More cars in the future will resemble the 2010 Subaru Legacy Limited, whether we like it or not.
While this all-wheel drive sedan is fun, capable and good looking, it’s also got a CVT connected to its 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. This continuously variable transmission is going to take some getting used to.
See, CVTs defy the senses, and that’s where the trouble begins.
But there’s no doubting that they’re going to be inside future cars because they undeniably provide better gas mileage. The base Legacy with a 6-speed manual transmission and the same engine gets 19 miles per gallon in the city and 27 mpg on the highway. But the Limited, which offers the CVT as standard, gets 23 mpg city and 31 mpg highway — those are certainly noticeable differences.
So how is a CVT different? Well, it doesn’t have any gears. It works like a bad marriage — it needs tension to run efficiently.
Typical CVTs use a belt and pulley system to maintain tension between the engine and the wheels. As the engine revs, the pulleys and belts adjust to meet the driver’s demands. Whereas regular transmissions move through set gears, the CVT adjusts its pulleys and belts to avoid that lurch between gears known as shift shock. It’s truly ingenious — though not really new. Leonardo da Vinci sketched out the idea — though he was also a little ahead of his time. (NASA copied his plans for the original space shuttle.) The first patent for a CVT was filed in the late 1800s and these transmissions have been around for more than 20 years in the U.S., though in smaller numbers. Subaru was, in fact, the first carmaker to provide a CVT in America with the 1989 Subaru Justy.
Driving the Legacy 2.5i Limited, I longed for that little shifting sound and feel. It’s the pause I’ve imitated all my life when making the sound of any car racing down the road, letting me catch my breath as the car verbally gains speed. Limited sporty and loaded
Really, the Legacy Limited is a sporty sedan loaded with features. The exterior is sharp and clean, and the interior is comfortable and intuitive.
The high-end Limited comes packed with features. From the 10-way electric adjustable driver’s seat and 440-watt Harman / Kardon stereo system to 17-inch wheels and dual climate controls, the Legacy Limited has everything.
You can operate your phone hands free with the Bluetooth connection, change radio stations and adjust your vehicle’s cruising speed without ever taking your hands off the leather-wrapped steering wheel.
The 170-horsepower engine provides plenty of power and the Legacy’s suspension provides a smooth ride, even if you’re trying to cut through corners fast. You can “shift” gears, too, with the paddle shifters that come with the CVT.
Now I know I just provided you with a big speech about how CVTs don’t even have gears, so how why does Subaru provide paddle shifters and a manual mode with its CVT?
This is to trick you into liking CVTs.
The faux shifts are actual pause points to imitate a transmission hunting and pecking around for a gear. Subaru could have made the Legacy an 18-speed if it wanted to because it’s programming that allows the transmission to shift. The computer adjusts the engine’s rpm and causes the car to slightly lurch just like the old transmission. It’s actually quite effective at deceiving you. Using automatic confusing
But don’t be fooled. You can get on the highway and downshift all the way to second “gear” if you want and listen to the engine whine in defiance.
Really, the only way to sanely drive the Legacy Limited is with the paddle shifters. If you don’t use them and leave the car in automatic mode, it’s confusing and uncomfortable.
When you launch the vehicle, its revs tend to jump and then stay too high. Because the shift points are gone, something feels off — though the Legacy is performing exactly the way it was designed. The CVT searches for the most efficient engine speed to produce the power it needs — this is one of the reasons CVTs provide better gas mileage.
When you launch the Legacy Limited from a stop, it tends to whine too much for too long, and when you’re slam down the gas, it tends to over rev as well. Because there are no shift points, it feels unnatural, even though it’s working just fine.
They may be different, but they are also getting better. The Legacy’s CVT works much better than most of the CVTs in cars from just a few years ago. And in some vehicles, such as gas-electric hybrids, they feel very “normal.”
So CVTs may still be a 100 year-old work in progress, but, then again, so is the internal combustion engine, as well as the automobile in general.
Do I like the CVT? Not really. But I can get used to it and in the coming years, people will just get used to it. At least until all of the cars become purely electric — those cars have no transmission at all.
sburgess@detnews.com (313) 223-3217
