Originally Posted By: rationull
Originally Posted By: buster
Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: buster
I drove a 2014 Forester with the CVT and it wasn't bad.
"The problem is twofold but starts with the transmission, a CVT that displays all the worst qualities of these units. We’d take the four-speed from the old RAV4 over this thing. Heck, we’d even take a two-speed Powerglide. The Subaru CVT tricks your ears into believing the Forester has good throttle response, but the accelerator pedal is about as nuanced as a light switch. Stomping on the gas yields no surge of power, just a rush of revs and noise from the engine. Without steps in the gearing, like those in the CVT that Subaru uses with its more powerful engine, the Forester drones away even as it makes sluggish progress. It finished dead last in acceleration testing, doing zero to 60 mph in 8.6 seconds and turning in a 16.7-second quarter-mile."
http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/2014-subaru-forester-25i-touring-page-2
I strongly disagree with this, unless they had a bad one. The Subaru CVT is getting praise in pretty much everything it's being used in. There were even some positive reviews in the new 2015 WRX, which is surprising.
http://www.motortrend.com/oftheyear/suv/1312_2014_suv_of_the_year_subaru_forester/
Quote:
When the drive loops began, one of the most pleasant surprises was revealed: This CVT is really good. Lieberman explained, "I was incredibly impressed with the CVT on the XT, especially when it's in Sport# and fakes up to 8 'gears.' Subaru went ahead and programmed it as aggressively as Porsche's PDK. When I was really flogging away on the XT, I'd look down at the gear indicator and observe that I was in '2.' Impressive." Not only is the CVT good, but editors had an absolute blast driving the Forester, describing it as being "quite tossable," and they enjoyed the XT's road feel and sportier suspension. It was quick at the track, too, where the XT reached 60 mph in 6.2 seconds. That's faster than the Acura MDX and the BMW x1 xDrive28i.
The CVT in the Forester XT (and beefed up for the WRX) isn't the same as the base model CVT I don't think. From press releases, the people talking at auto shows, etc. they're talking up the CVT in the turbo models like they did some pretty serious work on it. The negative C&D review was of a 2.5i which would have the "older" transmission and probably doesn't feel as crisp to drive and may not be able to handle as much power.
It does seem like pretty much every review of the XT or WRX CVT is a good one -- although time will tell whether that's an actual "this is a good transmission" thing or just a "this is way better than we expected a CVT to be" thing.
Good points. I think you're right.