a 495 Surtees (800kg braked) with Lineartronic 7 speed CVT transmission (Chain driven CVT not belt) I asked at the Subaru service dept and they did not know except to ask the salesman! Specs say it can to 650kg unbraked and 1200kg braked. BUT for how long etc. The car is packed with extras and I have just had my new new i30 Elite written off which towed it no sweat. (2.0L) I cannot replace with same as insurance payout is $11K short!
Cheers in advance
db.price,
Oct 24, 1:06pm
CVT for towing are problematic from all I have read. Perhaps mechanics in here can dispel that rumour?
strobo,
Oct 24, 1:11pm
Does your subaru warranty cover that model for towing ?
ceebee2,
Oct 24, 1:23pm
Yes according to the salesman. So if you cannot tow then why does Subaru have towing criteria?
db.price,
Oct 24, 1:33pm
Yes it is a bit of a funny one. CVTs are ok for towing but generally not heavy toing and not for long periods like you would with a caravan. But perhaps that has been resolved these days.
strobo,
Oct 24, 1:35pm
Don't know! I see the structure is 1.4 times stronger .Very nice vehicle for that $ .I like it.
supernova2,
Oct 24, 1:41pm
How on earth did that happen?
ceebee2,
Oct 24, 1:42pm
True strobo, packed with extras but hard to get accurate info about towing. Fantastic value for $30K and really peppy smooth and reasonably quiet drive.
tfc3,
Oct 24, 2:10pm
I tow a 7 meter caravan with a CVT. No issues, recommended ok by vehicle manufacturer. ( Mitsi. Outlander). Over Labour weekend stayed at the same camping ground as three others towing caravans with the same vehicle, again no issues. Important to service CVT as manufactures specifications.
ceebee2,
Oct 24, 2:14pm
Cook thanks
db.price,
Oct 24, 2:14pm
There you go OP - from someone who has experience of the CVT and towing.
The Impreza is a very good car - and the eye-sight system I just cant say enough about - I loved it on the Outback - plus AWD as well. Don't think you will be disappointed with it.
sw20,
Oct 24, 3:43pm
I’d like to know that as well.
serf407,
Oct 24, 4:40pm
Brett Middleton/ Sydney pulls the subaru cvts apart after the aussies have hammered them. https://youtu.be/O0LYCRMvyMg
A few of the NZ tow bar makers should be able to give fair diea of what is realistic to hang on the back of the new sooby preza.
ceebee2,
Oct 24, 4:45pm
Thanks guys. all great feedback. Will keep ya posted. Purchase of something in aboute 10 days.
ceebee2,
Oct 24, 4:58pm
Awesome vid serf thanks
ceebee2,
Oct 25, 3:54am
Good ole devaluation m8
supernova2,
Oct 25, 5:04am
That just can't be correct. You say in 1st post "my NEW". Was it an "agreed" value policy or "market" value? Was it new or was it 10 yrs old?
Often insurance will just replace a NEW vehicle so there should not be any depreciation factor at all.
Don't forget if you didn't cause the crash you can claim the shortfall from the guilty party.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 25, 7:17am
I would also consider a Skoda Rapid, they are rated to 1200kg and should even have tow stability control. The key thing being they are factory designed to tow light caravans (that is a big part of their market in the UK).
The 7 Speed DSG is quite strong for towing. Earlier ones did have problems but it was a valve body and software issue, things that were not made worse with towing. The later ones are quite reliable and you should still get at least a 5 year transmission warranty as far as I am aware. The rest of the car warranty is 3 years.
That said, if it was me I would find the extra 3 grand or so and buy the Golf over the Rapid Sport. The Golf is just much better for the extra little bit of money and it is a seriously good tow car (Look up the uk caravan club tow car of the year winners and you will see exactly what I am talking about).
My 2C.
bwg11,
Oct 25, 8:28am
I think some of the distrust of CVT comes from two sources.
Firstly, the early Nissans (Primera's in particular) were problematic. When I was in the trade we wouldn't even consider retailing a trade-in, just whole-saled them and give the problem to somebody else. How much was design fault and how much was a maintenance issue (like service interval and incorrect fluids) we will never know.
Secondly, bad press from motoring journalists, who are word-smiths and certainly not engineers, because they dislike the inherent disconnected feel of CVT.
Surely having the gear ratio optimal performance or economy for any situation is ideal. The same journalists get orgasmic over 8 or 10 speed planetary or dual clutch autos but not a variable ratio auto. Why?
I would have not hesitation to tow with a new CVT within the manufacturers recommendations (hell, it is 20 years since the Primera),
My wife has had two CVT Swift Sports which have been excellent, admittedly no vast mileages involved. They have programming quirks like any auto, the Swift for example will rather rev around 4000 rpm when cold climbing a hill (we live at the bottom of a hill) rather than change up to sit around 3000 where there is tons of torque for the climb. While this is annoying can be easily overcome by up-shifting manually with the paddles.
While defending the CVT, if in the hypothetical situation of me being a buyer for a sporty car, like MX5, Cooper S of Toyota 86, if given the choice of manual or CVT, I would choose manual.
peanuts37,
Oct 25, 9:44am
I have a 2016 Honda Jazz CVT, smaller than Subaru but Honda rate it at 1200kg braked towing. Don't have tow bar on mine but talking to owners that do they say no problems. Takes a bit of getting use to the CVT but love it now and certainly climbs hills like a mountain goat and quite fast, about 8.8s 0-100 so I read and 48mpg and just 1500cc. Asked Honda about CVT and apparently stronger unit fitted for here. NZ gets the 132HP motor compared I think to the likes of Australia who get the 100HP version. In my opinion just a great little car.
db.price,
Oct 25, 10:15am
Sorry but the Skoda compared to the Impreza is not even a close comparison. More expensive with less power, less safety features than the $30K Impreza has as standard. Plus the Impreza is AWD.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 25, 10:37am
The Jatco Jatco JF009E CVT is found in pretty much all the 1800cc or less Nissan's up to circa 2014. It's every bit as much of a lemon as the F06A from the Primera. You just can't make generalisations unfortunately, some CVT's are good (even older ones) but some are pretty rubbish. I agree though, a good CVT is a good lightweight, fuel efficient and cost effective option.
tamarillo,
Oct 25, 12:30pm
How much do you tow? If you're an occasional tow driver then as long as it's specced to handle it and you're kind surely it's fine. If you tow a lot, then it would make sense to get something equiped well for towing with an auto that is known to be okay. Cvt is known to dislike towing. No amount of outlanders occasionally towing without a problem can deny that cvt boxes don't seem to handle towing as well.
ceebee2,
Oct 26, 12:20pm
Brand new in Nov 2015. Insured was for Market value. No guilt from my side
ceebee2,
Oct 26, 12:21pm
Awesome thanks Jazz
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