Subaru Levorg Layback: Chasing successful Outbacks

As small as Subaru is in the Netherlands, it is as big in the United States. Subaru sells about 50,000 cars there every month. That is roughly the same number as Subaru has sold in its home country in the first half of the year. The Japanese are ready for a future full of EVs, but they are also not forgetting to expand the current range. The current Levorg, which is not available in the Netherlands, will have a new sister model that will be called the Levorg Layback. That seems to be an Outback-like variant of the car that lives its life elsewhere in the world as a WRX ‘Wagon’.

The first generation Subaru Levorg was also sold in the Netherlands between 2015 and 2019, but the current second series of the Levorg is not for sale in our country. Although the Levorg is simply called Levorg again in Japan, the car is known as WRX Sportswagon in Australia, WRX GT in New Zealand and WRX Wagon elsewhere in the world. Where you had to see the previous Levorg more or less as the station wagon version of the Impreza, the Levorg is that of the current WRX, although it does not always have the power source of that sporty sedan version. Subaru is now releasing teasers of what it calls the Levorg Layback, a Levorg derivative that takes Subaru on a more adventurous path.

On the teasers we see pieces of Levorg that are slightly different. For example, we see wheel arches with plastic edges, but also a completely revised front with a much wider grille and a horizontal element that extends into the headlights. Even the bonnet and front fenders are different in shape. Subaru calls the Levorg a “new unique SUV for the Japanese market.” Is this a heavily facelifted version of the Levorg that immediately gets an Outback-like sauce poured over it, or is it actually a new model? We aim for a combination of both. We expect the Levorg Layback to be a Levorg overloaded with crossover elements that will be marketed as a separate model.