I recently got a 2025 Impreza Sport after realizing that driving a manual in city traffic wasn’t fun anymore. I live in a city, so it’s mostly stop-and-go driving. I’ve found that I actually like using the paddle shifters, especially on open back roads. It doesn’t replace the feel of a manual, and I know it’s mostly a gimmick since CVTs don’t have real gears, but it’s still pretty responsive and makes for a decent driving experience. Anyone else feel the same?
I find them useful when driving down from the mountains when trying to engine brake.
Lloyd said:
I find them useful when driving down from the mountains when trying to engine brake.
I’d be cautious about using this method to brake. Brake pads are a wear component and much cheaper than a transmission.
@Mika
If your transmission is breaking from what it was designed to do, then you are doing something very wrong… Transmissions should not be falling apart when using engine braking. Refer to your user manual if you don’t believe me.
@Mika
While this is true, brakes can also overheat fairly easily. If you’re on a long downhill stretch such as coming off a mountain, it’s best not to cook the brakes with normal use in case you need to make an emergency stop.
@Palmer
The CVT will select the best ratio for descent. Overheating is really not a problem in 99.99% of situations for a vehicle as light as Subaru - even in a place like Colorado. Keep in mind that older Crosstreks don’t have manual CVT control and there is no preponderance of brake fade problems.
I have only once driven in a place where brake fade on the average vehicle was a problem and that was to the summit of Mauna Loa in HI where grades reach 15-20%. A transfer case with a Low range is required.
@Mika
I’m curious, is that something that’s been implemented in the past 10 years? I ask because I had a '12 Outback before my Trek which did have a CVT and paddle ‘shifters,’ but if I coasted down a hill it definitely did not automatically shift down to help control speed. If that’s something they do now, that’s great.
@Palmer
They don’t. They pick the highest available ratio that keeps the engine just above idling. Maximizes fuel economy in-gear coasting, but not useful for controlling speed downhill.
CVTs don’t have gears but they do have gear ratios. All transmissions change gear ratios. People want to make a big deal of it and call it fake or a gimmick but it’s just a change in gear ratios, that’s all. How the transmission changes the ratios internally is moot to the driver.
@Soren
The sole reason that Reeves transmissions exist is because of their ability to have an infinite number of input to output ratios. The reason that car manufacturers started to use them is because they allow the engine to always stay at its most efficient speed. When customers complained about lack of shifting and manufacturers changed the programs to add fake shifts, they basically negate the sole benefit that the transmission offered in the first place. So basically we have the behavior of a slipping conventional automatic with the inherent unreliability and dullness of a CVT.
I wanted manual but in the time that I had and limited money, I couldn’t find one so I’ve got my CVT Legacy, but I use the paddle shifters a lot. It’s not a manual, but it’s at least a little more engaging than using regular CVT mode.
They’re fine as long as you’re not using them in the middle of a turn. They should be column mounted, not wheel mounted; these cars have steering ratios setup for the street, not Formula 1.
Washington said:
They’re fine as long as you’re not using them in the middle of a turn. They should be column mounted, not wheel mounted; these cars have steering ratios setup for the street, not Formula 1.
This is my biggest complaint with them too. I love playing with them every now and then, but them being wheel mounted kills a large part of the fun for me
Yup. Came from a 6 speed Mustang GT and used the paddle shifters a ton when my Impreza was new. Still use them a lot for canyon driving, just not as often in traffic.
The paddle shifts work fine. Of course you won’t get the mechanical sensation of something like a performance-oriented Porsche PDK or the shotgun rack of a single-clutch like on an LFA but it does the trick. I use it from time to time when I feel like fooling around a bit in our SJ Forester XT. Like you I also used to commute with a manual (a WRX). It never bothered me tbh since I got used to driving stick in the city with the worst traffic in the country for many years, but I sold it in anticipation of the 2022 STI…
After that we ended up buying a house and needed something with a bit more space and utility. The Forester is mechanically similar to the WRX in a lot of ways and is the closest thing you can get to a WRX wagon in the US so that’s where I’m at now.
I mainly only use it when I am pulling out into traffic so I have a little more control, automatic can be kinda moody.
I use them when descending the large 1.5m hill I have to go up and down on my commute. That being said this is the least CVT feeling transmission I’ve experienced. I like that it mimics shifts when on throttle. But other than for a little engine braking I don’t use them. This is my first auto car everything previous was manual.
I thought the paddles in the Crosstrek Sport were ‘fine’. I also have a manual BRZ/WRX.
Then I got a C8 Corvette… holy shit. That’s a real paddle shifting experience.
Sport mode is more predictable, ‘manual’ mode won’t hold the ‘gear’ right
I race motorcycles, it took me about 40k to figure out how the CVT wants to be run on these things