2012 Subaru Legacy 2.5 CVT
Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 9:07 am
My mom bought a 2012 Subaru Legacy 2.5 CVT. I drove it last night. I only have a small impression...didn't go far and it was dark out, so I can't provide numeric ratings.
Ride, comfort, and handling - I fit well, but I couldn't shake the feeling that my hand should be on a real shifter and my foot should be on a clutch pedal; it seems natural for this car. The ride is nicely gentle. I was expecting a classic Subaru "sporty" (read: stiff) ride and was pleasantly surprised. Handling went untested because mom got scared long before I was pushing it.
Fuel economy - Rated 23/31, no idea how it will do IRL. Mom's no speed demon but neither is she aware of particular efficient driving techniques.
Reliability - No idea. Surely it will be fine.
Fun - This must be why so many here hate automatics and CVTs. The CVT is programmed to wait a couple seconds after you slam the go-pedal. I assume this is for fuel economy to prevent unintended downshifting when you go over a bump or your foot twitches. It has paddle shifters, which would actually be useful...without knowing about that delay I would have expected shifters on a CVT to be as useless as tits on a bull. A minor change in programming would really wake this car up.
Practicality – The trunk is spacious but the opening is tiny. Go on a long-term bulk grocery shopping trip if you want, but don't buy furniture anywhere other than Ikea (and even then don't buy a glass-top table). I forgot to try the backseat. AWD means mom can risk her life in more slippery conditions than with FWD and get to work to make those monthly car payments.
Style - This is a new car I could drive every day. It looks generic, indistinguishable from other sheep on the road. It won't draw the attention of that cop who likes to hassle guys with beards, or whatever it is that gets me in trouble the second I slightly disobey a traffic law. This is a welcome change from the seemingly more common practice of making every car stick out like a sore thumb with "HEY LOOK AT ME I'M AN ATTENTION WHORE" styling.
Power - The 2.5 is hampered by that CVT input delay. Specifications show it almost exactly as powerful as my VW's 2.5 was, and the car a few hundred pounds heavier. It's certainly fast enough to get my license taken away or put me behind bars if my judgement fails.
Value - Not sure how much she paid for it, and not current with market pricing to be able to comment even if I did ask.
Overall - Seems like a nice car. I could roll it, given (of course) one more pedal.
CVT note - It doesn't do the faux-shifting that I thought was silly in the 2008 Jeep Patriot's CVT, but it isn't the completely smooth stepless acceleration I expected either. One thing that many here would like, which I dislike, is the automatic engine braking; you take your foot off the accelerator and at first it rolls nicely like a GM automatic, then after a few seconds it downshifts (or whatever you want to call it in a CVT) and provides engine braking.
Ride, comfort, and handling - I fit well, but I couldn't shake the feeling that my hand should be on a real shifter and my foot should be on a clutch pedal; it seems natural for this car. The ride is nicely gentle. I was expecting a classic Subaru "sporty" (read: stiff) ride and was pleasantly surprised. Handling went untested because mom got scared long before I was pushing it.
Fuel economy - Rated 23/31, no idea how it will do IRL. Mom's no speed demon but neither is she aware of particular efficient driving techniques.
Reliability - No idea. Surely it will be fine.
Fun - This must be why so many here hate automatics and CVTs. The CVT is programmed to wait a couple seconds after you slam the go-pedal. I assume this is for fuel economy to prevent unintended downshifting when you go over a bump or your foot twitches. It has paddle shifters, which would actually be useful...without knowing about that delay I would have expected shifters on a CVT to be as useless as tits on a bull. A minor change in programming would really wake this car up.
Practicality – The trunk is spacious but the opening is tiny. Go on a long-term bulk grocery shopping trip if you want, but don't buy furniture anywhere other than Ikea (and even then don't buy a glass-top table). I forgot to try the backseat. AWD means mom can risk her life in more slippery conditions than with FWD and get to work to make those monthly car payments.
Style - This is a new car I could drive every day. It looks generic, indistinguishable from other sheep on the road. It won't draw the attention of that cop who likes to hassle guys with beards, or whatever it is that gets me in trouble the second I slightly disobey a traffic law. This is a welcome change from the seemingly more common practice of making every car stick out like a sore thumb with "HEY LOOK AT ME I'M AN ATTENTION WHORE" styling.
Power - The 2.5 is hampered by that CVT input delay. Specifications show it almost exactly as powerful as my VW's 2.5 was, and the car a few hundred pounds heavier. It's certainly fast enough to get my license taken away or put me behind bars if my judgement fails.
Value - Not sure how much she paid for it, and not current with market pricing to be able to comment even if I did ask.
Overall - Seems like a nice car. I could roll it, given (of course) one more pedal.
CVT note - It doesn't do the faux-shifting that I thought was silly in the 2008 Jeep Patriot's CVT, but it isn't the completely smooth stepless acceleration I expected either. One thing that many here would like, which I dislike, is the automatic engine braking; you take your foot off the accelerator and at first it rolls nicely like a GM automatic, then after a few seconds it downshifts (or whatever you want to call it in a CVT) and provides engine braking.
I get it. Well that's the thing, it's not as steady as I expected.