Having now owned my 2020 Sport Tech CVT for one month I have a bit of seat time to give it a decent evaluation with the break-in period now over. I believe this is the Canadian version of the US Premium model ?
I needed a daily driver work car that was fuel efficient, comfy, and had AWD. I put a fair bit of work miles on my vehicles so the Impreza seemed to have everything I needed. You definitely get a lot of value for the money. I generally like Subaru CVT's, having one on my 2019 WRX. I was extremely concerned about a lack of power in this vehicle but I wanted everything else the car had to offer so I took a chance on it. I just got rid of my Honda HR-V AWD with 141 hp and I hated entering highways in that vehicle as it was deathly slow. I figured the 152 hp Impreza might be somewhat similar with just 11 more hp.
With 1000 miles on it now I've been able to rev it higher and push it harder with break-in complete. I have to say it is not nearly as slow as I expected. It certainly isn't overly powerful, but you can accelerate easily without much fuss. I had to redline the HR-V in every gear getting up to highway speeds, and it was so buzzy and noisy. The Impreza is very easy driving by comparison. I really don't find it lacking in any regard, even when switching from my WRX. Fuel efficiency is pretty decent thus far, and I am looking forward to it getting better over time.
I like the paddle shifting manual mode, and I find the CVT shifts smoother in manual mode if you hold your right foot to the floor. If you hold it at part throttle it sometimes stumbles a bit on shifting. The tranny makes the best of the available power, keeping it in the best rev range at all times. The sport mode keeps the revs a bit higher, increases response a bit, and seems to give some engine braking. I have to say it exceeds my expectations, perhaps this motor makes more power than advertised as it does not feel as slow as I would have expected. The powertrain is pretty smooth overall, not noisy or buzzy like other vehicles out there with small engines and cvt trannies. Very respectable.
Just thought I'd share my experience having driven a multitude of other vehicles, this is a very solid package. I probably would have been happy with the sport model but I was tempted by the sportier suspension, and larger brakes of the Sport Tech, the two tweaks add a nice upgrade to an already fine package. I can't think of any shortfalls right now, it does everything reasonably well and nothing poorly. I also love driving this car in heavy snow, it's like a tank in the snow. This car is a solid 8 out of 10 IMO, no complaints and great bang for the buck.
I needed a daily driver work car that was fuel efficient, comfy, and had AWD. I put a fair bit of work miles on my vehicles so the Impreza seemed to have everything I needed. You definitely get a lot of value for the money. I generally like Subaru CVT's, having one on my 2019 WRX. I was extremely concerned about a lack of power in this vehicle but I wanted everything else the car had to offer so I took a chance on it. I just got rid of my Honda HR-V AWD with 141 hp and I hated entering highways in that vehicle as it was deathly slow. I figured the 152 hp Impreza might be somewhat similar with just 11 more hp.
With 1000 miles on it now I've been able to rev it higher and push it harder with break-in complete. I have to say it is not nearly as slow as I expected. It certainly isn't overly powerful, but you can accelerate easily without much fuss. I had to redline the HR-V in every gear getting up to highway speeds, and it was so buzzy and noisy. The Impreza is very easy driving by comparison. I really don't find it lacking in any regard, even when switching from my WRX. Fuel efficiency is pretty decent thus far, and I am looking forward to it getting better over time.
I like the paddle shifting manual mode, and I find the CVT shifts smoother in manual mode if you hold your right foot to the floor. If you hold it at part throttle it sometimes stumbles a bit on shifting. The tranny makes the best of the available power, keeping it in the best rev range at all times. The sport mode keeps the revs a bit higher, increases response a bit, and seems to give some engine braking. I have to say it exceeds my expectations, perhaps this motor makes more power than advertised as it does not feel as slow as I would have expected. The powertrain is pretty smooth overall, not noisy or buzzy like other vehicles out there with small engines and cvt trannies. Very respectable.
Just thought I'd share my experience having driven a multitude of other vehicles, this is a very solid package. I probably would have been happy with the sport model but I was tempted by the sportier suspension, and larger brakes of the Sport Tech, the two tweaks add a nice upgrade to an already fine package. I can't think of any shortfalls right now, it does everything reasonably well and nothing poorly. I also love driving this car in heavy snow, it's like a tank in the snow. This car is a solid 8 out of 10 IMO, no complaints and great bang for the buck.
