The Subaru Levorg STI Sport R Debuts in Japan

Subaru still sells cars in Britain. But since none of them is directly descended from rally cars – or are fast at all, to be honest – you could be forgiven for not particularly noticing.

Recently we have been able to buy the Levorg estate – which is also pretty cool – but in the tame 147bhp version. The Japanese market enjoys such things with almost twice as much power and can now buy the Levorg STI Sport R for less than thirty grand.

Its name may suggest that Subaru has stuck it right on the shelf with the spinning sticky badges next to the Halfords till, but we are still envious of our Far Eastern counterparts. The Sport R’s flat-four turbo produces a healthy 271bhp and 258lb-ft of torque, mated to four-wheel drive via a CVT automatic (of course). Perhaps the jealousy has already faded a little…

But does not it look cool? It’s very reminiscent of the Impreza station waggons of the nineties, with a suitably potent powertrain. However, this model has an extensive media screen and digital gauges, and – hurray! – an electrically opening tailgate.

While that means it’s not a focused, featherweight special that descends from muddy stages, that does not stop us coveting it.

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