The Subaru WRX Wagon Is Back After 14 Years Away, But There's A Catch

The WRX Wagon is once again a thing, but the new car confirmed for the Australian market is merely a rebranded Levorg as opposed to a new model

Matt Robinson

15 Oct 2021

The Subaru WRX Wagon Is Back After 14 Years Away, But There's A Catch

Wagon versions of the Subaru Impreza WRX were just the coolest. More practical and less showy than their saloon counterparts they were the thinking person’s Scooby. Sadly, after the second-generation ‘GG’ series Impreza died off, so did the concept of a big-booted WRX. Until, that is, today.

Subaru has confirmed that the Australian market will be getting a wagon counterpart for the recently revealed WRX saloon. Look familiar? It should do. Rather than a glorious return of the WRX estate as a new model, what we have here is merely a rebrand of the second-generation Levorg. The Levorg, you might remember, is supposed to be a successor to the old Legacy estate, with its name serving as an acronym for ‘LEgacy, reVOlution, touRinG’.

Where it’s sold as a Levorg, the car is exclusively fitted with a continuously variable transmission, and this hasn’t changed for the ‘WRX’. Here, it’s referred to as an “eight-speed Subaru Performance Transmission,” although that refers to the simulated ‘gears’ the driver can flick through with the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. If you want a manual, you have to get the saloon.

It’s built on the same Subaru Global Platform as the WRX (along with much of the company’s current range) and features the same 2.4-litre flat-four. The boxer unit is good for 271bhp at 5,600rpm, and 258lb ft of torque from 2,000. There aren’t any performance stats available just yet.

While many of its rivals have long since switched to easier-to-package on-demand all-wheel drive systems, Subaru is sticking doggedly to its permanent symmetrical 4WD setup. The Levorg gets such a system, providing a whole heap of traction plus an excuse for Subaru to use terms like “rally-bred” in its marketing.

Other features include standard-fit ‘EyeSight’ driver assistance technology, bucket seats in the front, and a six-inch touchscreen infotainment system. If the saloon is anything to go by, a much fancier 11.6-inch ‘Starlink’ unit with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will be on the options menu.

Subaru isn’t giving prices for either version of the WRX right now, but potential customers can register their interest.