Usually when an automaker launches a successor to a beloved enthusiast product, they might have to switch up the tech a bit to appease new regulations, but they usually get it right. However, every so often, a car is launched with what feels like a major equipment misstep, and that’s exactly what happened at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon. This is the Subaru WRX STI S210, the successor to the ultra-exclusive S209, and it’s going to make the internet absolutely furious.
From the full skirt kit to the big wing, there’s a tough, aftermarket-like look to the WRX STI S210, which hints at the outlandish history of this series’ lineage. The Impreza S201 was absolutely bonkers with a front bumper like a snow plough and a wild set of skirts, the S202 had a roof scoop, the S206 of 2012 had fender-mounted extractor vents.
Aggressive looks need performance to back them up, so STI has turned the 2.4-liter turbocharged FA24 flat-four engine seen in the standard WRX up to 296 horsepower. Credit goes to a new airbox, new ducting to the turbo, a high-flow exhaust system, and the ECU tweaks needed to optimize for the extra airflow. Speaking of ECU tweaks, the S210 also gets its own flavors of drive modes, which makes sense considering STI models of yore got that SI-drive mode selection knob.
Of course, a bit more power is only one side of the equation. Looking at unsprung components, six-piston Brembo calipers clamp larger front brake discs, while 19-inch forged BBS wheels come wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. While not the most aggressive choice of rubber possible, the Pilot Sport 4S is a fast, consistent 300-treadwear tire that’s been the OEM benchmark in that segment for years. Performance cars as far and wide as the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and Hyundai Elantra N roll on variants of this tire, so it seems like a solid pick.
Moving over to suspension and chassis tweaks, STI assures us that the dampers, springs, and rear stabilizer bar bushings are unique to the S210, while the body gets a whole load of additional bracing. In addition to a front strut tower brace, additional draw braces are installed up front and out back. Judging by how stiff the structure of the regular WRX felt when I tested it last year, it’s hard to imagine a night-and-day difference from the new bracing, but little tweaks can all add up to faster lap times.
Speaking of faster lap times, the third-most important thing beyond tires and brakes in a performance car is the seat. It’s no good having all the power and grip in the world if you, the driver, aren’t held firmly in place. If a seat keeps you in places, your limbs are free to actually steer and work the pedals in a nuanced manner rather than partially occupied with the task of holding on. The carbon-backed Recaro seats in the S210 are certifiably hot, but they also should be properly supportive.
However, there’s one fly in the ointment here: the transmission. For whatever reason, Subaru Tecnica International has decided to equip the S210 with a continuously variable transmission. Sure, it might offer simulated shifts, and it might get a fluid cooler for track work, but for a hardcore sport compact car like this, you really want a manual. In America, most WRX buyers seem to agree, with Road & Track reporting that 71 percent of U.S. buyers through Q3 of 2024 chose to row their own gears. Would demand be higher for the CVT in Japan? Quite possibly, but it’s probably not the best move to attract performance Subaru loyalists.
Then again, with just 500 examples slated to be made, the WRX STI S210 probably won’t fall short of sales expectations. It’s not confirmed for America, but given the gearbox choice, would we missing much if it isn’t sold stateside? Certainly, it’s exclusive, but I have a hard time believing we’ll be pining for imported S210s in 25 years to the same extent rare Subarus of the Y2K era are coveted.
(Photo credits: Flavien Vidal)
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I’m a bit of a unicorn on this. First – not having an option of MT is a bad thing. But the sad news is that manual gearboxes have disappeared from Western showrooms. I grew up with manuals and the first car I ever drove was a Taurus SHO with a manual. My favorite car I’ve owned was a 2011 Shelby GT500 – with a 6MT. However, I’ve also sold 2-3 million CVTs across multiple OEM programs. I’ve driven them extensively. For a daily driver, going from a CVT back to a standard automatic is painful. It’s only during this transition do you notice how horrible standard ATs really are. And going from 6 to 8 to 10 step transmissions has only made things worse. The ‘downshift’ wait seems intolerable and gear hunting the same – after you’ve adjusted to CVT. CVTs are never between gears and never get confused based on driver inputs. Don’t forget, CVTs were banned almost the moment they were introduced to F1 as providing an unacceptable advantage. Pound for pound the performance is superior in a CVT. Now, commence with the hate. I can take it 🙂
My “hate” for CVTs is only that they take away control from the driver. I usually want to be able to pick my gear. I don’t care if I pick it with just my hands (AT manual mode) or with my hands and feet (MT). To me that matters not one bit. But if I want to stick in 2nd gear around a certain corner because I know I want to be in a certain RPM range and have predictable power coming out of it, then CVTs won’t let me do that. I have only driven one a few times, but I guess in that scenario you just mash the go-pedal after apex and that’s it?
