I'm in a CVT WRX Facebook page and there are tons of people who have bought the 2022 model and they love it. Case in point: if you want one, buy one. Simple. Fuck everyone who says shit about the SPT. Yes it's an automatic. Big deal. Get over yourselves. I plan on getting this hopefully after I pay off my Civic.
Joe’s face @ 18:26 is the same disappointed face my dad had that one time I brought home a report card full of C and D’s. I’m sorry I let you down Joe!
His face was so unimpressed off the line 😂. But for real another great vid! It was cool to see someone experience the “auto” version as I have never driven one nor has anyone I know.
well, I own a 2022 GT, I am disappointed in your review, I am not sure why you did it, if you are coming in biased against the SPT, I have been watching your reviews for years. You state the obvious facts about the speed at the beginning. I know you are biased to 6 speeds, but lets be honest, they are not as fast. I have owned a Veloster N and a Kona N, they are fast, but ride like crap, and are not as well put together as a Subaru. The 8speed DCT has been recalled by Hyundai. The material is NOT Alcantara, its Ultra Suede and Real Leather. You ignore the Eyesight system, the blind spot monitoring, Rear cross traffic alert, and other safety features. This vehicle is good for those of us that may be older, have owned our share of manuals in the past. I can tell you didn't do much research on the vehicle before testing it. Your comments on lagging are basically ridiculous, it does not lag, The Elantra N is not even available with all wheel drive, and is worthless in snowy weather. In the future, if you already have a bias on a vehicle, don't do a review on it. You don't give a complete review of all the modes that are available. Sorry to vent, but I enjoy my GT so much, and you don't give a fair review on this one.
At $45k, that's a tough sell for me. I have owned about 15 Subarus, I got tired of the oil leaks. I used to think I needed awd here in Ohio, but then I found Michelin winter tires.
Even the WRX STI back in 2021 was a tough sell for me at 40K. Now they're asking 45K for an inferior trim. I'll stick with my 2023 1SS I got at MSRP very luckily
Until Subaru stops try to make CVT's happen on their entire lineup. You basically either buy the manual gearbox, or go grab any other performance sedan on the market. There is one thing to have the "peppy-ness". It's another thing if there is no emotion in putting rubber to road. Great review as always Joe!
@missingremote yes the WRX with the automatic transmission is a cvt with some programmed "gearing" to make it FEEL like a geared transmission. Supposedly the 0-60 is 6 seconds flat, which is nearly a full second behind in some cases to its competitors.
That a group of professional designers sat down in multiple meetings, went through multiple sketches, designs, and models, and ultimately came up with this, is beyond me. It's like Subaru hired an outside design team who had absolutely no idea what a WRX used to be. It's like they hired the Family Dollar to design an Italian suit. And then, to make matters even worse, Subaru's OWN PEOPLE decided to finally put adaptive suspension technology in a vehicle and then made it CVT only! This car was built by accountants, not engineers, and certainly not Subaru enthusiasts.
This seems like it was geared for people who loved their previous WRX or STIs but are now older and no longer want to deal with a manual. Still rocking my older GR Hatch and I'm convinced that the 08-14 model was the last best WRX/STI we're gonna get before things go electric. Great review as always, hope y'all had a good New Years!
I could not imagine enjoying a CVT. I have an 05 STI that I take out in the summer, and a DCT Veloster N for all season driving/dailying. The DCT is awesome, and I can throw it into manual shift mode and paddle shift or rally shift it with the stick and I get amazing response times and hard shifts on that kind of transmission. You just don't get that kind of feedback with the CVT.
Listen to this man.. He knows his stuff. I had to get rid of my maxima since the cvt was horrible and is known for their reliability issues. I havent driven an automatic wrx so i dont know how good the subaru cvts are but yeah cvts on performance cars is a horrible idea. I am currently driving the stinger and even though the torque converter is nowhere near the performance level as the dcts in the N cars, its sooo much better than the CVT
My parents have a Subaru Ascent and recent Crosstrek, both with CVTs and they aren't as bad as people make it out to be (at least to me). Obviously doesn't compare to a DCT, but makes for a good daily or long trip car. My parents are in their mid 60s though, so understandable they prefer the more comfy transmission. Manual is the only way for me if it's a sporty car, otherwise I'm likely going to get an electric car if/when my WRX dies.
I wish Subaru would hold a press conference and tell us what drugs they were on when they thought this was going to be a good idea. It’s actually almost a clean looking car If it wasn’t for the horrible fake vents. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
All black plastic made this car super ugly. And, for the sport car, interior must be with manual switches and buttons. Not a tablet design. What the hell is going on with SUBARU?
I think it is a nice option for folks who want to own a WRX, but don't want to deal with a manual transmission on a daily basis. I've owned manual transmission cars as a daily drivers, and dealing with bumper to bumper traffic is a chore with one.
