2 ways smaller Subaru Levorg 1.6 GT outperforms Legacy 2.5i

UK consumers will be getting the new 2016 Subaru Levorg GT sports tourer and it will go on sale at the end of September. Subaru will price the new sporty wagon from 27,495 British Pounds and will come in a single trim level, the Levorg GT and it will be the spiritual successor to the fourth-generation Subaru Legacy Tourer (2003-2008). What big improvements make Levorg better than the Legacy wagon?

The new sports tourer comes with a smaller footprint than Legacy, but it will come with more leg, shoulder and headroom than it’s successor. Levorg GT boasts 522 liters of cargo room with the seats up and 1,446 liters with the rear seats down. An active generation will use the sporty Levorg for hauling sports equipment, mountain bikes and camping gear for weekend getaways. Subaru has been attracting new consumers to their lineup at a 60 percent rate in the U.S. and it could be the same in the UK.

All-new 1.6-liter DIT Boxer engine

The new Levorg GT also comes with a smaller engine than the Legacy’s 2.5-liter engine and it produces the same performance. The UK’s new wagon will come with the smaller newly-developed 1.6-liter DIT (Direct Injection Turbo) Boxer gasoline engine. Levorg’s new turbo engine is 36 percent smaller than Legacy’s 2.5-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder but produces similar performance.

The new North American 2015 Subaru Legacy model equipped with the 2.5-liter engine produces 175 horsepower and 174 lb. ft of torque. The new smaller 1.6-liter horizontally-opposed direct injection turbo "DIT" engine in the Levorg GT produces 125kW (168 hp) and 250Nm (184 lb. ft torque).

Subaru engineers succeeded in a big way

Fuji Heavy Industry engineers increased the compression ratio in the new turbo engine, but they also wanted the new engine to use regular unleaded fuel. This would give the new Levorg GT a big advantage over the European turbo engines that required higher octane fuels. They succeeded by designing a new downsized turbo engine that had the same power output, used regular fuel, but offered superior fuel efficiency and the same power output of the 2.5-liter.

Subaru says this new-generation engine will be the model for future powertrains and offers greater efficiency than existing Subaru engines. It comes mated to Subaru’s Lineartronic (CVT) transmission that also provides better fuel efficiency.

The Levorg 1.6 GT accelerates from 0-62 mph in 8.9 seconds, while returning nearly 40 mpg on a combined European cycle with emissions of 164 g/km. Of course Levorg GT will come standard with Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system making it the ideal sports tourer in all-weather conditions. The new 2016 Subaru Levorg GT beats the old Legacy wagon hands down and will likely be as popular in the UK as it is in Japan. Come back tomorrow and we’ll check how Levorg is safer than other Subaru models.