New Subaru Owners (2010-2012)

CVT seems to be one of those things:  The good ones are really good, and the bad ones are really bad.  1st gen MINI CVTs were horrible.  They all seemed to fail at 70,000 miles, leaving customers with gigantic repair bills.

I would see if you can get some objective data from a place like consumer reports.  The problem with internet forums is that everybody goes there to gripe.  But seriously, you can't form any real sort of trendline from internet forums.   The best indicator would be several Subaru forums with "sticky" threads on CVT problems. 

Finally, unless your 2001 is ready to fall apart... it will almost always be cheaper to keep it.   Yeah, it's a little tired and it might need major maintenance, but even a $2k or $3k repair bill is cheaper than a new car, in the long run.

Fear not.  Every kid should learn to drive a manual!

If I had to guess, that downshift under power is probably people engaging the kickdown switch, if it has one.   I would try a test drive and see if it always downshifts under full application of the accelerator.

You might see if you can find out who makes the CVT and if there are other brands/models out there with the same CVT that have the same problem. 

x2 on this.  If it was wrecked and totaled out it's a valid reason to get a new car even if you need a new tranny that costs $3k it's cheaper than a $29k car.  Now if you just want a new car, nothing wrong with that but so many of my friends say they "need" a new car because it had 100k miles on it.  Just fix what goes wrong and it's far cheaper.  Sorry for the rant OP, just the same conversation I've been having with some of my friends that are in debt up to their eyeballs and wonder why.

I've got a 2013 Outback with the CVT and I'm still undecided on if I like it.  It does take some time to get used to the way it shifts because it feels like the clutch is always slipping.  Basically I can hold the gas pedal steady and the RPMs will stay at 2,500 and never really move much from that as it accelerates.  I've not driven it in any conditions that would really test the AWD other than dry fire roads so I don't know how well it performs.  You get a lot more control of the shifting in manual mode so maybe a lot of people are not using that feature?  The sales guy tried to pitch the whole gas mileage savings as why they are using the CVT so much but I don't think it makes a big difference.  Given the choice between the CVT and a full manual transmission I would still opt for the CVT given the majority if the driving conditions I'm in.

Not to throw too much of a wrench into your plans but...

My wife was dead set on a 2010-13 Subaru, she loves the looks and the layout inside.

That was until she test drove a Volvo. Now she is all about the Volvo XC60. If you are looking for something close to your current car the Volvo XC70 is a very viable alternative and a very nice car.

Haven't had one so can't speak to the reliability, but might be worth some research if you find the Subies are having issues. 

We've got a 2011 Outback, 2.5 cvt.  Been great for the 16k miles we've put on so far.  I've done some towing with it too, probably 400 miles with an 18' boat.  It's not fast, but the 2.5 has plenty of power even towing the boat.  I was a little apprehensive about the cvt but the reviews were pretty good and our limited experience has also been good.

2 Subaru's in the hh.  6 in the immediate family.  3 have cvt.  no issues at all.  we find our subies to be very reliable and able to withstand a beating.  sorry to hear you are having issues.  we recommend them to everyone that asks and those who have purchased in the tri/run clubs have no issues that ive heard of.  I would suggest you go for it and get one.  reliability is what they are known for...but you can read through some stuff on this forum that is very helpful....

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/104-gen-4-2010-present/35753-cvt-reliability.html