Motor Australia — January 2018

Subaru Levorg STI Sport

Err,no,it’snotaLevorgSTIasyoumightthinkitis

AS FAR as badges go, Subaru has built

‘STI’ into a legend. Right up there with

AMG, RS and GTI. But with reputation

comes responsibility.

When the STI badge ventured from

the WRX to the fourth-gen Liberty,

Subaru went all-out with pillow-

ball suspension, Brembo brakes and

a healthy engine tune to keep its

reputation intact.

Now the badge meets the Levorg.

The priciest GT-S variant was trounced

by Skoda’s Octavia RS230 in aMOTOR-

hosted face-off not so long ago, where

the Czech exposed a lacklustre chassis

and uninspiring boxer engine on the

Subaru’s part.

This time around, the badge has

bumped the price above $50K with

interior bits, exterior upgrades and

a new colour. At its core, though,

the turbo 2.0-litre four carries over

unchanged, delivering 197kW at

5600rpmand350Nmat2400rpm.

With a not-terrible CVT transmission

behind it (there’s no manual option,

disappointingly), the all-wheel drive

wagon should easily best the GT-S’s old

6.6sec claim to 100km/h from rest.

Styling-wise, it has a new front

bumper, new grille, and importantly, a

pink badge in the grille’s bottom-right

corner. Our test car came in WR Blue

with attractive 18-inch STI alloys.

The other stuff is inside, with the side

sills, instrument cluster, and steering

wheel scoring STI logos. Although

the real highlights are the maroon

leather sports seats, which are more

comfortable than the WRX STI Spec R’s

Recaros, and suit the cabin’s solidness

and refinement.

The Levorg’s strut-front suspension

and multi-link rear are retuned with

new spring rates, damper rates and

length, along with different bushes

and rear anti-roll bar. Subaru claims

better ride and flatter cornering with

First Fang

ENGINE 1998cc flat-4cyl, DOHC, 16v, turbo / POWER 197kW @ 5600rpm / TORQUE 350Nm @ 2400-5200rpm / WEIGHT 1539kg / 0-100KM/H 6.6sec (estimated) / PRICE $51,990

by LOUIS CORDONY

New. Fast. Driven.

the update, while the STI also scores a

unique tune for its Bilstein dampers.

We can report cornering prowess

has improved, slightly, while upgraded

brake pads have firmed pedal feel and

revealed the new suspension setup

doesn’t pitch as hard into corners.

This composure still unravels the

faster you go, though. That front axle

or the tyres never feel up to your

enthusiasm levels. There’s also still too

much jiggling over bumpy stuff as the

dampers struggle to keep the wagon’s

mass tied down – not to mention

the fact the steering is void of feel,

feedback or precision.

At corners you take bites with the

speed-sensitive steering to find a line,

which is a shame because the Levorg

balances well once hooked in.

Ultimately it only takes a couple

corners to know that the Levorg STI

Sport is far from the real deal. Which is

very disappointing.

You could argue that ‘Sport’ suffix

serves as an asterisk, but there’s no

evidence of it on this Levorg’s rump.

And the reality is the car is nowhere

near as rapid, grippy, or rewarding

enough to earn itself the honour.M

Like

Solid cabin; lovely

seats; wagon looks

STAR RATING

Dislike

Bland steering;

poor ride; grip

limits

3.0

36 january 2018 motormag.com.au