It’s a Subaru WRX. With a CVT. Those two thoughts alone, when joined together, are enough to infuriate a certain subset of car culture. “IT’S NOT A REAL WRX!” they’ll scream at their monitor through clouds of Monster Energy-flavored vape smoke. “SUBARU IS DEAD TO ME!”

But is a single-geared WRX actually terrible? If your metric of quality revolves around how well something can withstand a bunch of eBay turbo “upgrades,” this might not be the car for you. But for the rest of us looking for something that blends fun with a bit of sensibility, there’s plenty to like about the Subaru WRX GT. Take the transmission out of the equation and you’re still left with a WRX, which remains a legitimately awesome car.

Much has already been said about the current WRX’s exterior design. As with all WRX models before it, you either love it or hate it. Or hate it now and, in a few years’ time, will find it to be your favorite WRX design. No one will ever accuse this, or any other WRX, of being a supermodel, but if you dive in, you’ll find there’s a method behind the design madness.

The hood scoop, as always, is functional, as is every other vent you see. Even that black plastic provides some function – according to Subaru, anyway – who says that its rough texture helps smooth turbulent air. Think the divots of a golf ball and you get the general gist. Fenders are made from aluminum to help shave weight, and so on. Moreso than past generations of WRX, color choice makes or breaks the looks of this one. Get one in Solar Orange Pearl and you may as well buy an Outback, because style obviously isn’t your thing. Going for a more traditional color, like white or red, at least lets this sedan retain some of its sporty image.

As for the interior, it’s nice for a Subaru. It’s got a large touchscreen display that handles everything from infotainment to climate controls, further proving that car makers feel that buttons are dead. Considering that the WRX is a car designed to provide a tactile driving experience, the lack of tactile controls makes us feel like Subaru missed the mark here. But whatever, the rest of the cabin is good, with deeply bolstered Recaro front seats—power-adjustable here in the WRX GT—a flat-bottomed and contoured steering wheel, and a great driving position.

Power comes from a 2.4-liter turbocharged boxer for rated at 271 horsepower, with 258 lb-ft of torque on tap from 2000-5800 rpm. That’s damn near original WRX STI numbers. And as always power is sent to the ground via a torque-vectoring all-wheel drive system. And the WRX GT adds an adjustable suspension and, yes, that CVT, plus enhanced sport driving modes. Subaru claims the WRX GT offers 430 different driving configurations, but really, you’ll just leave it in “normal” or “sport.” Or if you hate life, “eco.”

Let’s get into that CVT. It offers eight simulated gears that you can manipulate via paddle shifters. Pull a shifter and neither you, nor the car, will feel anything, so just ignore ‘em. In normal and sport modes, under acceleration, this CVT will simulate shift shock to make you feel like it has actual gears. If you’re gonna fake gears, why not just throw some real ones in? Maybe even throw in an advanced dual-clutch transmission. Like sports cars have. So in terms of engagement, especially in normal mode, the WRX GT is sort of lacking. It’s fine, but it’s not the hardcore driving experience we’ve long associated with the badge.

But is that a bad thing? Depends. Now that we’re in a post-pandemic, post-WFH world, we’re thankful that this WRX GT provides the opportunity to disengage and cruise through traffic. And besides, the chassis itself remains excellent. It’s stiff, yet still offering a forgiving ride. Its electric steering is direct with great feedback. And it’s as quick as it needs to be during the daily commute.

And it still carries that WRX DNA. Set everything to Sport# and this sedan is faster than you’ll ever need it to be—if you want to remain within legal limits, that is. Acceleration is violent. Forceful. Grip is unreal. Find an open, twisting road, mash the throttle and you’ll find the fun goes well past extra-legal speeds long before you realize it. And by then you’ll no longer care what is shifting the gears. Er, gear. You get what we’re trying to put down. It’s every bit the WRX you want it to be, and that alone makes this car phenomenal.

But yeah, it’s got a CVT. It will never be a good choice for a track day toy, and it won’t respond to modifications as well as the WRX 6MT. But most of us have only the funds and space to get one car. So we need a car that can handle our commutes. Our hours in traffic. Our highway runs. Our families. And our need for spirited weekend drives. The Subaru WRX GT does all that, and more, superbly. And we don’t care that it’s got a CVT.

Burn the heretic? The Subaru WRX GT.

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