My loaner is an Impreza on stilts, AMA

"gmctavish needs more space" (gmctavish)
12/28/2016 at 18:54 • Filed to: XV Crosstrek

It only has 639km on it, and I’ve put on maybe 2 of those driving home from the dealer. First impressions are that it feels quite big, has okay visibility, the CVT is weird and foreign to me, and I only realized it had a backup camera after I’d already parked.

DISCUSSION (30)

Bytemite > gmctavish needs more space
12/28/2016 at 19:04

Kinja'd!!!

Tareim - V8 powered > gmctavish needs more space
12/28/2016 at 19:15

I had one of those as a loaner but in manual, I was surprised at how nice it sounded when I floored it, I just wasn’t a fan of how huge it felt

OPPOsaurus WRX > gmctavish needs more space
12/28/2016 at 19:18

I like CVT over autos. I’m curious if once you get adjusted to it if you feel like I do.

Manuals still rule. I miss my manual

wafflesnfalafel > gmctavish needs more space
12/28/2016 at 19:20

I still do that with the back up camera in my wife’s. You are right - it feels like it has more interior space than really any other compact hatch, (jacked up or not.) It’s a little bouncy up on the stilts but not bad. CVT is different - I still think it’s better than any other CVT I’ve driven but it is still significantly different from either a traditional auto box or manual in the way you have to drive it.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > gmctavish needs more space
12/28/2016 at 19:24

My driving school had one of these and it was perfectly fine. The CVT had a habit of continuing to accelerate with 0 increase in noise though.

Phyrxes once again has a wagon! > wafflesnfalafel
12/28/2016 at 19:28

I agree the Subaru CVT feels miles better than most other CVTs, I’m looking at you Nissan and Honda!

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > gmctavish needs more space
12/28/2016 at 19:31

My grandmother wants one. I think it would be perfect for her.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > gmctavish needs more space
12/28/2016 at 19:53

Any redeeming features about it?

gmctavish needs more space > Tareim - V8 powered
12/28/2016 at 19:59

It is a good sounding engine

gmctavish needs more space > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
12/28/2016 at 20:00

Yeah I think it’ll be a perfectly good car to have for a week. It rides a lot better than my wagon, and the seats are more comfortable....

gmctavish needs more space > OPPOsaurus WRX
12/28/2016 at 20:01

I’ll have to update you on that, so far I’m just waiting for a shift that never comes and realizing I should probably slow down

gmctavish needs more space > sm70- why not Duesenberg?
12/28/2016 at 20:02

I think it would be a good grandparent car. Easy to get in and out, nice ride, comfy seats, backup camera.

gmctavish needs more space > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins)
12/28/2016 at 20:02

I like the seats, comfort and looks-wise. The engine sounds pretty good, it rides well, and feels solid.

gmctavish needs more space > wafflesnfalafel
12/28/2016 at 20:04

It makes me kind of want an Impreza more than anything. Seems like a good chassis that’s been saddled with trying to be big and rugged. But if you actually lived down a rough road or something, it would be really nice. This is the only CVT I’ve driven, so far it just throws me off, but I don’t hate it.

OPPOsaurus WRX > gmctavish needs more space
12/28/2016 at 20:17

yea every once in a while the thing still tricks me. I’ll be accelerating (probably harder than your average minivan driver) and it gets way up in the RPMs and just sits there. It makes me think the engine is about to grenade but it eventually drops.

gmctavish needs more space > OPPOsaurus WRX
12/28/2016 at 20:21

That does seem like it would be odd. Sometimes my work Yaris holds gears like it forgot how to shift, but that’s because the transmission is trash.

I’ve yet to try the manual mode of the XV, I feel like that’s a weird thing to have with a CVT

OPPOsaurus WRX > gmctavish needs more space
12/28/2016 at 20:29

yea, my Brother-in-laws Corolla ‘S’ has that. I don’t think he ever uses it.

gmctavish needs more space > OPPOsaurus WRX
12/28/2016 at 20:37

“We got replaced the transmission that shifts with one that doesn’t shift, now here’s a way to make the transmission without gears shift like it does”

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > gmctavish needs more space
12/28/2016 at 21:28

My mom backed her new 2015 Impreza into a pole within a month of buying it last year before she figured out it had a backup camera.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > gmctavish needs more space
12/28/2016 at 21:31

If it had just a little more power it’d be a nearly perfect car

gmctavish needs more space > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
12/28/2016 at 21:33

Geez. That sounds frustrating to do

gmctavish needs more space > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
12/28/2016 at 21:34

As a flexible and practical daily, it does seem like a really good thing

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > gmctavish needs more space
12/28/2016 at 21:34

I made fun of her relentlessly for it. No wonder she likes my brother better...

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > gmctavish needs more space
12/28/2016 at 21:37

I read that as 639,000 miles. Since k is sometimes used as an abbreviation for thousand.

gmctavish needs more space > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
12/28/2016 at 21:39

Haha I didn’t even think of that. I’m also just now realizing that I didn’t include the interior and odometer pictures

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > gmctavish needs more space
12/28/2016 at 21:40

Plastic fantastic inside?

gmctavish needs more space > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
12/28/2016 at 21:51

There’s definitely plastic, but not really on the door panels which is nice

Stapleface > Phyrxes once again has a wagon!
12/29/2016 at 13:19

Nissan I can agree with. But I find I find the CVT in Hondas less irritating that Subarus.

Phyrxes once again has a wagon! > Stapleface
12/29/2016 at 13:26

Fair enough, I only test drove the CR-V and the cvt was one of the many things I was not a fan of.

sn4cktimes > OPPOsaurus WRX
12/29/2016 at 14:40

Same opinion.