[subego]

I’m assuming the shift paddles are mainly there for engine braking in the mountains.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

It is weird using paddles to shift as there is no cue that you've, like... shifted. I'll try again tomorrow.

There’s no obvious change in engine revs when you shift? Are you sure you activated the paddle shifting? On our Forester, you have to move the console shifter into a side notch to put the CVT into shifter mode. Otherwise, the paddles do nothing.

[andi*pandi]

I tried again yesterday. The red car sold in a day so we were in a different one with too much miles but since I was there...
I am used to more engine noise when shifting. After putting the main shifter in M, we did notice the dash showed the gear, and the paddle did shift, quietly. Gave it a second and the number changed and it did sound like the engine was slowing down.

Not in a good area to try highway ramps or steep hills. The hunt continues.

[subego]

Typical dumb question from me… why do you even want to use the manual shift?

[ShortcutToMoncton]

It honestly does not makes much sense.

Do you have some type of special driving use case? Why would you want to add shifting requirements to the convenience of an automatic/CVT?

[Laminar]

I had a rental Corolla once with a CVT that pretended to have 7 speeds. I wish everyone would just do the Nissan thing and own the fact that it's a CVT. I assume there's market research out there showing that customers expect paddles and they expect to hear the revs change as they accelerate and all of these things are accommodate peoples' expectations.

Nissan just has a little button at the bottom of the gas pedal travel that gets pressed when you put the pedal to the floor hard. That jumps the revs up to like 6000rpm so you get full acceleration.

[andi*pandi]

Originally Posted by subego 

Typical dumb question from me… why do you even want to use the manual shift?

because... it's there? to see if it's useful. Maybe I'll never use it, maybe I will. But if I never use it should I be looking at vehicles that don't have it? Regular automatics? That sounds like work to evaluate a bunch of other cars. I'm assuming that I will like Subaru #5 circa 2021 as much as the others circa 1984, 1989, 1998, and 2010. It's 11 years of differences tho and subaru reddit is full of people complaining about the digital stuff - apps, lane change beeps, fuel economy feature (car shuts off at stop lights unless you disable every time you start the car). I want some new features of course. Carplay yes please!

Not dumb question because it made me wonder if I need it. Our other car is plain automatic.

[subego]

Maybe I’m mistaken, but I think every automatic has something like that for engine braking. My van has it, just not paddles.

Back in the day the automatic shifter would be P/R/N/D/1/2. It’s changed to where you have an M at the end that lets you go through all the gears. With my van, to do that you slide the shifter to the left in D, and then forward and back shifts through the gears.

You will rarely if ever need to use it. I’ve needed to override the automatic exactly once in my life, on the way down from 5,000 feet. It’s definitely not something which should strongly influence your decision.

[subego]

Originally Posted by subego 

You will rarely if ever need to use it.

More precisely, you’ll only be required to use it in the mountains. It’s flat where I live, so I never use it.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

because... it's there? to see if it's useful. Maybe I'll never use it, maybe I will. But if I never use it should I be looking at vehicles that don't have it? Regular automatics? That sounds like work to evaluate a bunch of other cars. I'm assuming that I will like Subaru #5 circa 2021 as much as the others circa 1984, 1989, 1998, and 2010. It's 11 years of differences tho and subaru reddit is full of people complaining about the digital stuff - apps, lane change beeps, fuel economy feature (car shuts off at stop lights unless you disable every time you start the car). I want some new features of course. Carplay yes please!

Not dumb question because it made me wonder if I need it. Our other car is plain automatic.

Keep in mind, car forums like r/subaru are naturally going to be overwhelmingly full of complaints. Our 2020 Forester has all that digital stuff, and you can disable all of it if you want. Generally, though, I don’t find it gets in the way at all, and I’ve come to actually like some of it.

For instance, the car has sensors at the rear that sense a car coming up alongside and will turn on warning lights on the rearview mirrors to alert you. The really cool detail is that the system is speed-sensitive. It will start to alert you way in advance if it senses a car hauling ass toward you from way back.

The start-restart function is a bit of a pain in the ass, at least for me. My wife doesn’t even notice it anymore. But, the button to disable it is pretty handy and pushing it every time I start up has become second nature. I’ve found that you can actually come to a stop without engaging the stop/start function by not putting full pressure on the pedal. FWIW, there are third-party mods you can buy and install that will permanently disable that function.

[subego]

I absolutely can’t stand those things. I could probably accommodate the required change in how I use the brake, but the sound will always drive me batshit.

[reader50]

Seems like an engine restart at every traffic light will put heavy wear on the starter. A starter isn't the most expensive thing in the world. But being stuck at a traffic light with a blown starter will likely involve a tow, and possibly a traffic ticket. Plus being late for work.

I'm not sure the gas savings is enough to cover the eventual costs when the starter blows.

[subego]

Last time it came up, the savings turned out bigger than I thought. I think Lam knows.

[Thorzdad]

When the stop/start is active, my Forester starts a little counter that estimates how much fuel you’re saving.

[andi*pandi]

someone at /subaruoutback or whatever linked to a video about the gas savings, so that seems possible, and says they've put in a more robust starter to accommodate all the extra starts. So who knows.

[Thorzdad]

Tons of vehicles have the stop/start thing now. Not sure if it’s required, though.

[Doc HM]

Originally Posted by reader50 

Seems like an engine restart at every traffic light will put heavy wear on the starter. A starter isn't the most expensive thing in the world. But being stuck at a traffic light with a blown starter will likely involve a tow, and possibly a traffic ticket. Plus being late for work.

I'm not sure the gas savings is enough to cover the eventual costs when the starter blows.

Mini's apparently have a separate battery for the stop start system which is buried deep behind the engine and requires a lot of dashboard removal to swap out. Once its failed the stop start stops starting. Seems like a lame idea if true.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by Doc HM 

Mini's apparently have a separate battery for the stop start system which is buried deep behind the engine and requires a lot of dashboard removal to swap out. Once its failed the stop start stops starting. Seems like a lame idea if true.

That’s weird. The battery in my Forester is designed to work with stop/start systems. It’s an industry standard. You can go down to any parts store and get one. No disassembly required.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by reader50 

I'm not sure the gas savings is enough to cover the eventual costs when the starter blows.

They thought of that.

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

Tons of vehicles have the stop/start thing now. Not sure if it’s required, though.

It produces a measurable city mpg savings. If the car has the system turn on by default each time it starts up, manufacturers can use the city mpg rating that includes savings from stop/start. If the owner can turn it off and it stays off forever, they have to use the city rating without stop/start, usually 1-2mpg lower.

[subego]

For my van, that would save about a gallon per tankful.