CVT is never a good transmission as far as response is concern. Overtaking power is often lagging. There are only two things good about CVT, outright smoothness and efficiency.

even Subaru moving towards CVT

I know Subaru is not just well known for its Boxer engine smoothness delivery, but also the AWD handling. But the AWD trade off is weight and hence penalty on fuel consumption. Either do away with it or make FWD an option, that will surely improve fuel economy drastically. Does a 1.5 really needs an AWD anyway when it is already struggling with performance and given average economy?