But for just driving from A to B in traffic, I honestly don’t care between a geared AT vs CVT. A boring drive is a boring drive.
I think I could be ok with a CVT if I could fix a low “gear” for long downhills or muddy/ice situations. Do they do that?
My wife’s 2015 Legacy with the CVT does a pretty good impression of a gears with paddles behind the steering wheel. It simulates a 5 speed (lol) with fairly short gearing and will hold them and provide engine braking as needed as well as a reasonable pretense of shifting the gears on a twisty road if you want to play rally car driver.
Nissan’s CVTs simulate that. The distinction between “simulate” and “do” is wide, though. You can pull the shifter back to go down a “range” and get a tighter band setting, but the experience is… Sometimes the RPMs skyrocket but there’s no difference at all because the band is slipping so much.
I would really doubt there is push belt slipping. Once that thing slips it is the beginning of a rather quick end for the CVT.
DAFs from the 1950s to 1970s and their Volvo counterparts have switches with this “mountain grade” symbol for just this purpose:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53249858114_eaa87cc51e_o.jpg
You said it all, when it comes to pure performance, CVT is the better option. What I hate is the simulated shifts, just be a CVT and own it. My hope is that they start adding electric assistance to the cvts
Wow after having owned two EVOs, gross. No manual or diffs, no sale.
I can only imagine that the WRX STI was a money loser for Subaru. They have to know that CVT transmissions are frowned upon by the typical STI customer. With only 500 units being produced, the cynical side of me thinks they built it to the cheapest price they could get away with, and engineering a manual or proper autobox wasn’t in the budget.
There really isn’t a lot of competition in this segment anymore, I would say the Civic type R and Golf R are the main vehicles left. If I were buying one today it would definitely come down to what the test drive between the Civic and the Golf told me. The STI just doesn’t seem compelling enough even if they decided to bring a few to the US.
If I’m honest I haven’t cared about the STI In at least the last two generations anyways, so why would I care now?
There are enough legitimate things to be mad about int he world, the transmission in a car I don’t care about is not one of them.
We’re still doing the “get mad” article titles then?
I’m going to remain ambivalent to everything Subaru do that isn’t a RWD 2-door coupe, if that’s OK?
“get mad” is the new “with this one trick”
It’s modern journalism. Don’t report facts, just tell people what to think and feel since they’re too dumb to do that on their own (not being part of the intellectual elite after all).
Better STI:
Take a AWD Solterra. Slam it, put in better cooling and better contactors to make more power, make the interior not suck, and reprogram the stability control to allow some tail-happiness in the right drive mode and slap an STI badge onto it.
Make a bunch of ads with goggled dogs sticking their heads out driving in a forest, clearly having a ball while the car flings up a few leaves. They could also play up the nonsensical black cladding as “armor” or something else protection related in the website copy. The crap range could be explained away as “performance cars use lots of energy”. Rally cars look weird and have weird interiors. This would be perfect for the oddball Solterra. Amirite?
All that, and a cvt. Could have done a DSG, DCT, FMVB. Any would be better.
Is it good? Sure. The same way that the bacon bbq cheeseburger you ordered is when it comes with the wrong cheese. Or DTs grail truck, but its got way more miles than you thought. Sure both will still be good, and close to what you want. But it will be a bit off, a but wrong. And there will always be a way that it could be even better in your mind, because its maybe been better before and you know exactly how for it to be better than it is. And because of that, it might be good. But never great.
And the wheels aren’t gold like you wanted either.
Also it looks a bit like my eye surgery went wrong.
Nice that they’ve tried though.
