2015 WRX w/ CVT

[Leyawiin]

CVTs are a lot more reliable than they were ten or fifteen years ago. They don't have the rubberized bands anymore - they use a woven metal chain on the belt that is a lot less likely to fail. When Toyota, Honda and Subaru are using them now along with the early adopters Nissan and Mitsu I don't worry about them. I have a 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS with a CVT. It was a little weird at first, but I don't even notice anymore. It does have paddle shifters and while their kind of fun in the mountains I almost never use them.

 

[BlitzPuppet]

OH-EM-GEEE, CEE-VEE-TEEEES!

*ahem* Sorry. I'm driving a CVT'd 2013 that uses a chain instead of the steel bands...I'm happy with it and like the performance/gas mileage I get.

 

[NutBucket]

Yeah that's what I am worried about. The CVT is fairly new and I suspect it's more complicated than a standard automatic which means it may have more issues.

The Golf GTI sounds like an idea. I didn't know you can get it in automatic.

I would argue its simpler than a conventional automatic given it doesn't have clutch packs and all that mumbo jumbo. The DSG has two clutches that will need replacing....and it's a lot more expensive than a conventional manual trans!

 

[trungma]

I would argue its simpler than a conventional automatic given it doesn't have clutch packs and all that mumbo jumbo. The DSG has to clutches that will need replacing....and it's a lot more expensive than a conventional manual trans!

Yup you're right. I just did some reading.

So far the newer CVTs don't seem that bad at all. Looks like we may go with at WRX.

 

[deathBOB]

CVTs have been sold for years in hundreds of thousands if not millions of cars. There have been no widespread reports of failure. They are fine.

 

[Fritzo]

CVTs are a lot more reliable than they were ten or fifteen years ago. They don't have the rubberized bands anymore - they use a woven metal chain on the belt that is a lot less likely to fail. When Toyota, Honda and Subaru are using them now along with the early adopters Nissan and Mitsu I don't worry about them. I have a 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS with a CVT. It was a little weird at first, but I don't even notice anymore. It does have paddle shifters and while their kind of fun in the mountains I almost never use them.

What do the paddle shifters do? Aren't CVT's one continuous gear?

 

[Fritzo]

CVTs have been sold for years in hundreds of thousands if not millions of cars. There have been no widespread reports of failure. They are fine.

Not quite true. CVT's got a notorious reputation in the early 2000's, especially on European cars.

 

[Leyawiin]

What do the paddle shifters do? Aren't CVT's one continuous gear?

Fake gear shifts and hold it at a lower range longer. It display goes from 1-6 (speeds) when I'm using them. It is kind of handy in the hills, especially on long downgrades.

 

[thedarkwolf]

I've only driven one CVT in a ford 500 and the only neat thing it did was find the perfect gear going down steep hills to stay at the same speed without any input from me.

 

[NutBucket]

I will say that any CVT that defaults to fake "shifts" completely misses the point. The trans should maintain the correct engine speed (RPM) for a given driving condition. That's maximum efficiency (and the whole point of using a CVT in the first place)

 

[rancherlee]

I know the Ford CVT in the 500 was a reliable transmission............ just Boring, VERY boring. My buddy has 200k+ on his Ford 500 and has never touched the transmission, just feels wrong never feeling shifts. The only place I like a CVT is in my Snowmobiles!

 

[Kaido]

I have a 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS with a CVT. It was a little weird at first, but I don't even notice anymore.

Yeah, it's basically like driving an electric car - you don't modulate the accelerator pedal, you just angle it to the speed you want to go. Takes some getting used to, but in a couple days, it's second nature.

 

[Jumpem]

I have had no issues with either of my Subaru CVTs. They are great. I would consider a traditional automatic a negative in the future.

 

[Dead3ye]

You are exactly who Subaru targeted when they decided to offer the WRX with a CVT. I mean look, they are selling a WRX that they wouldn't have sold if they still only offered a MT.

Personally, I drove both because I was in the same boat. We were getting one either way. After driving both, I talked long and hard to my wife why a MT was better than the CVT, especially in a WRX. She used to drive a stick so it wasn't hard for her to pick it up again. Actually, it had been 18 years since she drove a stick. she did surprisingly well on the first test drive.

Now that we have had it for a couple of months, it's her daily driver and she loves it.

Some advice: You're gonna want to pick up a set of extra rims and put snow tires on them for the winter. The summer tires that come stock on a WRX aren't gonna cut it. Check craigslist. I found a whole set of factory WRX rims with almost new winter tires on there for a decent price.

