TOKYO MOTOR SHOW: Subaru Oz wants Levorg
Stylish new Subaru sports wagon on the radar for AustraliaSubaru will be without a seven-seat SUV for at least two years when the Tribeca is discontinued early next year, leaving the Exora as the brand’s only seven-seat model.
However, the Japanese brand’s Australian arm is keen to add the all-new Levorg, which made its world debut today in Tokyo, as a new sports wagon model to its range.
The Levorg goes on sale in Japan in January 2014 but is yet to be confirmed for export markets like Australia.
But its combination of sleek styling and two efficient yet powerful new direct-injection turbocharged petrol engines has Subaru excited.
“Obviously this has huge appeal for us and is one we’ve put out hand up for,” Subaru Australia Managing Director Nick Senior told motoring.com.au in Tokyo today.
“Discussions have started about if and when... The appeal for me in it is this is a new genre.”
Employing the front half of the latest Impreza platform, the Levorg is a sports wagon that would slot between the Impreza small car and Liberty mid-sizer.
In the absence of a hatchback version of the new WRX and a sub-$50,000 turbocharged Liberty, it would fill a niche not currently filled by Subaru in Australia.
“Subaru has historically been good at recognising new niches,” said Senior. “It’s a sports tourer with high performance and versatility, similar in size to the old Legacy/Liberty GT.
“For what it delivers in terms of performance and economy we’re pretty interested in it.
“It’s a totally new model that we’d see fitting into the line-up between the Impreza and Liberty families,” he said.
Senior said the Levorg – an “international” name that will be retained in all markets – had potential for export to markets outside of Japan, but only once it was launched domestically.
The all-wheel-drive Levorg will be offered with both 1.6- and 2.0-litre direct-injection turbocharged four-cylinder boxer engines, delivering a respective 125kW/250Nm and no less than 221kW/400Nm.
Both engines are matched to Subaru’s Lineartronic SI-Drive CVT transmissions, with the 1.6-litre getting a two-mode version of the transmission and the 2.0-litre featuring a Sport version with selectable eight-speed shift mode.
Fuel consumption is stated at 5.8L/100km for the idle/stop-equipped 1.6-litre and 7.6L/100km for the 2.0-litre.
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