I’ll just pick out the gherkin out of this burger, and also I ordered the fries not the wedges. Why do I eat here?
It’s emissions testing
The reason they don’t put the old STi 6-speed in anything new is because of modern emissions testing
Meanwhile it’s wayy easier to optimize a CVT programming to get better results on the global noise/emissions tests
How in the hell did they manage to make 19″ wheels look so small?
It’s all the cladding
Meh. I dig Subarus, and I owned what I believe to be peak STi (a world rally blue 04) so I have no interest in this. I’ve driven every gen since, and none have managed to match that rawness of the driving experience. They’ve also (in my opinion) only gotten uglier as the years have gone by.
Given that this is a Japanese-market only car, I don’t even care. This new generation is so damn ugly, that I wouldn’t want it even if it came with a proper 6-speed.
2004 was in deep peak STI. Best looking and coolest one. Gotten worse ever since, got better again for 2012 when it was available as a hatchback, then worse again.
Totally agree! I LOVE the 08-14 STI hatches, and really wanted to own one for a long time, but they’re almost all beaten to death or rusted at this point. The examples that aren’t are way over-priced in my opinion.
My wife drives a 2010 Forester XT, which shares an engine and most of the interior with that generation of WRX hatchback, so I often pretend that’s what I’m driving, even though hers is a 4-speed automatic.
My dream STi would be a 22B, but those are obviously unobtanium, so I stand by my 04 being as close to that experience as I could get with a US-spec model. I would even argue that 05 is the true peak since those got the better 5×114.3 hubs, and the nice little rear flares along with other improvements.
No notes, this is the shortest and most complete answer.
That gen STi was the last one that truly felt like they were trying to build the best rally car for the road they could. Every gen since has felt like they were trying to see how little they could improve it and still get away with selling it as a STi.
GC8 is far and away peak WRX/STi. Peanut eye fits somewhere below it.
It is obvious that Subaru is really trying to embrace the acronym. STI, WRX, now they add CVT. I think they should GTFO.
WTF
IYKYK
LOL
NIMBY
Or NIMD. Not in my driveway.
Not to mention that STI makes me think of the British National Health initialization of STI – sexually transmitted infection.
“Don’t get an STD; get an STI!” From the since taken down Portage Cars ad from New Zealand. It wasn’t all the sexual innuendo that did it in, but the “easiest finance” line.
So which YouTuber will be the first one to buy an S210 and swap in a manual transmission?
The one with the most “Daddy’s Money” to spend.
The issue for me isn’t the CVT. It’s the CVT that is intentionally handicapped so they can have fake shift points (and I assume the rubber band effect from a stop that exists in the Forrester, Outback, etc.). CVTs were banned from F1 because they created a performance advantage.
Just as the DSG in GTI/Rs and PDK in Porsches are actually better than manuals for people worried about squeezing the most out of a car as possible, so should a CVT in theory. But then they go and try to make it feel like a regular automatic and ruin the whole point of having this transmission.
Of course we also live in a world where you can now get a BEV with completely pointless fake shift points…
True, but CVT’s driving experience. Who wants the engine buzzing at 7,000 RPM with barely any variation when your flooring it?
“To all the manuals I’ve loved before……in and out of my garage door…….
I’m glad they came along…
I dedicate this song….”
My take with this generation of WRX remains the same-I think Subaru is self-sabotaging it so they can get out of the sport compact game for good. I don’t think they have any interest in making these products anymore and would rather focus their finite (they are a comparatively small OEM) resources entirely on crossovers because that’s where the money is.
They’ve made a product that just isn’t competitive anymore, and I do wonder if their partial owner Toyota is pulling some strings so the GR Corolla continues to be one of the most appealing offerings. Anyway, to me this is either a cop out so they can throw up their hands and say “see? No one wants an STI anymore” or it’s a desperate attempt to try to legitimize their CVT as a performance option.
Either way, this product is DOA. Apparently the CVT in the WRX (I refuse to call it SuBaRu PeRfOrMaNcE tRaNsMiSsIoN, it’s a fucking CVT) is legitimately quite good for what it is and at this point it actually makes the car faster…but who cares? No one wants a fucking CVT in a fun car on principle. Literally no one cares that the transmission is improved, they’re barely selling any and dealers don’t stock them for obvious reasons.
