New XV on order

[Dogconker]

13 minutes ago, ernieb said:

The last few cars we’ve had we’ve been more adventurous, it must be my age. In fact the current white is a pearl and is the only ‘standard’ colour that’s a no cost option.  Your diesel will also have more torque and at much lower revs.

Yes and because mine is a filthy, dirty Euro5 diesel its got much more torque than my wife’s Euro6 which is why I’ve kept it. Pulls great, 60mph in 6th gear it pull even with a caravan on the back, which is a bit worrying. Got an injection going wrong at the minute but it still pulls well.

I’m pretty sure all the new XV are petrol now which is why they don’t have the pull.

[ernieb]

1 minute ago, Dogconker said:

Yes and because mine is a filthy, dirty Euro5 diesel its got much more torque than my wife’s Euro6 which is why I’ve kept it. Pulls great, 60mph in 6th gear it pull even with a caravan on the back, which is a bit worrying. Got an injection going wrong at the minute but it still pulls well.

I’m pretty sure all the new XV are petrol now which is why they don’t have the pull.

Yep, all 2018 models are petrol and CVT, no manual gearboxes. Not sure why Subaru included a 1600cc engine in the range, I think pulling skin of a rice pudding springs to mind!   My last car, Skoda Yeti, had a DSG box very good but after only a few miles today and the test drive I’m pretty impressed with the Subaru Lineatronic. I’ll post a review and photos after I’ve done a 1000 miles which will give the engine time to bed in. So far I’m very impressed with the Adaptive Cruise Control, nice and easy no sharp braking thanks to the camera based system which can see 130mtrs and understands the difference between cars, lorries, bikes, pedestrians and brake lights, unlike radar systems which see everything as a block

[SebP10]

You weren't in Lidlington today, were you Ernie? I'm 95% sure I saw a bright red 2018 XV around 2 pm. (It was behind a hedge and then a wall, but the tail lights looked XV-ish, as did the roof rails.)

As you're in Bedfordshire too and I've only seen one other XV since July (64-reg, although I have seen it three times!) I thought I'd ask.

[ernieb]

2 hours ago, SebP10 said:

You weren't in Lidlington today, were you Ernie? I'm 95% sure I saw a bright red 2018 XV around 2 pm. (It was behind a hedge and then a wall, but the tail lights looked XV-ish, as did the roof rails.)

As you're in Bedfordshire too and I've only seen one other XV since July (64-reg, although I have seen it three times!) I thought I'd ask.

No not me I’m afraid but I was in Milton Keynes.  Subaru’s are as rare as hens teeth around here.  When we visit Derbyshire, very frequently, they are more likely to be seen.  As an aside, we nearly bought a house in Lidlington many years ago but got gazumped, we moved to Dunstable and have been here every since.

[SebP10]

Looks like there may be another XV around here, then, unless it was another lost Center Parcs customer!

 

[ernieb]

Model Reviewed Subaru XV 20182.0i SE Premium Lineartronic CVT

First Impression Review: (first 1500miles)

(Some of the comments may be obvious or apparent to other XV or Subaru owners but are stated here as I’m posting this onto a none Subaru forum.)
Purchased 3rd May 2018.

The car has the following basic features;

Subaru Boxer engine (2.0 litre petrol 152HP)
Permanent Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive (60:40) - Active Torque Split
Lineartronic, Continuously Variable Transmission with Paddle Shifters
EyeSight Driver Assist technology
X-Mode with Hill Descent Control
Rear Vehicle Detection – Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane Change Assist and Rear Cross Traffic Alert
LED Steering Responsive Headlights, High Beam Assist
Adaptive Cruise Control
KESSEY
8” DAB, touchscreen Sat Nav (TomTom), Apple CarPlay™, Android Auto™
Two, Colour Multifunction Information Displays (MFD’s)
Power Sunroof, UV protection windscreen, side windows
Reversing camera
Dual-zone Automatic Air-conditioning System
Power-folding heated door mirrors
Aluminium alloy wheels (18” x 7J) 225/55 R18 
TPMS, Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (not advertised?)

