While we’ve covered news about the Subaru Levorg on the pages of Motor1.com in the past, the wagon isn’t exactly popular in the United States. This shouldn’t come as a surprise given its limited availability on the global markets in general. The Levorg – essentially a wagon version of the Impreza – is currently sold only in Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and a few other smaller international markets. This doesn’t make it any less interesting though, as the model is a small breath of fresh air in the current SUV-dominated world. The Levorg now looks cooler than ever thanks to new genuine accessories.
Subaru uses the Japan Mobility Show to introduce new visual upgrades for the Levorg Layback. As a refresher, this is the lifted version of the family hauler, which has 7.9 inches (200 millimeters) of ground clearance or 2.2 in (55 mm) more compared to the regular Levorg. It was unveiled in early September and customers in Japan can already put an order with prices starting at 3,993,000 Japanese Yen or about $26,650 with the current exchange rates. During the Japan Mobility Show, the automaker has the Levorg Layback in Limited EX trim and another example equipped with factory accessories on display.
On the styling side, the lifted wagon gets a sleeker overall look thanks to body cladding finished in exterior color as part of the package. This treatment can be seen on the wheel arches, side skirts, front bumper lip spoiler, and rear quarter bumper extensions. Also, the front grille now has a gloss black finish and there’s a pair of additional lights installed into the lower section of the front bumper. Those integrated exhaust finishers at the back aren’t stock on the Levorg Layback and also come as part of the visual upgrade kit. As an alternative to the body-colored finish, the cladding could be also painted in black.
No changes can be found under the hood. A 1.8-liter turbocharged gasoline engine works there, producing 174 horsepower (128 kilowatts) and 221 pound-feet (300 Newton-meters) of torque. That output is channeled to the Subaru Symmetrical AWD system through a CVT Lineartronic. In Japan, customers can also upgrade the wagon with the STI AeroPackage, which in addition to a few neat exterior tweaks, also adds a stainless steel exhaust system, a strut bar, and a rear sway bar. Those hardware improvements aren’t available on the Levorg Layback without the STI AeroPackage, though.
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