The only argument I’ve heard for this decision is that apparently the CVT allows them to do torque vectoring stuff without adding the differentials…but WHO CARES? Everyone still wants the differentials. They’re a vital part of the STI experience and one of the things that’s always made this product unique and appealing.
Subaru is either deeply unserious about fun or wants this product to die and it’s painfully obvious. Maybe it’s a bit of both. But this is just embarrassing, and I’m not even a manual diehard. I’ve daiy’d two sport compacts with DCTs in a row. Anyway, if they really wanted to go auto only would it really have been that hard to get the new GR 8 speed from Toyota?
Apparently it’s pretty good and the general consensus is that it doesn’t suck the fun out of the Yaris or Corolla. It’s already set up to play nice with transverse all wheel drive and differentials too, I can’t imagine it would be that difficult to get it to work in this application. But alas, Subaru doesn’t give a fuck about enthusiasts anymore.
If Subaru didn’t want to make these cars anymore they could just stop. No need to justify it by sabotaging them. More likely they don’t want to invest the effort into developing automatic and manual versions.
I do think it’s possible that they want to launder the CVT into a performance option by putting it in a high-spec version of the car. When DCTs came out I imagine they were viewed similarly, but they successfully rebranded themselves as the performance option.
DCTs are a little different to me. They were designed from the ground up to improve performance and they offer a level of engagement beyond a traditional torque converter. They also have physical gears that you can summon with paddles and in a well tuned DCT you feel the shifts way more than you would with a torque converter, although this usually comes at the expense of some refinement.
CVTs (unless I’m mistaken, I could be) have always primarily existed for efficiency. Subaru’s current one is the only performance branded CVT I can think of, and it was basically reverse engineered to suck less by *checks notes* mimicking a DCT’s shift patterns. Serious-Subaru benchmarked VW’s DSG.
I don’t think they can ever be retconned as legitimate, and enthusiasts hate fakery. The only reason the current one is allegedly tolerable is because it’s programmed not to act like a CVT. I think Subaru is fighting a losing battle here. No one actually wants a CVT. People just tolerate them in appliances because they have to.
So a transmission with actual gears (DCT) VS a transmission without gears (CVT), the DCT will ALWAYS feel more like a manual than a CVT, due to their fundamentally different designs. A DCT is basically a Manual controlled by a computer, that has actual clutches (Hence Dual Clutch Transmission). A CVT is not.
Some cursory reading shows DCTs had a history of use in motorsports, specifically by Porsche and Audi, which definitely supports the notion that they are enthusiast options. Audi used it one of the Quattro rally cars.
I also doubt that Subaru will convince everyone CVTs are awesome. But if they wanted to try, maybe a CVT WRC car is the way.
Having spent some time with VW’s DSGs, I can attest that they are just fine when you a driving them hard, but are always in the wrong gear when you are just driving like a normal person. This data point is > 10 years old to be fair. I have not driven a performance CVT, but maybe they are good way to keep a turbo spooled.
I daily drove a DSG MK7.5 GTI for a couple years and found the transmission to be damn good. A DCT is definitely at its best when you’re going all out, but I think the idea that you’re making a huge refinement sacrifice when you daily one to be overblown.
They’re a little jerkier in stop and go traffic and when you’re wiggling your car into a tight parking space but that’s about it. I guess the one in my Kona N will occasionally make an odd choice about what gear it wants to be in but DCTs usually follow instructions quite well. They really only get tripped up if you’re sending them mixed messages.
I think it’s more that the STI and the WRX just don’t fit in with Subaru’s current ethos and so thier heart really isn’t in it. The WRX and this STI seem like half measures. They look awkward and the performance is either not moving the needle or going backwards entirely and just give off a bit of an air of Subaru just couldn’t be bothered to make an actual effort, so the end up being kinda stuck between where they really should’ve been and where the rest of the lineup is.
Couldn’t they use the auto and/or manual from the BRZ/GR86? I’ve never driven it, but I’ve heard the auto in that doesn’t suck too bad…
Nope. It’s set up for longitudinal rear wheel drive applications.