Conclusion:

This car ticks about 85% of the boxes which for me is pretty impressive as I doubt there are many cars that would reach the mystical 100% satisfaction goal.
I’ve covered over 1500miles plus now and using a brim to brim measurement have achieved 40mpg. I’ve been running the car in, for the first 500 miles or so,  without any hard acceleration and the car feels like it’s loosening up nicely so maybe some spirited acceleration will impact on the mpg, we’ll see how it goes. There has been no oil use so far.
This is a really good car and I’m very happy that we made the move back to Subaru.
I’d like to give a shout for Adams Brothers, Aylesbury, there is a good team working in this dealership who were very informative during the test drive and worked hard keeping me informed of the cars build status and then during the handover process and changing my vanity number plates on the day. There was a real feeling my custom was important.

Negatives First

So what do I not like or feel could be improved none are what might be called serious but nonetheless I feel, if corrected, would make this a better car.

●    This car is very much targeted as a “real” SUV that can go to places that many of the current batch of SUV cars marketed today can only dream of, in all weathers and times of the year.  As such I’d have expected the car to have come from with OEM All Weather tyre. Sadly, this is not the case and like so many of the breed comes fitted with Summer spec’d tyres. (Bridgestone Dueler) In the short period I’ve owned the car some morning temperatures has been quite cold below the 7-10 oC that summer tyres start to harden and loose some of the compliance. This has affected the ride quality to some extent. I was aware of this when we purchased the car so budgeted for replacing these tyres after a running period with Michelin CrossClimate SUV tyres which I used on my last car and found them to be quieter, more economical and consistent performance in all weathers.
●    A major selling point for this car is its safety features, part of which is the Eyesight technology.  This works really well and I’m impressed with the grace in which it applies the brakes and the options for acceleration that are available. That said the system needs to see the road so surely I’d have expected the front windscreen to have been heated, not just the wiper blade section. I’d always clean the screen anyway but as most accidents occur within a mile of you home it would have been prudent to include this as a standard feature.
●    The electrically adjustable seat is excellent and I’ve found no trouble in optimising the driving position to suite my requirements. Pity then that there is no memory buttons to set and recall these adjustments. So that if another driver or when the car is serviced move the settings I will have to repeat the adjustment process again. Previous cars have had three memory settings giving me the option to set up two main drivers and have a spare.
●    Like all of the cars now sold this car has auto stop start which is ON by default after each restart. It can be switched off once the engine is running. I generally like to leave this on but have found that the car is too eager to switch off the engine when I feel the temperature is not high enough. The result is on restart the engine/CVT tend to cause the car to jump, lurch with a physical and audible thump. I now try to turn this off and then on again later. There is a screen that pops up giving the estimated “savings” and the to stall time stopped. Obviously the savings are minuscule and frankly I’m in the camp that feels that the system is more suitable for reducing emissions etc., during the current testing as the urban cycle has regular stop start sequences.
●    The Infotainment System is good, very good in fact and I like the TomTom maps provided. However, the current map software installed on the car is very much out of date and I regularly find myself driving across fields and farm land. There is no junction 11A on the M1, no Luton/Dunstable link road and many others as we’ve driven around. My dealer contacted Subaru UK on our behalf and has said that the updates will be live very soon, within a few weeks. Let’s hope this happens sooner than later.
●    It would have been nice for the front passenger seat to have been height adjustable, even if this was a manual system.
●    The boot/trunk is a little on the small side given the size of the car. However, I’ve found that most of the volume lost compared to my Skoda Yeti was probably in the height, the floor area in larger. This means that I can fit more into the car as long as I stay below the cover height. *
●    There is no spare wheel, even a space saver version. There is an option for one but the boot/trunk size is very much compromised if this is added to the build. A car designed for trail soft reading should have a spare wheel. *

* these two comments are probably there because the car is effectively an Impreza on stilts.

Positives

So much for the negatives, what do I like about the car. Too many to list frankly.

