockets, with three pairs of outlets offering six in total, one or two still being more normal among its rivals. 

Two of those sockets are for the rear seat passengers, and in the unlikely event that you run out of USB sockets to charge smartphones, tablets and other devices, there’s a pair of 12-volt sockets, too.  

Above the main screen there’s a second, 5.9-inch LCD display for things like the front view monitoring system, fuel economy and clocks, outside temperature and how economically you might, or not, be driving.

Scroll back up the page to where we list potential rivals and you’ll read Volkswagen Passat and Audi A4 Avant, among others, those picked due to the Subaru Levorg’s pricing, rather than its size. 

Start comparing numbers on things that matter in the estate car market, that being boot volume, seats up or down, and the reality is that the Levorg actually sits below the Volkswagen Passat Estate in size, and is more comparable to its Volkswagen Golf Estate relation. Indeed, the Golf Estate’s 605 litres of boot capacity seats up, and 1,620 litres seats down actually better that of the Levorg, for which Subaru claims volumes of 522 litres and 1446 litres respectively.   

Indeed, start looking at cars like the class load-carrying champion Skoda Octavia, and the case for the Levorg becomes even less convincing. Even the Octavia’s hatchback model able to offer 590/1,580 litres of loadspace, and as an estate it’ll swallow either 610 or 1,740 litres of stuff, and can be had with four-wheel drive, too, and for less money. 

The Levorg’s boot does offer wide access, and a flat floor when the 40/20/40 split-fold seats are dropped, and there’s a useful underfloor storage area, too, which fits the boot luggage cover when it’s not needed. There’s also decent space for passengers inside, and two ISOFIX mounts on the outer rear seats.

If they’re not in use, four adults should be comfortable (five being a squeeze) while there’s decent cubby storage throughout that hard-wearing interior, but at the price point the Levorg operates at there are so many better load luggers out there. Not least Subaru’s own Outback, which offers 559/1,848 litres of luggage capacity, a more capacious interior for passengers and all for less money. 

In terms of exterior dimensions the Levorg measures 4690mm long, 1987mm wide and 1490mm tall. 

A single engine is available, Subaru bucked the downsizing turbocharging trend in 2019, by chucking out its downsized turbocharged 1.6-litre boxer engine, and replacing it with a larger 2.0-litre four-cylinder boxer that does without a turbo. Odd. 

Particularly as the result is less power, less torque and less flexibility, it almost like Subaru doesn’t want anyone to buy the Subaru Levorg. Add in higher emissions and poorer economy over the old engine, which in fairness is now measured to tougher standards, and it’s difficult to understand what Subaru was thinking when it swapped out the engine. WLTP combined consumption is 32.6mpg and 196g/km.  

Power is now quoted at 149.5PS and torque 198Nm, both those figures produced at fairly high revs – peak power being 6,200rpm and torque at 4,200rpm. 

If you’re used to a modern turbocharged petrol, or the ample mid- and low-range lug of a turbodiesel, the Levorg’s engine is going to feel particularly underwhelming and very hard work – 62mph arriving in who knows, Subaru omitting to quote a figure, only saying that its top speed is ‘approximately’ 121mph.  

All that might be okay if it were mated to a crisp-shifting manual transmission, but it’s not, Subaru retaining that other Japanese car manufacturer’s quirk of having a CVT automatic transmission. CVT – that’s Continuously Variable Transmission – do without conventional gears, instead being, as the name suggests, continuously variable. 

At low speeds CVTs are just about okay, but start asking anything brisker than urban pace and they have a tendency to hold engines at their peak revs for power. With the 2.0-litre engine here, that’s high, so there’s a lot of noise, but not a great deal of go to accompany it. 

You can ‘step’ the transmission via driving modes to make it feel more conventional, but it’s still not great if you do so. If the case for the Levorg was already thin, then the CVT it comes with is boxes it, wraps it up, adds a bow and should deliver you directly to any other dealership for your new estate car, or at least to an Outback if you really want a Subaru.

Subarus make a characteristic boxer sound, and so it proves here. It’s actually welcome, and nicely muted rather than front of house. Start moving with any real intent though and the sound becomes a noise, thanks to the fitment of that CVT and its tendency to hang on to revs.

It’s not a pleasant noise, either, hanging onto revs like a demented food mixer, which means you’ll likely just forget about overtaking slower traffic and instead just become part of a line of it instead. Wind and road noise are otherwise decently hushed, but that transmission is so dominant to the entire driving experience so as to detract from any strengths the Subaru Levorg might have elsewhere. 

Finally, the one shining star in the many in the Subaru badge. Safety. Subarus have an admirable record when it comes to crash testing, while the standard suite of safety equipment is very impressive indeed. The Levorg scored the full 5 out of 5 stars in the Euro NCAP crash test. 

Subaru includes its EyeSight system with the Subaru Levorg, it including Adaptive Cruise Control, Pre-collision braking, Lane sway and departure warning, Lane Keep Assist, while there’s also Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane Change Assist, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, a reversing camera, a smart rear view mirror that uses a camera to show the road behind, front driver and passenger side and curtain airbags, a driver’s kneebag, whiplash reducing front seats, Anti-Lock Brakes with electronic brake force distribution and a pair of ISOFIX child seat mounts in the rear. 

Add the stability and traction control systems, with the four-wheel drive and standard torque vectoring, and the Levorg should help you avoid an accident in the first place.  

A good deal of its standard safety equipment you’d have to take as a cost option on many, if not all, of its rivals, Subaru winning awards for its admirable commitment here.

Subaru has a good reputation for reliability, coming 7th out of 30 manufacturers in the latest HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index. The Levorg scored 10 for reliability and the Outback averaged 9.54. 

Annual or 12,000 miles for servicing, is fine, but insurance might be higher than the mainstream norm it competes on price with, if not those in the premium class above it. Dealers aren’t exactly everywhere, either, so unless you’re near one then you’ll have to travel to get it serviced. Your biggest likely cost is depreciation, as it’s both expensive new, and little understood by the market, which means it retained values are likely to be poor.

The 196g/km it emits which puts it in the 191-225g/km banding, meaning a £1,305 VED rate for the first year. The Subaru Levorg comes with a 5-year, 100,000-mile warranty as standard, with three-years UK and European roadside assistance.

A single trim, which comes fully loaded, particularly in relation to safety equipment. On kit alone it’s almost worth considering, but we’d still suggest avoiding it, as it’s too compromised elsewhere to have that extensive standard kit weigh it in its favour.