[rob_g66]

I bought a 2018 WRX Sport with CVT here in Regina SK. I sold my 2012 4Runner because I was just tired of driving a truck and wanted something more 'fun' to drive. It had to be AWD because winter is 6 months of the year here. Last year I looked at Lexus IS 300 and 350 which were nice, but a bit too expensive at the time. I think the WRX gives a lot of value for the money with it being AWD and turbo, but there's a few shortcomings which every car has. I didn't even look at a Golf because they just look so bland, plus a Golf R is $15000 more than my WRX.

I really like this car, how it drives and handles. It really feels planted on the road. Power and comfort level is adequate for a daily driver which mine is. The radio is absolutely terrible and maybe that will be changed out this summer (I'm in no rush). The CVT is a mixed bag where it can be really great and really frustrating at the same time. The (fake) 'shifting' even in sport mode sometimes happens way too early and regardless of how much you are pressing on the gas. You would think it would rev out more with more gas, but it doesn't seem to. In Sport# mode it probably does, but I don't want to keep shifting modes back and forth. Also, at highway speeds the sport mode will run about 500 rpm faster than intelligent mode. So unless sport mode 'shifts' that final gear, you want intelligent mode for the highway and best gas mileage. More times than I would like I find myself hitting the left paddle to shift up a gear to gain rpm and torque for acceleration. The CVT doesn't seem to respond well to pressing the gas more.

The turning headlights is a great feature!

Even with a sunroof, headroom is decent.

Should have had a heated steering wheel.

Tilt forward head rests are another great feture!

Good cup holders

Decent heated seats

The climate control temperature seems off and turns on the AC too liberally.

The center arm rest is way too low. I already bought and installed the upgraded armrest. Unlike the JDM one, the NA one doesn't re-use the red stitched top (booo!)

Driving home at night last night, a few cars high-beamed me because they thought I was running with high beams on. Of course I let them know I wasn't by blinking the high beams at them.


Overall I'm happy with the car even with the few quirks it has. I drive a lot of city and the CVT does well there. It's just seems a little 'dumb' in not reacting as you would like sometimes.

Rob

 

[TSlop]

Congrats and welcome! I do remember worrying about the arm rest being too low based off reviews but it worked ok for me once I sat in it. Also, after having a heated steering wheel in my Jeep, I'm hoping the next WRX redesign will have it.

 

[JaySin]

Congrats and welcome!
Fellow CVT owner here. I drive ALL city and congested suburbs. I just leave it in 'S' full auto mode 95% of the time. The throttle mapping is more to blame for the strange power sensations than the CVT itself. There's not much difference between 35% and 100%. I find if you modulate it off the line with progressive throttle input, it behaves better. Flooring it just doesn't feel like you'd imagine. The stock tune is poop IMO.

 

[rob_g66]

Congrats and welcome!
Fellow CVT owner here. I drive ALL city and congested suburbs. I just leave it in 'S' full auto mode 95% of the time. The throttle mapping is more to blame for the strange power sensations than the CVT itself. There's not much difference between 35% and 100%. I find if you modulate it off the line with progressive throttle input, it behaves better. Flooring it just doesn't feel like you'd imagine. The stock tune is poop IMO.

I have been driving mostly in S mode as well. Have you ever had your engine/transmission rev hang? For example, you might hit 3500 rpm and it hangs there with the RPM bouncing back and forth a bit as the CVT can't decide where it should be.

Rob

 

[JaySin]

Well, in S# mode it will keep your RPMs up, when say, you want to do some high speed cornering for quicker exit speeds. Under moderate braking it will hold them up briefly...straight line or not. I can't use it in heavy traffic because it's just annoying. I don't experience that in other modes though. At least not that I noticed or otherwise became concerned with.

 

[Doctor Jeff]

Much as I like MT, I would like to try the CVT just for the heck of it. I have a fair amount of in town stop and go traffic, as well as long highway stretches, and I can't enjoy the MT as much as I would like.

The other CVTs including Subaru Outback I've driven have been OK.

 

[JaySin]

On rare occasion, when I get a chance, I do enjoy the paddle shifting in S or S# modes. It might sound silly, but there is some getting used to it. At least they turn with the wheel. Also, 9 & 3 seems to work better unless you get paddle extenders. Which DO exist.

 

[rob_g66]

Well, in S# mode it will keep your RPMs up, when say, you want to do some high speed cornering for quicker exit speeds. Under moderate braking it will hold them up briefly...straight line or not. I can't use it in heavy traffic because it's just annoying. I don't experience that in other modes though. At least not that I noticed or otherwise became concerned with.

Maybe it's just nature of the beast, but I find I need to adapt to the CVT rather than it adapting to me. Even in S mode the CVT shifts into lower rpm gearing a bit too quickly for my taste. And when it does that, it's just not responsive to shift into higher rpm and more torque. It just feels really clumsy at times because it seems to stick to the rpm curve regardless how much gas you give it.

Rob

 

[rob_g66]

On rare occasion, when I get a chance, I do enjoy the paddle shifting in S or S# modes. It might sound silly, but there is some getting used to it. At least they turn with the wheel. Also, 9 & 3 seems to work better unless you get paddle extenders. Which DO exist.

It's definitely missing shifting from the tranny lever.

Rob

 

[ChristopherWRX]

First of all, welcome to the forum.

Lower the seat. That helps with the arm rest, unless, of course, you're on the shorter side. The driver's seat sits high in the car, anyway, for some strange reason. Something I love about my wife's '18 Elantra Sport is that the passenger seat can be lowered, too. Hyundai is no longer a manufacturer to scoff at.

The handling of the WRX is fantastic. I've never had a beef with the handling, just the stock tune of the car. Which, of course, won't affect you much, given that you have a CVT.

Again, enjoy the car! (Not too much, until it's broken in, though.)

 

[rob_g66]

First of all, welcome to the forum.

Lower the seat. That helps with the arm rest, unless, of course, you're on the shorter side. The driver's seat sits high in the car, anyway, for some strange reason. Something I love about my wife's '18 Elantra Sport is that the passenger seat can be lowered, too. Hyundai is no longer a manufacturer to scoff at.

The handling of the WRX is fantastic. I've never had a beef with the handling, just the stock tune of the car. Which, of course, won't affect you much, given that you have a CVT.

Again, enjoy the car! (Not too much, until it's broken in, though.)

Thanks Of course I respected the break in period and stayed below 4k rpm with a mix of city and some short highway driving. I just passed 1600kms (1000 miles) so I can stretch it out a bit more now, but I don't plan on bouncing off redline any time soon

I went out for a drive tonight to check out the CVT some more and expand upon my thoughts a little here. I don't want to sound like I am criticizing it because it does work really well, but it does take some getting used to the throttle response. There seems to be a sweet spot at 30% where you can keep the revs up a bit more and acceleration is really responsive (I've read about how the throttle behaves on this car). The CVT is really good for city driving which is what I mostly do. Maybe I will get paddle extenders, but at a later date.

If I could do it over, I might have opted for a higher end CVT model with the HK sound system.

Rob

Rob

 

[JaySin]

How's the car several months in?