●    This is a great car that feels planted and stable to drive  with little or no body roll. I guess the new improved chassis does a good job.
●    Comfortable, even after a long drive with massive all round visibility. 
●    The seating position, for me at 5 foot 10+ inches, about 178cm, is spot on. The adjustment of the seat is an 8 way system and the large movement of the steering wheel up/down and in/out make it almost impossible not to find a good driving position.
●    The on board information systems are abundant with maybe some redundancy or duplication but allow for a huge amount of flexibility as to what and where information if going to be displayed, more of that later.
●    The lights are brilliant and give you the feeling of being able to see and be seen in all situations. The steering responsive headlights and auto dipping works really well.
●    The internal seating, space looks and feels good and is practical for both front and rear passengers with good legroom that’s going to be acceptable to all but a few. I like the swabs on the seats that have a sensible front leg roll design not the exaggerated humps that look good but cut off the circulation to the lower part of the legs on long journeys. (Not so bad for me at my height but for the vertically challenged it can be very uncomfortable.)
●    The sunroof is small but useful enough on those darker days. Most days, in the current summer weather, we have the roof covered as there is more than enough light coming through the windows to lighten what could be a dark interior.
●    Plenty of options to disable or use the Eyesight and other assist technologies, either permanently or as a temporary measure. These, so far, have worked flawlessly.
●    I’m impressed with the ability of the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) to react and calculate what any given situation is on the road. For example, driving along the motorway and the ACC set to 65mph the system locks onto the car in front and registers the lock via visual and audible signal, which can be turned off if it’s irritating. If a car pulls out from the nearside lane the system adjusts your speed and maintains the distance but if someone pulls in front from the outside lane and is effectively moving as fast or faster than you the car just follows without braking. “Clever by Design”
●    The rear view camera, as most do, has guidelines but the XV has orange lines that show the turning circle for the lock you have applied to the front wheels. I’ve checked and this is pretty accurate and the 140 degree wide angle view allows a good view either side of your targeted direction.  The Rear Cross Traffic Alert works in conjunction with the camera and gives a high degree of confidence when using the camera. I’m old school so still look around and use the mirrors but having the additional systems on board is very useful.
●    The Infotainment Head Unit covers a host of features, however, the current versions of the Subaru Starlink and Aha apps do not add much to the experience and to my mind are tailored to the American market. The radio is good and I’ve used the DAB in most places I’ve driven without any drop outs, so a big plus. The media on 64Gb USB works as expected and I’ve tried both USB 2 and 3 versions.  The media artworks display well and the searching and sorting is fast. The audio quality is more than acceptable and considering it’s a car gives a good sound experience. Android Auto works well as does the Waze app, both use Google as the base maps but as Waze crowd sources it’s data in real time it's always up to date. Linking the Waze app to my Pocket GPS speed cameras gives very accurate camera locations. The Tomtom  maps are clear and includes a considerable range of POI’s and also includes some speed camera locations but these tend to be more generic not  a specifically indication a camera location but a general area. This is a good Infotainment Head Unit with a large 8 inch screen and good touch sensitivity. The screen does pick up finger marks but then most of them do, with the car  sunroof cover pulled back there can be some reflection of the sky on the screen, in general is as good as most I’ve seen.
●    Multi Function Displays, MFD’s. There are two MFD’s one between the Rev Counter and Speed dials, portrait mode and the other at the top, middle section, of the dash in landscape mode.  Both are colour and there is large range of data sets that can be selected as well as changing driver selectable settings. I’ve used these at various times in different ways and I’m impressed with how useful these can be. The dash mounted MFD is great if you are using the built in Tomtom Nav system as the directions can be displayed there which means that they are in a direct eyeline with the road, not having to look down.
●    I’ve not detailed or polished the body work yet as I wanted to give it time to harden. That said, washing the car produces a good clean finish without any hard work on my part and the black trims come up without any streaking. I’ve tended to the view that Subaru paint finishes as perhaps a little suspect but friends have commented on how well the car paint looks, time will tell.
●    The engine/CVT work well enough but to be honest I’m still getting used to driving a petrol engine car. I’ve driven diesel powered cars for the last 20 years at least and the power/torque characteristics are so very different. My last two cars have had DSG (VW) 6 speed wet gearboxes and have performed beautifully. The Lineartronic CVT in the XV is a very different feel but certainly a much better experience than I had thought it might be. It will scream if pushed but nowhere as much as I’d had anticipated. I’m not much impressed by 0-60 times but for me it’s the passing acceleration that counts, 40-60mph, and this box gives me some confidence that when asked it will respond. It is very smooth and I’ve used the paddle shifters more for downshifts when hill climbing on the narrow hilly roads in Derbyshire. (They seem to pop up from nowhere some days?) The paddle shifters do approximate to a gear shift and are useful but don’t seem to give the deceleration affect I’d expect from a DSG box. (Maybe my expectation is more based on a diesel than petrol engine so it’s difficult for me to really know what to expect)
●    The brakes feel very effective and rolling towards a hedge, to test out the Pre Collision Braking, it works! The brakes feel very progressive with a light touch feathering off the speed without any snatch and a firmer press giving you the positive feedback that the car will stop.
●    The steering is light but with some feedback which might not suit all but is OK for my style of driving. The steering characteristic gives a good feel if cornering with some pace feeling somewhat neutral, neither over or under steering.
●    Security Marking and Registration System protecting your vehicle. This is not mentioned anywhere I can find but is a valuable addition which surprised me when I looked at the windows and then received an email confirming the car was registered to me.

