Have a 2019 Forester Sport
Have a 2019 Forester Sport with about 23,000 miles on it. I've generally found the CVT to be enjoyable and can manage as high as 35mpg with a full (like evacuated my home FULL) car if I'm taking it real easy and sticking to about 70 on the freeway. More average is about 30mpg though with my mountain driving. I use my paddle shifters all the time to help keep me at a good engine braking level or for more spirited driving. I also found that sometimes coasting downhill more than 1 or 2 degrees will initiate some engine brake, but if you want to just coast and gain speed, toss it in manual mode and your highest gear to override that. I did notice though that my highest gear still isn't as high as the CVT can go in auto-mode (by about 200-300 RPMs). Maybe I am missing a weak point in the CVT, but couldn't it also be setup with an x-mode only range of gearing below "1st gear" in lieu of a transfer case?