TMW - The BTCC car for the road, we give you the Subaru Levorg, loads of room, and plenty of oomph to go with it.

When you mention Subaru, you get a vast history, and that history usually covers three distinct periods, firstly the commercial period, cars being used by farmers and builders and the like, then you get, probably the period where the company became so well known that it never lost the brand identity it gained, and that was rallying, the brand became one of the world's best cars in the sport, and won so many prizes, then today, you have the BTCC.

The race series in the UK, that is by far and away the best series around, even beating F1, where else will you get so many different brands, winners and styles of car in one race series, and it is this car that has taken the BTCC world by storm we test today, unfortunately not the actual BTCC car, now that would be awesome, but the car its based on, the LeVorg, an oversized estate/hatchback that really is a large car.

And with that you get so much room, not just in the front, as you expect most cars to have these days, but the rear seat passengers get loads of room and the boot space is enough to take nearly anything that you throw at it, thats how big the car is, and with it, it is extremely well built, you get no squeaks or rattles, the shut lines are all even and the same, the doors shut without having to slam the doors, and the doors are big, if you happen to be slightly shorter than the average, you really have to stretch for them, but thats not an issue.

The 1.6 litre engine, is the well known Boxer Engine, which has powered Subaru's for some years, it is also turbocharged too, to give it that extra push, not that it needs it, this car really can shift, and the CVT gear change is so smooth and quiet, that you never notice the fact that this car runs a non standard Auto box.

Fuel consumption for the car, considering its size is not too bad with a manufacturer claimed

• Urban 33.2mpg
• Combined 39.8mpg
• Extra Urban 44.8mpg

Not the best in the world, but for a car if this size and weight, it's really not too bad at all, although i didn't manage to get the claimed figures, i was not that far off. 

The car itself is a really nice place to be in, its is well laid out and extremely comfortable and you're not left wanting in the toys dept either, this model comes with:-

• Rear Privacy Glass
• Leather Sports Steering Wheel and Gear Knob
• Keyless Access
• Push Button start
• One Touch Land Change
• Dual-Zone Air Con
• Auto Wipers
• Heated Front Seats
• Numerous Cup Holders and Cubby Holes
• Brake Assist System
• 7" Touchscreen
• Bluetooth
• Symmetrical All Wheel Drive
• Active Torque Vectoring
• Hill Start Assist
• Starlink Connectivity

And this is just a tiny portion of the available extra's or standard kit as fitted to our car.

If you need to pull away with a little more vigour, the car can easily deal with this, you get a growl and sporty note as you give it beans, and it just deals with it, no issues, no complications, just power, and speed.

The space within the car is seriously ample, the front seats in position retains a serious amount of space, so you never feel hemmed in, the large glass area also gives you an air of space and freedom, this carries on into the rear seats where there is more than sufficient space for any passenger size, and I am not the slimmest, yet i felt comfortable and had loads of space to move around in the back.

It then takes us to the boot, this is just enormous, it can take most things that you can throw at it, it also comes with an under floor stowage compartment to give some extra storage to hide more valuable items, with the cover you can hide everything in the boot, and not worry about anything being on show.

Like most cars these days you do not get a spare wheel, but you get a Tyre Repair Kit instead, useless if you rip open the tyre, and if you have a small hole, the gunk used will make the tyre unusable once you get to a repair centre.

OVERALL

This car is one that should most definitely be considered when you are looking for a new car in this class, you get so much space, and all for £27,500 for this model, you know that with Subaru the car will be very well made and very reliable too, the engine and AWD system again, are well proven with very little to go wrong.

The only downfall, if you can call it that, if you have limited space to park a car, this might be a little too big for you, that does not mean thats an issue, far far from it, this is one great car with a growing pedigree in Motorsport, and after-all, you can pretend that you are in a BTCC Racer, but remember, this car is a licence loser, the 1.6 litre is very potent, and can shift like cars with a far bigger engine.

TMW - The Motoring World Blog
Jon Mower