Early days and I hope that as I manage to clock up some more miles and get a better feel for the car and it’s technology I will look at a comprehensive review.
 

[ernieb]

Quick Update, I’ve still not had an update on the TomTom maps.  My dealer has tried repeatedly to get Subaru UK Technical to give a date and update method and has none got his MD involved to add some weight to getting answers.  The Head Unit wants to try to update via WiFi, fine by me but Subaru UK are suggesting they might not use this method but could use a download and USB or worse still a return to the garage for each update.

I’m entitled to 3 years of updates which I’d supposed to be every 6 months but have been told this is most likely to be every year, so my first update when it arrives will only bring the maps up to an accuracy that I’d have expected when I picked up the car.  I’ve already requested that the “free” map updates should be extended by a year to cover the inaccuracies that currently exist.  So four months in a still waiting for answers, pretty poor customer service I think.

[ernieb]

Further Update.

I've changed the tyres to Michelle CrossClimate SUV (225/55 R18).  Got these at Costco, good deal on the tyres, fittings etc., plus I got them when they were offing £80 off a set of 4.  Unfortunately, and to cut a long story short, they damaged one of the TPMS sensors.  No issue that they would cover the cost etc., ordered an OEM sensor and delivered next day (£120), fitted and all OK.  Already pleased with the results, much quieter and a good feel on the road.  If they perform as well as the sets I’ve fitted to my previous car I’ll be very happy.

As an aside the 2018 TPMS sensor does not look as robust as the previous versions I’ve seen online.  The damage to the one on my tyre was a clear plastic cover which is stuck on and not a complete molded item and looks very vulnerable. Very expensive at £120.  The Costco team has a TPMS tester which was used to diagnose the original defect and then used to “pair” the new sensor to the car via the OBD II port.

[Guest]

Thanks for that really thorough review. I have just posted on  here for the first time and your review has helped me a lot. Think a visit to my Dealer is on my list of things to do, just to have a closer look. 

Something  i thought of is there a waiting list for a new XV ?   Thanks   

[Dogconker]

35 minutes ago, Gary Buchs said:

Thanks for that really thorough review. I have just posted on  here for the first time and your review has helped me a lot. Think a visit to my Dealer is on my list of things to do, just to have a closer look. 

Something  i thought of is there a waiting list for a new XV ?   Thanks   

Not sure at the minute, if you buy new We’ve generally had a 4 week delivery time.

unfortunately my review is for the Euro5 Diesel version. I have driven a petrol version and it didn’t have the same sporty feel as the diesel, even the Euro6 diesel was pretty lacklustre to drive compared with the Euro5 though quite a bit better on fuel. Subaru don’t make diesel versions now though and I think all new petrol ones are CVT. 

but they are a good car, I sadly had to let mine go after 5 yrs as I needed a workhorse for towing so bought a Ssangyong Pickup which is purely for pulling a caravan.

definitely worth a look if you’re looking fir a mid size family car, and they do handle pretty well.

[ernieb]

@Gary Buchs

Still very happy with our XV, 10 months on and about 10K miles.  It continues to perform well and the Eyesight technology is fantastic making stop start trips on the M1 though road works a comfortable drive.  I spend a couple of months each year in Derbyshire so I'm happy to report it also copes well with the 4 seasons in a day that seem to regularly occur, the Cross Climate tyres really help.

The only downside is that I'm still awaiting the TomTom map updates!!!  They were out of date when I collected the car and are supposed to be updated every year, my dealer is unable to give me a date as to when and how this will occur, dealer or over the air (this function is built into the car but not confirmed as being the way the map updates will happen.  Happily the Android Auto works really well, charges the phone and using Goggle/Waze I get very good road, traffic information.

Good luck with the test drive and let us know how you get on?  Ernie

[Guest]

16 hours ago, Dogconker said:

Not sure at the minute, if you buy new We’ve generally had a 4 week delivery time.

unfortunately my review is for the Euro5 Diesel version. I have driven a petrol version and it didn’t have the same sporty feel as the diesel, even the Euro6 diesel was pretty lacklustre to drive compared with the Euro5 though quite a bit better on fuel. Subaru don’t make diesel versions now though and I think all new petrol ones are CVT. 

but they are a good car, I sadly had to let mine go after 5 yrs as I needed a workhorse for towing so bought a Ssangyong Pickup which is purely for pulling a caravan.

definitely worth a look if you’re looking fir a mid size family car, and they do handle pretty well.

