CVTs are Alright 

Kinja'd!!! "Boxer_4" (Boxer_4)
12/30/2014 at 12:58 • Filed to: None

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I finally got a chance to give the 2015 Forester 2.5i Limited a good run. After ~200 miles at 70-80 mph, this is the result. The tank was refilled with ~20 miles left in the trip, but with the trip meter not reset.

I'd see 22.5-23 mpg on the same trip this time of year in my 2009 Forester 2.5x Limited. Consider me impressed.

I should really get around to doing a full review of the entire fleet soon.


DISCUSSION (21)


Kinja'd!!! Vimto > Boxer_4
12/30/2014 at 13:03

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I've driven two different CVT equipped vehicles, a Versa and an Altima. The Versa was annoyingly buzzy, slow, and unresponsive. The Altima, a 2012 (last year of pervious body style) was great though. It was easy to get into the sweet spot of the powerband but also easy to keep RPMs really low for fuel savings. I was impressed.


Kinja'd!!! HammerheadFistpunch > Boxer_4
12/30/2014 at 13:04

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The subaru CVT is the least Communistic Vile Transmission on the market. Its not great, but its pretty good among its piers.


Kinja'd!!! norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Vimto
12/30/2014 at 13:05

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The Subaru CVT is a pretty good CVT.


Kinja'd!!! spanfucker retire bitch > Boxer_4
12/30/2014 at 13:55

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Subaru has probably got the best CVT in the business. Especially the "robust" one that they use in the Forrester XT and WRX.


Kinja'd!!! Captain_Spadaro > HammerheadFistpunch
12/30/2014 at 15:31

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Considering its peers are complete and utter shit...


Kinja'd!!! BKosher84 > HammerheadFistpunch
12/30/2014 at 15:32

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Peers*


Kinja'd!!! HammerheadFistpunch > Captain_Spadaro
12/30/2014 at 15:32

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right. though in reality, I like their fake ratio mode a lot. its not as sharp as a DSG but its at least as good as a decent TC auto


Kinja'd!!! HammerheadFistpunch > BKosher84
12/30/2014 at 15:33

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nope

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I think its great among its piers.


Kinja'd!!! Captain_Spadaro > BKosher84
12/30/2014 at 15:37

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....I have no idea how the fuck that happened, but it has been fixed.

WTF brain


Kinja'd!!! Captain_Spadaro > HammerheadFistpunch
12/30/2014 at 15:38

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I honestly think Subie would have been better served calling up ZF and buying 8HP variants, but that's me. Then again, I'm not the target buyer for Subies that aren't the BRZ.


Kinja'd!!! BKosher84 > HammerheadFistpunch
12/30/2014 at 15:39

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Damn you... +1


Kinja'd!!! HammerheadFistpunch > Captain_Spadaro
12/30/2014 at 15:47

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The ZF 9HP AWD is too big and bulky to package with a Subaru, and its way overbuilt for their engines.

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Kinja'd!!! Captain_Spadaro > HammerheadFistpunch
12/30/2014 at 15:55

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It is? That sucks.


Kinja'd!!! pip bip - choose Corrour > Boxer_4
12/30/2014 at 18:29

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drove my sister-in-law's Camry Hybrid *shudder* home last night from airport , fuck me that CVT was horrible!

just give me a manual everyday!


Kinja'd!!! Boxer_4 > Vimto
12/31/2014 at 14:46

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The first CVT I experienced was in a 2007 Dodge Caliber. I don't think I need to say much more about that.

I've been in a previous generation Altima with the CVT, too, and agree that it was good. That was probably the first CVT I actually liked.


Kinja'd!!! Boxer_4 > spanfucker retire bitch
12/31/2014 at 14:49

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I haven't gotten a chance to experience the "high torque" CVT, but I hear it's pretty nice. It's also used now in the new Outback and Legacy 3.6R.


Kinja'd!!! spanfucker retire bitch > Boxer_4
12/31/2014 at 14:54

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Are they finally using it in the Outback and Legacy? That's good. It might be used in the regular Forrester for all I know, I just know that it was originally designed for the new DI 2.0L Turbo engine that's used in the WRX and the Forrester XT, so those were the first models it was used on.

It could have propagated across the entire Impreza and Forrester lineup by now for all I know.


Kinja'd!!! Boxer_4 > pip bip - choose Corrour
12/31/2014 at 15:07

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To be fair, the Camry Hybrid (and other Toyota Hybrids) use an eCVT , which is very different from a traditional CVT.


Kinja'd!!! Boxer_4 > HammerheadFistpunch
12/31/2014 at 15:11

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For an automatic transmission in a non-performance vehicle, it's a good transmission. It's certainly an improvement over the old 4EAT.


Kinja'd!!! Boxer_4 > spanfucker retire bitch
12/31/2014 at 15:33

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Subaru still uses two versions of their CVT. The standard CVT is still used for all of their non-performance models. It's now in it's second generation; first introduced in the 2012 Impreza, then introduced in the rest of their model lineup during model refreshes and redesigns.

The other version of their CVT is the high torque version. This CVT is used for all of their performance vehicles, as well as on the diesel (only available overseas, unfortunately). For the US market, it's currently used on the new WRX, Forester XT, and Legacy and Outback 3.6R. It was first introduced with the 2.0 DIT (like you said) on the 2012 Legacy 2.0 DIT in Japan. The high torque CVT would be overkill for the FB20 and FB25 used in most new Subaru models.


Kinja'd!!! pip bip - choose Corrour > Boxer_4
12/31/2014 at 18:56

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that might explain it then.

it just doesn't want let you build up speed rapidly.