You seemed way happier reviewing the EN. Like all smiles and feeling amazing. This car didn’t have the same reaction seeing you drive it lol. Hyundai did really good
@@wdnalo I don’t care about resale value and I don’t care about peoples skewed perspective on Hyundai lol. I can afford any vehicle in the 30->80k range and I still choose this. The EN is amazing. Tesla was my first choice but honestly in comparison it’s boring. To each, their own. Enjoy whatever car you have 😂
Hey Joe, first off I love your videos my man. Secondly I have to correct you on always zonking front fake vents for not being functional, in fact they are quite functional…….at decreasing aero 😂. But yeah I don’t know why these manufacturers always put in fake vents.
Got a black VB and came from my VA. would do it again 1000 times over. Most people thinking this car isn't as good as the last gen haven't spent time with one. This car is as fast as my buddys stock 2020 STI and the tuning potential is great.
I have a 2022 wrx base with the cvt. I have never driven another car with a cvt but ive driven go karts and rzrs with them so I can asume how a cvt car would feel and the wrxs cvt is really interesting. Everyone clowned on the "Subaru Performance Transmission" but it really is cool as it imitates the feel of a manual in sport# mode complete with engine braking. It automatically turns off the fake shifting when your flooring it, but the fake gears really shine with the paddle shifters.
I have a Subaru BRZ 2013 and Skoda Octavia RS wagon, both great cars in their own right. I test drove an Elantra N DCT Premium. The Elantra N is a very impressive bit of kit. I test drove the last generation WRX with the CVT. It was pretty good, but not good enough to best the Skoda at the time. Haven’t had a chance to drive the latest, but can’t imagine it’s going to be better than that weapon from Hyundai.
Remember the Legacy GT ? That was a good car , turbo with factory limited slip in the rear . Anything with a cvt is DOA . Subaru isn’t a performance car company anymore , it’s a crossover company
Elantra N unless you really needa that AWD. I personally have no issues with Elantra N fwd. Pop a cheap set of winters from my previous ride on the EN. Drove 40km to work on a snowy day and back in 1 piece. It's all about how you drive
@@homelackin2234 If you want speed and fun, go Veloster N man. The 86 is a well balanced car that is great for technical tracks but if you're just mostly on public roads and driving in a straight line, the 86 is boring as hell to drive.
They're smart using the Recaro seats and Alcantara in only the automatic GT model as a selling point. I actually don't mind the fender trim but the rear bumper looks a mess when not color matched.
I’m not feeling this car;the only nice things I can think about this car is the Recaro seats,and the amount of Twinkies you can fit in there. I would get a Honda civic si or type r. All blacked out of course.
The balance in your reviews between comedy and information has to be studied by a university or something lmao. Definitely my favorite car reviewer on RU-vid!😂😂
Subaru got cheap with their wide body by just placing stickers on the side of the wheels. Honda did it the right way with the Type R, a totally different body panel. I'm assuming they will be doing this to the Acura Integra Type S also.
So many lost opportunities here! Uplevel features available only with automatic. Use of CVT instead of a dual clutch (if you have to have an automatic), laggy off the line. The stupid cladding. And finally that outrageous base price and, adding insult onto injury, dealer markups. Thanks but I'll keep my mid $30K (new) 7-year old Golf R manual, tastefully modded, that will run circles around the new WRX. BTW, it has only 61K miles so it is good for at least another 10 years.
Great review joe! I have seen these with the black panels painted body color and they look awesome! Two things have gotten out of control with this car: the weight and the price. They are asking CTR money
Somehow Subaru managed to ruin their flagship vehicle. Looks like every other dime a dozen Subaru that nobody looks twice at. What a sad fall from grace.
The trench of every new wrx, Subaru rolls out a new model, the group criticizes it and mod it to their own likings, Subaru gathers this likings and puts them into the face-lift model. If Subaru paints the fenders and lowers the rear bumper, then this is golden.
I don’t know about the cladding. I still couldn’t get it over with. I get it though. It is a rally car. But cmon, it just doesn’t sit right in these cars. Even with the rally guys, no one even uses that. I like the black claddings in my Subaru ascent or outback. But a sports sedan? I can’t.
Thanks Joe... don't mean to sound harsh ... but the wheel cladding is really lame (note to Subaru ... "it's not an offroad vehicle but rather a sports car") ... I just don't understand why Sub only offers the Recaro seats in the auto flavor .. remember the last gen WRX the Recaros were available in the non-STI but 6MT variety...the WRX 6MT is still on my list but it's no longer a shoo-in ...Civic SI / Integra A-Spec / Camaro LT-1 are putting downward pressure on the WRX ... Keith Chicago IL
I'm sorry but using a CVT transmission is outright disrespectful to the WRX name. Just because you slap a sticker on a donkey that says it's a horse doesn't make it a horse. At Least Kia's version of the CVT is almost not noticeable that it is a CVT.