Hi many thanks yes Petrol is ok with me don't do a lot of miles , I know the 1.6 is a little short on power  but probably ok for us. Good luck with the Ssangyong .

[Guest]

7 hours ago, ernieb said:

@Gary Buchs

Still very happy with our XV, 10 months on and about 10K miles.  It continues to perform well and the Eyesight technology is fantastic making stop start trips on the M1 though road works a comfortable drive.  I spend a couple of months each year in Derbyshire so I'm happy to report it also copes well with the 4 seasons in a day that seem to regularly occur, the Cross Climate tyres really help.

The only downside is that I'm still awaiting the TomTom map updates!!!  They were out of date when I collected the car and are supposed to be updated every year, my dealer is unable to give me a date as to when and how this will occur, dealer or over the air (this function is built into the car but not confirmed as being the way the map updates will happen.  Happily the Android Auto works really well, charges the phone and using Goggle/Waze I get very good road, traffic information.

Good luck with the test drive and let us know how you get on?  Ernie

Many thanks I know what you mean about Derbyshire Weather! Shame about TomTom . I will call in to Colin Appleyard in Ashton it's only 45 mins from here , just for a closer look and feel for it.

[ernieb]

So finely the year long saga of awaiting TomTom map updates to my MY18 XV have been announced.  The manufacturing year is important as there is a significant difference between how this is accomplished with a MY18 and MY19 onwards.  MY19 can be updated over the air as was intended and was originally built into the MY18 head unit.  MY18 has to be updated via a USB, old style.  This also shows another difference, MY18 updates will be approximately once a year and MY19 more frequently.

There is a dealer bulletin but this YouTube link is correct for the UK, 

Once you've created and account, downloaded the map installer for your PC or Mac you need a clean 16Gb USB pen drive.  The maps are downloaded to the PC/Mac and uploaded to the USB drive, make sure you have a cup of tea, good book it takes awhile, mine took a couple of hours.  I have a very fast internet connection (380Mbs) so maybe time of day and sever activity makes a difference.  The install is easy, instructions are displayed on the Head Unit, engine must be on and took me about 25mins to complete, it states that it could take an hour, my system was version 12.XX the new one 18.XX.

It all works as expected and deletes any radio presets, which it does warn about.

NOW, the $64,000 question are the maps current for the UK, NO.  After 12 months of ownership which had maps originally at least 6 months out of date, the maps do not include the new M1 junction 11A and associated link roads, so maybe in another 12 months this might be included!

Subaru have extended the 3 year updates by one year so for me 2021, but I'm still very unhappy about the poor support and have once more addressed this issue to the dealer.  These maps are for the whole of Europe so could make driving in unknown areas very difficult.

I'll post any comments I receive. 

[ernieb]

Updater Process pdf

 

Ernie

HARMAN Map Updater Process.pdf

[ernieb]

Received an update notification for the Head Unit (Harman) via e-mail yesterday.  Downloaded and installed and I’m happy to report that finally the maps now appear to represent real life.  I’ve checked a number of the roads that did not appear and they are now all present.  Additionally this update did not clear presets for the radio etc., so that’s all good.

[GGMan]

Glad to here you got the updates but that one of the reason why I did get the top trim model, as did not want built in navigation with having Android Auto (mainly waze, as they do update roads way faster than anyone).

[ernieb]

@GGMan,

We also use Android Auto and Waze, great combination.  But we paid for a Head Unit that was meant to be correct.

When we took a demo drive in the 2020 XV e-boxer I meet the Subaru UK MD, nice bloke and pretty dedicated  to increasing the dealership, brand and sales.  I did speak to him about the Tom Tom maps.  I did not side step the problem in fact although I said mine were now up to-date he said his was not as it was missing a round-a-bout  when he travelled to Cambridge.  I did say the issue lies with the supply chain for the maps, not being under the control of Subaru?

[kash0613]

Any more updates ernie?

I'm collecting my red xv next week so I'm devouring your posts on the xv!

[ernieb]

Yes indeed, the maps are updated for me via a web site but for you they will probably be “over the air”. 
I my case because of the delay in getting the updates they extended the map update period by a year.

