I think too many are still accustomed to the sensory feedback, and conditioning, of other transmissions and other cars. That is, they are listening... to engine noise as a measure of what's going on, and feeling seat-of-the-pants thrust. But that will not work with a CVT. There is a different dynamic enabled by the engine and transmission actively working together to provide what the driver's right foot is asking.
With a Subaru CVT Forster you're best off with cotton in your ears, or letting go of the audible engine. It's easier to differentiate with the FXT due to its much greater power, where what's happening is better gauged by the speedometer than the tachometer or other inputs. With the FXT it is clearly obvious that your half-throttle mash of the pedal has suddenly propelled you to illegal speeds in the blink of an eye. You don't have time to evaluate all the sounds and butt inputs. The engine and CVT have answered your foot's call... in the inimitable manner this new system provides.
With the 2.5i Forester you have time... time to dwell on what you are sensing. That is time you are not dwelling on the traffic, btw. It's time you're turned inwards, comparing. But these new machines cannot be compared... except in bottom lines: adherence to throttle demand (road speed), time-to-speed (get up and go), and miles-per-gallon (economy), for example. How they accomplish these things IS DIFFERENT, otherwise their results would be the same. Going up an incline will likely show the inquisitive driver the engine revs going up but the road speed staying the same, or gong down an incline lower revs but the same road speed again. This is counter-intuitive to people conditioned by older systems, where the engine and transmission have separate duties. But, the NEW Forester is just maximizing its resources to provide what you have requested... a certain road speed, at the best miles-per-gallon possible.