Agreed, it really does feel like they’re trying to either kill it off or see how little they can actually get away with doing and still sell it. Though I absolutely think that they were hoping they could ween buyers off the stickshift with this version-in spite of the WRX having one of the highest manual take rates of any car on the market last I read. I will say we just bought my wife a 2015 Legacy and the CVT is easily the best one I’ve driven (a very low bar) but I still don’t think it’s good enough for most gear heads-though I think for the fairweather enthusiast who just likes going fast and looking cool or for the gearhead who for whatever reason can’t drive stick it’s a reasonable alternative. But of course a DCT would still be better…
I don’t know though. CVTs are so universally hated that I think even normies who might consider a WRX would want to stay away. I feel like if you know what a WRX is you probably also know what a CVT is and think it’s dreadful. I’ve actually been curious about this in real life and for a while I made a point to walk over to parked WRXs to see if anyone actually bought the CVT.
I have only seen one automatic WRX in the real world. And honestly, the consensus seems to be that the one in the current WRX is fine. Even good for what it is. But like…a WRX is just a manual car for me mentally and I feel like the crowd they appeal to (young-ish folks who grew up watching the Fast franchise/at the peak of tuner culture) probably agrees.
I guess if you genuinely can’t drive stick or don’t want to learn for whatever reason then a CVT WRX is better than no WRX, but like I said earlier…if you want an automatic in you’re performance compact there are way better options out there. Hell, there are a not insignificant amount of people that think the Ns and the GTI/Golf R are actually better with DCTs. I um…don’t think anyone would argue the WRXs are better with their CVTs.
Also the GR Corolla really killed this car for me. It’s pretty much better in every way and now it’s available with a legit automatic.
I’m not sure if this was just an Indian market thing or not, but I distinctly remember from forums and reviews that enthusiasts (excluding the ‘ride-or-die-manual’ people) in that country didn’t mind CVTs much, at least 5-6 years ago. Is it possible that, similarly, enthusiasts in Japan simply don’t hold the same vitriol towards CVT transmissions? Obviously Japanese enthusiasts probably prefer manuals on average, the way most countries’ car enthusiasts probably do, but maybe they don’t hate CVTs the same way enthusiasts in western markets do, and they view them as just another flavour of automatic.
Most kei cars sold within the past 15 years or so are CVT so they definitely have more experience with them than most other places. I think you might be on to something with the bulk of Japanese enthusiasts or even just car drivers in general there seeing them as just an automatic transmission rather than it’s own separate thing.
As an enthusiast who grew up in the snowbelt as Subaru was hitting their stride in the late ’90s and Colin McRae was still slaying it in a bright blue Subaru, I’ve always had a spot for the WRX but the current generation holds very little appeal for me, and certainly agree the CVT version is nothing a person would argue is better than a manual.
It just feels so phoned in at this point and agreed if it wasn’t for price difference and availability it’s hard for me to see buying a WRX over a GR. I now live in the PNW and AWD is still really nice to have in a performance daily driver and I’m guessing to the extent that folks buy the CVT version that’s why. If it wasn’t for dealer markups and availability issues I’m not sure who would buy a WRX over the Corolla at this point outside of the WRX having a better brand, but that’s kinda silly.
GR Corollas can be had under MSRP now if you’re patient. Hell pretty much all the autos I see nearby are discounted. I think they’re going to have a harder time selling those and that it will stay that way.
That being said I live in DC and mainly focus on listings that are within a couple hundred miles, so I can’t necessarily speak for the PNW. Maybe GRCs are still marked up there. That being said, I do think saving a couple grand is worth traveling for. Slash you’ll get all your break in miles done driving your new car home!
I think there are 2 reasons people would buy a WRX over a GR. First one is just the badge (which is most of the market), second one is beyond-limit driving (Rallycross, for example).
The Manual WRX is the only small car you can get with a fully mechanical AWD system. I’m pretty sure the only other mechanical systems are Audi-built in the S4 (now S5?) and A6 and larger. None of which come with a stick.