 

[lotus503]

I just picked up my 2016 WRX from the dealer yesterday. I like it, but coming from my last car (1999 Ford Escort in full stripper trim), I don't think I could not like it.

I got the manual model, so I can't comment on anything regarding the CVT. However, the CVT debuted in the Forester for the 2014 model year, so if you have concerns that would be a good place to start as they have the most history (~2 years).

I have a 2012 Legacy with CVT, about 45k on it with no issues.

While I could I don't use the manual mode or paddle snifters.

 

[exar333]

You are exactly who Subaru targeted when they decided to offer the WRX with a CVT. I mean look, they are selling a WRX that they wouldn't have sold if they still only offered a MT.Personally, I drove both because I was in the same boat. We were getting one either way. After driving both, I talked long and hard to my wife why a MT was better than the CVT, especially in a WRX. She used to drive a stick so it wasn't hard for her to pick it up again. Actually, it had been 18 years since she drove a stick. she did surprisingly well on the first test drive.

Now that we have had it for a couple of months, it's her daily driver and she loves it.

Some advice: You're gonna want to pick up a set of extra rims and put snow tires on them for the winter. The summer tires that come stock on a WRX aren't gonna cut it. Check craigslist. I found a whole set of factory WRX rims with almost new winter tires on there for a decent price.

Not true at all....

It just means a CVT WRX was sold in place of a MT. Subaru is anything but sales-limited, and WRX/STis always sell. If anything, CVT WRXs make MT versions that much harder to buy.

Not saying it is good or bad.

A CVT WRX is a turbo-Impreza to me. A WRX is MT in my eyes, just my opinion. Nothing bad against the CVT, but I would get a different AT car. The GTi DSG would be a far better transmission.

 

[angminas]

WRX with a CVT? You're not going to be happy with just one car. Why not get a Fit, bank the other half of the 35k, and buy a real WRX in a few years?

 

[vshah]

What year & what engine? I took a 2015 Legacy out for a test-drive (4-cylinder) and was disappointed - most notably, sluggish off the line. Even the sales guy told me I wouldn't be happy with it & that people didn't like how the transmission was setup on that config. However, the 4-clinder Forester is night & day, much better, and the Impreza was nicer to drive than my '13 Civic. They seem to tune it per-car. I would like to take a 6-cylinder out at some point to see how it compares, it's supposed to be a lot better off the line.

2010, 4cyl non turbo

 

[felang]

VW GTI is a great car, best choice in that price range IMO.

 

[ultimatebob]

CVTs have been sold for years in hundreds of thousands if not millions of cars. There have been no widespread reports of failure. They are fine.

The CVT on the older generation (Pre 2007) Mini Coopers is dreadfully unreliable, and insanely expensive to fix. Thankfully, they got rid of it in 2008.

 

[cbrsurfr]

I would argue its simpler than a conventional automatic given it doesn't have clutch packs and all that mumbo jumbo. The DSG has two clutches that will need replacing....and it's a lot more expensive than a conventional manual trans!

DSG clutches will likely outlast the rest of the car. When a computer does the shifting you don't have clutch wear like you would in a manual not to mention the VW DSG uses a wet clutch system anyway.

You should only need to change the clutches to handle a big bump in power.

That said DSG maint is higher than that of a normal trans, but only needs to be performed every 40,000 miles.

 

[trungma]

So just and update after almost 3 years with the CVT. I haven't noticed anything problematic. Fairly responsive but sometimes it doesn't know what it should be doing but that is almost the case for regular automatic. I can always downshift and hit the gas to get a nice burst of acceleration. As for reliability, no issues so far. Car has 45,000 km on it.

 

[Pohemi]

2018 Forester premium w/ CVT here and it's been great for regular driving. Took a little getting use to the "feel" of it when I first began driving it, but it's been better than the old geared automatics in my opinion.

 

[daveybrat]

So i have a 2017 Nissan Sentra with a CVT transmission. It runs great but i've heard that i should get a transmission flush from the dealer at 60,000 miles (currently at 59,000). Is is recommended?

Luckily if there are any issues it'll be covered under warranty for 100,000 miles or until the year 2024 as i bought it as a Nissan Certified car.

 

[JeepinEd]

I drove a Gen2 Prius, which uses a CVT. Sold it at 380K miles. Not one single issue related to the transmission.