Hey Scotty Love the channel. I am considering trading my nissan frontier for a subaru impreza. This is just to have a car that is smaller and better on gas. When driving one the other day I noticed a notable shake when the car was put into drive or reverse. This and a lower idle in gear worried me. While it was not drastic shake it did concern me. My question is, is it normal for a impreza with a cvt to have a slight shake or vibration when in drive? Would I be better off Purchasing a manual transmission impreza if I can find one? Thanks for the help.
NO, There shouldn't be a noticeable shaking!
That might be just worn engine mounts but still - not a good sign at all, usually on such a new car (you said a 2017) that'd happen only after accidents due to everything slightly warping.
The best CVT on petrol cars (Toyota K120) is still much weaker even then their mediocre automatics, avoid them. You're going to loose more on repairing an Impreza than just driving the Frontier even with a manual.
If you want an efficient car your options are:
- HYBRIDS: Toyota Prius, Toyota Prius V, Toyota Prius C (not for warm climate, not over 8 Y.O)
- PETROLS: Corolla, Yaris, Auris (Scion iM), Mazda2 (Scion iA), Euro Yaris (Scion xD).
- DIESELS: no good small ones available in the US, as far as I know.
BUT 90% of efficiency is driving style - especially how you accelerate from a standstill.
Out of a Hybrid you can usually get above 40mpg if you drive it calmly, Our of a compact Petrol about 30mpg, and out of a good subcompact it's sometimes possible to reach 35mpg at best.
If you have a lot of cash to waste on fuel efficiency - the most effect cars in the world are Kia Niro and Hyundai Ioniq - but mechanically they're questionable. I've been getting over 60mpg out of a Niro 75% highway driving. (BUT, it has 0 driving experience. I've never drove anything less fun or engaging, and I've been driving mostly euro-econoboxes)
No it’s not normal.
What year was it? The consensus on Subaru CVTs is that the early ones are weak, but the later models (maybe 2018 and forward) have improved. If it was a new one, it’s probably a lemon.
Stick shift Imprezas are pretty rare, but are generally solid cars. If you can find one, get it. Might be easier to find a manual Crosstrek, which obviously has the same bones as the Impreza.
It was a 2017. Im just not looking to take on any problems so I'll probably continue searching elsewhere. I like imprezas because of the awd for the winter time but I wish they came with a standard automatic transmission. I would prefer to buy new just because if I'm going to have a cvt I want to make sure it is getting proper service and maintenance. Manual imprezas are around and im currently looking but most that I find are high mileage.
Yeah, don't buy just yet. If you don't need to get something right away, see if you can score a new Impreza or Crosstrek. If you get the base or premium trim, they aren't that expensive, and you will have a 100,000 mile warranty on the transmission. Then you will also know that the transmission hasn't been abused. Those cars are very easy to do your own maintenance (oil & filter, front & rear differential fluid, spark plugs, manual transmission fluid [everything except CVT fluid]) and you will know that it was maintained properly.
If you don't mind a manual transmission, those should go 200K miles easy, so a used one is not as much of a gamble as the CVT. But you are right that finding a manual (either new or used) is not easy.