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
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