Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Actually, if I owned CVT and it did that pseudoshifting, I would be not happy. This is the sign of out times. Appearance is more important than the function.
By default, the WRX transmission acts like a normal CVT. If you put it into one of the sport modes, it simulates six or eight gears so you can control the ratio manually. But, if it's like the Forester, it will automatically downshift at low revs so you can't stall the engine.
That's not the best for straight line performance, but lets you manually keep the revs up for engine braking, or when driving on a twisty road.
The two real issues I'm aware of with the WRX CVT are accelerating from a standing start (since you can't slam the clutch out at 5000rpm) and acceleration above 100mph. It does have 'launch control' when you want to race away from a stop, but it's still a bit slower than the manual if you don't mind replacing the clutch regularly.