Elantra N is just such a good value and ridiculously easy and cheap to increase the hp to over 350. The Engine bay is super modding friendly unlike subaru. Wheel hop is fixed by a few cheap bushing mods too. The interior is better than it's price competitor the base model wrx.
@@braveheart9658 It's $3k difference, but we all know you're not getting a wrx for msrp because of the overvalued name. Stop trying to lie lol and the interior/technology is no competition.
As a 2019 wrx owner I'd never buy a 2022 wrx. Also subaru renaming their CVT as a SPT is just flat out misleading. Disappointed with this car big time.
Thanks for reviewing the official car of Duluth, MN. I see a lot of these there. Combination of low center gravity, awd, and snow tires is the answer to a winter in a city that slopes steeply towards the lake.
Great review! I like this model because it is the only WRX that comes with Eyesight. Too bad it doesn't have a DCT instead of the SPT. Also, I wish the body cladding came color matched.
Eyesight is on any model WRX with the CVT. Says so on the build sheet on the Subaru website, the “Build your Own” section. Though I’ll be rowing my own gears, thank you very much.
Personally im looking into buying this over GTI or Elantra N simply because of AWD. Bad weather up north. Definitely gonna buy it in black so it blends better with the cladding (specially the rear). Good review as always
@@MrWinchester1995 I think you're right and the mazda interiors are way more premium and refined ... Just a personal preference for me to choose a Subaru
Get a 330i AWD it’s about $1000 more. You can also custom order a BMW so you can get a base model and save a TON! All the extras on a BMW are worthless.
Give me a manual, get rid of the ridiculous tablet infotainment screen, and rip off all the unnecessary home depot storage bin plastic and I might consider buying this.
Joe, I woke up today in Ohio & it was -5 with 4 inches of snow. I own a Premium Ignition Red with the SPT. I had to be at work at 8AM. I hit the remote start, de-iced, off to work I went. I felt like Chris Kringle in my Red Sleigh! I have Pilot Sport All Season 4's; they did amazing. The real world, real morning traffic, high way traffic, snow/rain this is why I have this machine. It's phenomenal! Love your videos. I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting to see a new video of you in your Type RA ! Merry Christmas!
Now imagine if you had Michelin Xice tires on it or some other top tier winter. It would further transform the car into something even more capable and fun in snow!
Absolutely insane the price point for this vehicle and missing many substantial features that lesser cars have....even my $23K forte has ventilated seats, a heated steering wheel, a panoramic roof, remote start, rear vents and....an actual sport auto transmission.
Not really, Kia/Hyundai are the exception when it comes to having those features in a econobox. They can do it because they collectively own pretty much the entire process, from resources to having their own shipping companies, so they can afford to squeeze in more features. With pretty much every other makes, you won't see ventilated seats and stuff like till like at least $38-40k. And in the price range of the WRX you either get high performance or you get luxury. You don't get both till about $50k. lol
I don't hate it, but I'm definitely keeping my 18 Type RA. With time, I learned to respect and appreciate certain characteristics and features of all cars. Could Subaru have done better? Yes; is it a monstrosity? No. Not having the Type RA, would I buy it? I'm not sure... is just not an STI!
CVT question. Subaru SPT or Hyundai Kia IVT? Which do you prefer? I haven't driven the new WRX, but i have driven an Outback Wilderness. I didn't like the transmission compared to the IVT.
Pass... Last wrx and sti were better cars. Just my opinion. Lol your face when on throttle says it all. You had a smile on your face when driving the elentra n.
I love the Subaru WRX I feel like the fake vents and the flat black cladding as well as the incandescent bulbs on the rear turn signals are nice and they give it style as to a plain and boring blue bumper. I enjoy the flat black cladding Especially how it looks good and the Incandescent bulbs on rear turn signals look great also. They may not be the brightest but the car is a dandy.
I feel like Joe is trying to make a CVT a DCT. Dont, just stop. Its a CVT. Its great at what it does. Make the silver ligning the MPG. Not the 'engagement'. Blech, you sound like a car commercial.
A GT trim with the manual (and a few grand off) would be great! Also I'm shocked that it doesn't have rear heated seats, I thought it was the only trim with them.
@@thejoshman1234 Yes and I said “It gets heated FRONT seats” which is adding info to the comment. You also said earlier “I’m referring to the heated seats.” Which meant it in general.
Feel like this model is their ‘additional profit’ model as it’s not really what the WRX fans want….IMO. More to draw new Gen Z’s who don’t know how to drive a manual also….
CVT is garbage. The tradeoff for minor fuel economy gains is not worth the trouble and reduced longevity. It's purely intended for cost savings purposes, which doesn't benefit the customer. And for Subaru to try rebranding a CVT as a "performance" transmission is shameful.
