Hello everyone! I am a two-time Subaru owner. I've owned a 1995 Subaru Legacy and a 1998 Subaru Legacy Outback. The time has come for me to get something nicer. I've always wanted a WRX, but figured I would make an informed decision by examining all of Subaru's options. After test driving the 2015 Legacy (both Limited and 3.6R Limited) and 2016 WRX (both MT and CVT), my interest has been confirmed and I have decided on going with a WRX Limited as the 3.6R's acceleration didn't compare and it felt too heavy/large for my liking.
Now I have the hard decision on whether I should go manual or CVT. This is my situation if anyone is interested in giving me their opinion:
First off, I do not currently know how to drive stick. I've always wanted to learn however I have never had the opportunity. From what I have heard, learning to drive stick is relatively easy, just requiring practice. I'm just worried that if I buy a Manual transmission, I might hate it since I have not been exposed to driving one before.
About 30 weeks out of the year I am a college student. During this time, I am driving about 30mins a day, at least, with 95% of it being in campus traffic resulting from an excess of stop signs and pedestrians crossing the street. The other half of my year consists of a mixture of driving, with the summer consisting majority of highway driving. This summer I have been driving about 300 miles a week. I am a little concerned that since, almost 8 months out of the year, I will be confined to this type of traffic, a manual might not be a good idea. Is driving a WRX MT in traffic really that bad?
From my test drive of the CVT, I was very pleased, especially with the smoothness of gear shifts (because there technically isn't any gear shifts). Since, I can't drive stick, I rode passenger while the dealer test drove the WRX Limited MT. While he was driving, the car felt extremely jerky (especially compared to the CVT). Normally I would guess that the dealer just wasn't used to the car, however his daily driver was the same model. Is the ride being jerky a common occurrence among 2015-16 WRXs?
Reasons I'd go CVT:
-Easier in traffic
-I wouldn't need to concentrate on shifting gears
-Better gas mileage, with people reporting on average between 26-32mpg on intelligent drive.
-Anyone can drive it: Being in college, it's nice to have the option for an unplanned DD if I drink too much. With an automatic, I won't need to teach my girlfriend (or anyone else) before they can DD for me
-Don't have to learn to drive it
-I know that I don't mind driving automatic
-I've physically driven this model (rather than just passengering in it)
-Smoother "shifting"?
-Extra safety features (ie. Eyesight; see my next post)
Reasons I'd go MT:
-Better performance/control of the vehicle (ie. more user-control of the vehicle and its engine, putting aside environmental factors)
-The prestige of driving a manual sports car
-Cheaper: for the same price, I can throw in a short-throw clutch AND an STI exhaust (or other options)
-More availability
-Requires me to learn stick which is a useful skill to know
-Few people can drive stick: meaning less people will ask to borrow my car or ask to test drive it (which I'm assuming will happen a lot in the first couple of months owning it)
-More engaging
-More fun on open road
I do not plan to implement any performance mods/tunes on the car; I just plan to use it as my daily driver. I plan to put a deposit on one this weekend so any suggestions on which I should choose would be greatly appreciated. I'm going to update this list as we go. Thanks!
Now I have the hard decision on whether I should go manual or CVT. This is my situation if anyone is interested in giving me their opinion:
First off, I do not currently know how to drive stick. I've always wanted to learn however I have never had the opportunity. From what I have heard, learning to drive stick is relatively easy, just requiring practice. I'm just worried that if I buy a Manual transmission, I might hate it since I have not been exposed to driving one before.
About 30 weeks out of the year I am a college student. During this time, I am driving about 30mins a day, at least, with 95% of it being in campus traffic resulting from an excess of stop signs and pedestrians crossing the street. The other half of my year consists of a mixture of driving, with the summer consisting majority of highway driving. This summer I have been driving about 300 miles a week. I am a little concerned that since, almost 8 months out of the year, I will be confined to this type of traffic, a manual might not be a good idea. Is driving a WRX MT in traffic really that bad?
From my test drive of the CVT, I was very pleased, especially with the smoothness of gear shifts (because there technically isn't any gear shifts). Since, I can't drive stick, I rode passenger while the dealer test drove the WRX Limited MT. While he was driving, the car felt extremely jerky (especially compared to the CVT). Normally I would guess that the dealer just wasn't used to the car, however his daily driver was the same model. Is the ride being jerky a common occurrence among 2015-16 WRXs?
Reasons I'd go CVT:
-Easier in traffic
-I wouldn't need to concentrate on shifting gears
-Better gas mileage, with people reporting on average between 26-32mpg on intelligent drive.
-Anyone can drive it: Being in college, it's nice to have the option for an unplanned DD if I drink too much. With an automatic, I won't need to teach my girlfriend (or anyone else) before they can DD for me
-Don't have to learn to drive it
-I know that I don't mind driving automatic
-I've physically driven this model (rather than just passengering in it)
-Smoother "shifting"?
-Extra safety features (ie. Eyesight; see my next post)
Reasons I'd go MT:
-Better performance/control of the vehicle (ie. more user-control of the vehicle and its engine, putting aside environmental factors)
-The prestige of driving a manual sports car
-Cheaper: for the same price, I can throw in a short-throw clutch AND an STI exhaust (or other options)
-More availability
-Requires me to learn stick which is a useful skill to know
-Few people can drive stick: meaning less people will ask to borrow my car or ask to test drive it (which I'm assuming will happen a lot in the first couple of months owning it)
-More engaging
-More fun on open road
I do not plan to implement any performance mods/tunes on the car; I just plan to use it as my daily driver. I plan to put a deposit on one this weekend so any suggestions on which I should choose would be greatly appreciated. I'm going to update this list as we go. Thanks!