Apparently they’ve tried to fix some of the GRC’s overheating issues with the mid cycle refresh. TBD if they’ve succeeded, I’m sure we’ll know soon enough. Now that I’m writing this response I also realize that the WRX has way more aftermarket support, so if you’re going to heavily modify your car (as most WRX owners do) then it’s probably the better choice.
I’m also not a mechanic but if you’re trying to get way more power out of something it’s probably safer to try to get it out of the WRX engine that’s barely getting 100 horsepower per liter stock over the GR 3 cylinder that’s at nearly 200 from the factory.
I don’t modify my cars personally so the GRC is way more appealing to me. But I guess I get why you’d want a WRX a little more than I did when I wrote my initial comment.
Sigh.
Is Subaru even trying, now?
No hatch, no manual… What’s next?
No bodykit.
100 hp, fwd, only in black, grey, and white???
They’ll introduce the WRX-Sport… with the looks of the WRX, but without the turbocharged engine.
If you gave me the option of a CVT and a wagon/hatch version, I’d take it over an MT in the sedan. Change my mind.
You should be able to get both….
I’d be deeply conflicted with that option before me that would likely make me walk out the door solely due to the frustration.
With that: the smaller Corolla GR, with a hatch & 6MT becomes even more appealing. Maybe that’s Toyota’s plan all along.
Jatco Xtronic CVT, I summon you!
That’s not how you summon them.
Jatco Xtronic CVT
Jatco Xtronic CVT
Jatco Xtronic CVT
That’s how you summon them.
Yeah, where is that guy?
When I was a kid, we had an alfalfa windrower with two CVTs, one for each drive wheel and a caster wheel. Speed control and forward or reverse was controlled by two big levers. Super fun!
Now if that were the way CVTs worked in cars, I’d be interested.
Of course the Toyota eCVT which is not a CVT is superior.
I was wondering if they would appear…
Wuuuuusie
I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a production car with an enthusiast disconnect so large. Those seats and wing are writing checks that the CVT will never be able to cash. Those seats are laughable for a 300-hp, 3400 lb. AWD CVT powered sedan.
While I don’t love CVTs, let’s at least acknowledge the CVT in the WRX is probably the best CVT execution there’s been in a production vehicle.
Based on what I’ve read I have no doubt it is the best performance focused CVT on the market, but there’s little getting around the fact that CVTs just do not get power to the ground efficiently, even compared to more basic torque converter automatics. Sure it’s better than most CVTs, but there’s no giving Subaru a pass on this when they have a 6-Speed that would work without a single modification.
And why the fuck would you pick a CVT when you can get a DCT in the Elantra N and spicy Golf variants? Or the new 8 speed in the GRs that Toyota did tons of R&D on? The best CVT in the world isn’t as engaging as a halfway decent DCT, and DSG/Hyudai’s N DCT are way better than halfway decent.
I get Subaru not wanting to develop a ground up automatic for an enthusiast product. Honda refuses to as well and the majority of buyers don’t want them, so it would be a waste of resources. But trying to beef up a CVT and make it behave as un-CVT like as possible seems like an even sillier use of resources to me.
I agree with this 100%. Also, this is a limited run, top of the range model, and a member of the well regarded and highly values S2XX rang of STIs, which will all certainly sell out. All this has done is show Subaru refuses to listen to what enthusiasts want. I completely understand Subaru not having the budget to develop a better performance transmission, or even the money to retrofit something from Toyota, but when there’s a solution *RIGHT THERE* that works in the WRX’s 6-Speed, this makes absolutely zero sense, and will be almost certain to make these S210’s the lease desirable of the S2XX range. I give it 6 months from on-sale date before someone Manual swaps it.
Is that like the best sugar-free cookies?
Best overall kick in the nuts.
Those seats look absolutely ridiculous in a sedan that gets driven every day, like wearing a full racing suit to go grocery shopping or something.
I’d do that, but only if was shopping for a track day tailgate party.
Let me check my reason list … yep, it’s on here
I cannot think of a single production car priced south of 150k that these seats would be appropriate in, and there isn’t a single 4-door production car on the planet that these are appropriate in. I get that Subaru maybe can get away with this on a 500-unit limited run special model, but these are a hilarious mismatch.
