Subaru Exec Spins Frightening Vision of a Stickless Future

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Is Subaru, a scrappy-but-approaching-the-mainstream automaker, about to ditch the manual transmission? That’s what some are gleaning from comments made by Subaru UK managing director Chris Graham on the sidelines of the Geneva Motor Show this week.

Speaking to Auto Express, Graham mused about the brand’s EyeSight driver-assist technology and Subaru’s desire to include the suite of safety aids on all of its cars. The trouble is, EyeSight isn’t available on Subarus equipped with manual transmissions. If you’re looking for goodies like automatic emergency braking and lane departure warnings, a Lineartronic CVT had best be on your wish list, too.

Graham’s comments point to a Subaru that’s prepared to weaken the bond between driver and car in the name of increased computerized control.

“I’m not sure if it’s compatible at all with a manual gearbox,” he said of the automaker’s EyeSight technology. “There are certainly no rumours we’ve heard that manual will continue, or Eyesight will be [offered] with manual.

Continuing, Graham said, “My gut tells me it will be Eyesight with Lineartronic ongoing and long term. They want to steal the mantle of the safest car in the world. I think if they do that, then they say ‘here’s a manual without Eyesight’, they’ll just ruin that [message].”

Is there nothing the future can’t do to piss off traditionalists? For now, Subaru remains something of a three-pedal holdout, offering a six-speed manual on a number of cars — including the vaunted WRX and its musclebound STI twin. All five trim levels of the WRX come standard with a stick for 2018.

However, Subaru really wants a reputation as the world’s safest brand, and that means shoehorning EyeSight into as many models and trims as possible. In the case of the WRX, the model remains on the old Impreza’s platform as it awaits an all-new generation. The model’s age has preserved manual availability, it seems.

While Graham’s thoughts aren’t necessarily company policy, there’s no doubt they’re guided by Subaru’s intentions. If given a choice, sticks would stay.

“For me an STI has to be a manual in the guise it is today, however if you look at [auto-only] M-series BMW s, I don’t think this is the end and I’d be very excited if they had a hybrid petrol STI,” he said. “That would be phenomenal in terms of its acceleration.”

Well, if Subaru goes the hybrid route for its next STI (and why would Graham mention this?), we can certainly kiss the stick — in that model, at the very least — goodbye.

Subaru’s Lineartronic CVT isn’t much to get excited about when encountered in, say, a low-end Impreza or Crosstrek, but it certainly holds its own in hotter models. The CVT’s natural inclination for rapid, paddle-actuated shifting makes it a better choice than a traditional automatic in sporty models, and less trouble-prone than its quick-shifting, dual-clutch cousin.

Still, shifting into “M” or “S” while keeping your left foot firmly planted against the dead pedal is not nearly the same experience as working the clutch and giving your right arm a workout. Being one with the car, in a sense. If Subaru eradicates manuals, the brand would find itself moving dangerously close to the center of the mainstream.

Of course, buyers might disagree. And these days, Subaru’s beating a growing crowd of buyers off with a, um, stick.

[Images: Subaru]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • 6250Claimer 6250Claimer on Mar 09, 2018

    Here's what I don't understand - why can't Subaru offer this "EyeSight" stuff with a manual? Our '17 Mazda3 has all this stuff - autonomous braking, lane departure warning, plus radar cruise control - and it's a 6MT. My Golf R also has all this stuff on a manual. Sounds like a BS excuse to just move away from manuals, hiding whatever their "real" motivation might be.

    • Eliandi Eliandi on Mar 12, 2018

      i was wondering when someone mentioned a manual and automated safety features do not contradict each other, same as a manual and a hybrid do not contradict. What you are hearing is marketing justification, not engineering capability. That said to buy a manual you have to be persistent. My wife and i drive only manuals. I buy used cars so it is just a matter of shopping around. Hopefully that does not change else I just have to keep buying older and older cars. My wife buys new cars. The previous one they had a manual car to test but to get the car she wanted she had to special order from factory and wait. The last one there were no manuals to test drive, but they found what she wanted in another state and shipped it.

  • Dima Dima on Mar 10, 2018

    I do not have much experience with traditional CVT, I do have experience with eCVT. I can tell you on my Cmax hybrid it performs GREAT! Better then manual or traditional 6 speed auto. So give technology chance.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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