We all pride ourselves with our driving ability, whether it’s short runs around town or longer forays on the motorway. Every day we will encounter a different driving scenario, testing our ability further making us make crucial choices in terms of driving speed, use of brakes and control.

No matter how you describe yourself as a driver, you can improve further by getting to a proper test track sitting in a top performance vehicle alongside a professional driver who will guide you to getting the best out of the car and also teach you some necessary skills along the way.

What about the Subaru Levorg, the new touring estate inspired by Impreza and Legacy models of the past and how about sitting alongside Colin Turkington, a former double champion in the British Touring Car Championship who is racing the specially prepared Levorg in this season’s championship?

Our rendezvous took place at the magnificent Rally School Ireland circuit just across the Fermanagh border in Co.Monaghan near Scotstown.

It was a rather damp and dreary morning as myself and photographer, John McVitty arrived, after enduring driving conditions which were not great with the wet roads and surface water on the country roads leading to the premises.

But Rally School Ireland operates around the year, no matter what the weather, the damp surface producing an even better driving experience.

The purpose of our visit was to test drive the new Subaru Levorg, a 4-wheel drive Subaru estate with turbocharged four-cyclinder boxer engine, as a guest of Western Cars, Sligo Road, Enniskillen, the local dealership for the Subaru range.

Having heard of Colin’s amazing success in the touring car championship, it was great to meet him and watch him in action, as he got behind the wheel of a road-class Levorg, and although not quite sophisticated as his race car, the basics are the same.

As he negotiated some of the 14 corners of the 1.1kms track at speed, Colin told me why he likes to drive the Subaru Levorg for Team BMR.

“The Levorg is a thoroughbred race car. It started off as a road legal car and in 87 days from when Subaru announced they were entering the championships, our team built four race cars! This is an historic first for Subaru and this car is a championship contender,” said Colin, who before last weekend’s round, was lying in sixth place overall with team mate, Jason Plato, one place behind.

But with 11 different manufacturers and 32 cars on the track, lying in the top sixth in the first season with a new car is amazing.

I then got the chance to drive a conventional version of the Levorg, the model you will see at Western Cars or any other dealership. The engine performed magnificently as it was tested on the tight corners, the torque enabling me to pick up speed quickly emerging from the apex of the corners and even when it had to begin to climb a gradient on the track. After three satisfying laps using the automatic transmission was a delight, as you had only to concentrate on brake and throttle. The Levorg has a 1.6 litre Direct Injection Turbo Boxer petrol engine with Lineartronic CVT and All Wheel Drive, has a refined interior, improved leg, head and shoulder room and a capacious boot.

Next up was the Subaru BRZ, a sports coupe which is unique among the Subaru range as it is rear-wheel drive and not All Wheel Drive as in all other models.

Sleek and elegant, it drives beautifully, responding readily to plenty of power on throttle. 

The ultimate was yet to come, getting the chance to drive the Subaru WRX STi rally prepared car which has been loved by so many of the top drivers.

Sitting along Rally School Ireland’s Seamus, I got strapped into the driver’s seat with intercom connected and ready to go. You really don’t realise what power you have until moving forward. With a clear road ahead, I pushed the car hard towards the first corner. The great thing about sitting with a professional driver, is they keep telling you how you should drive, when and how hard to brake, when to push on the throttle and what line to take. 

I’ve certainly learnt, “brake into the corner and let the car steer around the corner and out of it.”

The STi was a wonderful experience, especially as having previously just seen it pushed to the limit in a rally. We did get a flavour of that when Colin got behind the wheel, increasing his speed after every lap of the track.

Subaru also gave us an insight to their new EyeSight Driver Assist Technology, which is standard on many of their Outback lineartronic and automatic models.

EyeSight gives you pre-collision braking, pre-collision throttle management, adaptive cruise control so that you keep a distance from the car in front, watches out for lane sway and moving out of lanes and of course alerts you to starting off after traffic comes to a halt at traffic lights, for example.

While taking the cars out on a race track is great fun, there is a serious side too. 

Neville Matthews, Subari Ireland Managing Director said about Rally School Ireland: “The training available and their safety standards are of the highest order. We would recommend Rally School Ireland with complete confidence. If you are serious about improving your driving technique then I’d confidently predict they will improve any driver’s skills and understanding in a very short space of time. And you’ll have lots of fun too.”

David Smyth, Managing Director of Rally School Ireland, has chosen the Subaru Foresters as the latest additions to their growing fleet of vehicles.

“We already run Subaru WRX STi’s as our first choice hyper performance tuition cars,” he explained. 

“Our WRX’s are fully rally prepped, fitted out with roll cages and all the kit to take drivers to the next level in complete safety. It was only natural when choosing circuit support cars we opted for Subaru again and we picked the hugely versatile Foresters. Our support cars work just as hard as our tuition vehicles as we ferry customers from airports to and from the circuit. Subaru vehicles are like Swiss watches, they just go on and on and never miss a beat. We use them off-road extensively. It’s easy to understand why Subaru have become the favoured cars of choice for farmers and vets,” he said.

David and his brother, Malachy founded Rally School Ireland 17 years ago and now boast a fleet to include Ferraris, Porsche, BMW,  and the latest KTM and Ariel track cars. A magnificent showroom at ground level has an extensive workshop below.

David explained that they can fit out a car to take wheelchair users and also help permanently blind people with a driving experience.

For all the latest in the Subaru range, visit Western Cars, Sligo Road, Enniskillen.