They would make more money than this entire model run if they sold those seats online. Subaru tuners would cream if they could order OEM seats like that
These are super weird, they appear to have the back section of the Recaro Podiums, which are their most aggressive road legal racing buckets, but the bottoms of a normal WRX GT (or whatever that top trim is) Recaro seat, which makes me wonder even more who these seats are supposed to be for. A weird mix of 8-way power adjustability with a comfy bottom, but the extremely thin padding and lightweight hardcore backrest off a fixed carbon bucket seat.
Trying to put “race seats” in a production car is going to be tricky because the manufacturer must account for different body types. To me, a proper race seat is one that hugs me so tightly that my torso and pelvis cannot move when I’m strapped in. Normies likely won’t want to sit in a seat that tight for any period of time, so the seats are simply for show rather than actually enhancing performance.
Like the Stig in full race gear riding on a subway.
We are in a malaise era.
Also, I like how they think people want the ease and comfort of an automatic transmissions but then the seats are some pleather covered foam pads glued to a carbon fiber seat tub.
We had the Ecosafe-Malaise Era, now for the CurseVT-Malaise Era.
Still better than the last malaise era. Cars today can make 100K miles without the engine dying, body and frame rusting away, and leaving puddles of everything on the driveway.
Yes, it’s certainly relative.
Something is off on that header image. Its like the car is split in half and the top is longer than the bottom.
That’s just a glitch in the Matrix
AI generated
Nah, somebody just screwed up with the photo editing.
Don’t worry, soon it will only cost $27/month to allow for artificial shift sounds to be pumped into the cabin, and an additional $5.99 will unlock actual, fixed shift points to simulate a manual transmission.
Hey y’all, prepare yourself for the Rubberband Trans!
You’ve never heard a sound like the Rubberband Trans!
You’re bound to curse the car when the Rubberband starts to jam.
Sigh… I think the fake shift points are the poison on the dagger in enthusiasts’ backs.
Also, it should be a wagon. I miss the wrx wagon.
I ride with an older couple in a ’22 crosstrek and I asked them what transmission it had, they said an Automatic, but even without looking it up, I already knew it was a CVT. A CVT with fake shifts may fool people who don’t really care, but everyone who do care (or have any knowledge of how Automatics vs CVT’s work), immediately knows it is a CVT and not even an automatic. Gone are the days of Automatics with manual shifting, even that was better than a CVT with fake shifting.
Subaru is not fooling anybody who is buying this, to actually drive it, that it has a sporty transmission.
I don’t think it’s incorrect to call a CVT an automatic. It is, perhaps, a certain flavor of automatic, as are DCTs and conventional automatics. It may be more automatic than a DCT, since it has a torque converter.
I spent some time in a 2019 Outback (the last one with the 6-cyl and before they went with the mega-screen), and I wasn’t angry at the CVT…it did okay, but it was just psychologically unsettling to me. The preset shift points worked okay, IMO — I downshift all transmissions on every trip, thanks to living in a hilly area. But I think CVTs should have a “continuous downshift option” as well — like holding down a paddle to alter the ratios infinitely. There’s no need to trick me with fake preset ratios. CVTs feel like they have so much promise, but nobody is really using them well.
I’m somewhat familiar with the CVT in my wife’s garden variety Impreza.
The fake gears are largely a joke in my opinion, a downshift paddle is handy and the upshift paddle could almost be a rate of change control
I will never understand the artificial shift points. Just put me in the meat of the power band and let me go fast or put me in the efficiency zone and let me cruise. It’s just stupid.
WHAT KINDA BULL CRAP IS THAT!?!?!? If it doesn’t get a manual, the WRX will be dead to a lot of people.
Its actually a pretty neat car! But the CVT is like a dagger to a balloon, The Car might actually handle and look good! But that CVT is borderline unacceptable for this kind of car, and for many is a huge deal breaker.
The WRX has been available with a CVT for quite a while now.
Yes, but they always had the choice of a manual, they never mentioned having a manual for this one, so it’s safe to assume they don’t have one.
This is just a limited-production trim level that probably won’t even come to the US. Your comment implied that this is the now the standard for the WRX.
CVT is the only WRX transmission in Japan apparently.