The TomTom maps work well enough but I still tend to use Waze even on journeys I do all the time as the traffic, breakdowns etc., data updated in real time are very useful.

Enjoy the new XV, ours is red and we are very happy with its overall performance.

[kash0613]

6 hours ago, ernieb said:

Yes indeed, the maps are updated for me via a web site but for you they will probably be “over the air”. 
I my case because of the delay in getting the updates they extended the map update period by a year.

The TomTom maps work well enough but I still tend to use Waze even on journeys I do all the time as the traffic, breakdowns etc., data updated in real time are very useful.

Enjoy the new XV, ours is red and we are very happy with its overall performance.

Good to hear....I'm a big fan of waze and of Android auto so I'm looking forwards to using both in the near future.

any issues with your xv since your last post on it,I find your extensive reports extremely informative.

My xv isnt brand new,it's a late 2018 premium se which has come direct from Subaru hq so I'm hoping it will have had the map updates etc but we shall see!

[ernieb]

My XV has been faultless since we picked it up new May 2018, I’m getting 39mpg indicated but about 35mpg real.  The safety features, adaptive cruise control, lane guidance etc., are a joy particularly when on motorways, roadworks, stop start no problem.  The switch that’s used to set the speed can be used to change the set speed, push down to reduce and up to increase. (If you just tap the switch up it will increase from say 32mph to 35mph, another tap 40mph etc.) on the M1 there is a 60mph section then reduces to 50mph, so two taps down and the car drops from 60 to 50mph, easy.

The CrossClimate SUV tyres are a joy in any conditions and feel solid under the car.

 

i hope you enjoy the XV, we are!

[kash0613]

6 hours ago, ernieb said:

My XV has been faultless since we picked it up new May 2018, I’m getting 39mpg indicated but about 35mpg real.  The safety features, adaptive cruise control, lane guidance etc., are a joy particularly when on motorways, roadworks, stop start no problem.  The switch that’s used to set the speed can be used to change the set speed, push down to reduce and up to increase. (If you just tap the switch up it will increase from say 32mph to 35mph, another tap 40mph etc.) on the M1 there is a 60mph section then reduces to 50mph, so two taps down and the car drops from 60 to 50mph, easy.

The CrossClimate SUV tyres are a joy in any conditions and feel solid under the car.

 

i hope you enjoy the XV, we are!

Thank you for that and yes,I'm sure we will.

it's going to quite a change for us,I've had a six cylinder bmw m140i for the past year and have never liked the car sadly,I respected it but didn't love it,if that makes sense.....not me at all and a rash purchase in retrospect.

Prior that,I had a wonderful Saab 93 aero for five years and a very useful freelander sport for the five years prior to that.

the Saab on particular had fantastic headlights and seats,something which I hope the Subaru will emulate together with a big dose of practicality.

can't wait.

[ernieb]

The biggest change I found to my previous car Skoda Yeti DSG was the Subaru CVT, hard acceleration will make one hell of a racket as the engine powers at high revs.  I found very quickly that an easy right foot accelerated the car just as quickly without the attendant noise.  The paddles are not so good on up shifts but very useful coming down.  I know they are ‘fake’ but it works well enough. Where I live there are loads of 20mph areas that alternate to 30mph. Seeing the 20mph sign it’s enough to hit the down paddle a couple of times and the car cruises to 20mph, same going down from 40 to 30. The ACC works well even at 20mph. (One of the 20mph roads near me had over 1600 speed fines in a month)

not trying to teach you to suck eggs just my experience.

enjoy!

[kash0613]

2 hours ago, ernieb said:

The biggest change I found to my previous car Skoda Yeti DSG was the Subaru CVT, hard acceleration will make one hell of a racket as the engine powers at high revs.  I found very quickly that an easy right foot accelerated the car just as quickly without the attendant noise.  The paddles are not so good on up shifts but very useful coming down.  I know they are ‘fake’ but it works well enough. Where I live there are loads of 20mph areas that alternate to 30mph. Seeing the 20mph sign it’s enough to hit the down paddle a couple of times and the car cruises to 20mph, same going down from 40 to 30. The ACC works well even at 20mph. (One of the 20mph roads near me had over 1600 speed fines in a month)

not trying to teach you to suck eggs just my experience.

enjoy!

Not at all,I'm a cvt virgin so I appreciate the tips.