If you were going to buy your next vehicle.....
 

and you were going for auto transmission would you buy CVT?

I know you get more mpg than regular transmission but what are the down sides?

Guy.

Complexity and cost to debug & repair when things go south.

N. O. No

My wife has an Altima a little more than two years old with the CVT. Sofar it's performed fine, and I actually prefer it to a transmission that shifts. Hers is a 3.5 SR coupe. The mileage ranges from the mid to high 20's. I imagine the 2.4L gets over 30 mpg, but we live where we have to drive up & down the mountain to get anywhere & the last 2.4L she had was always downshifting & revving over 4K coming upslope.

Not this guy. Quite often , the cost to repair exceeds the cars value.

Bought a new Accord Sport a month ago for my new daily. CVT and Sport mode with "flappy paddles." Laughed when I first saw it and looked it over but then drove it and liked it. 36 mpg in CVT mode. Can shift manually with the paddles in CVT mode but it reverts to the lowest gear as soon as you apply the gas. Sport mode is fun around town but the paddles turn with the wheel so you have to keep track of where they are. CVT mode around town takes a little getting used to but once I was used to it I like it just fine. Just my daily, not my combination daily/track day car/chick magnet. Nice and anonymous for daily use.

Nice ride for a "Sport" model. Quietest Honda I've been in. Online critiques about noise were wrong. Quick steering with nice feel and a fat sport steering wheel. Comfortable sport seats. No nav system (don't care), but does have a screen for performing various tasks with Bluetooth, radio, mileage, etc. Leather is a new option but since black is the only interior choice I stayed with cloth and saved $1500. Manual trans available but none in the inventory. Didn't care. I have manual stuff in the garage if I need to get my pedaling jollies.

Liked it at first but the car has grown on me and I'm really enjoying it now. Was going to lease* a 328 with M Sport package but the BMW dealer was closed on Easter Sunday. Bought the Accord instead, 23K out the door.

*Was well aware of the pros and cons of leasing. Didn't care.

YMMV.

CVT? only if you like the feeling of driving a rubber band... (in other words, noooo)

DSG on the other hand, or PDK, not bad. I prefer stick, but there are some interesting gains in performance with the above (many very short lower gears for quick acceleration, and quick to drop to a high gear for Mpg - but twin clutch is ready to drop gears in a hurry).

Several years ago I got a Subaru something-or-other CVT as a loaner car while the stealer was busy trying to un-destroy the motor they destroyed in my Jetta.

Holy, smokes, what a POS. Maybe CVTs have improved in the past 5 (6?) years, but the motor always sounded like it was spooling at a million RPM. I actually got pulled over for speeding (only 2nd time in my life) because the usual audio cues I use for speed reference were completely missing.

The cop was remarkably sympathetic to my plight and let me off with a warning (in a school zone, no less!).

Do. Not. Want.

Ever.

I had a 2010 Murano six cyl. with CVT new to 30k miles and liked the drive train fine. I don't know about the cost of fixing it and I would probably avoid a high mile used one for that reason.

This. Mrs. Z-man's VW EOS has the Audi-sourced DSG. Coupled with the 2.0 Turbo, her car is a hoot to drive! I wouldn't autocross it or track it for various reasons, but for jaunts on country roads, it does put a smile on my face!

-Z

The DSG is very entertaining, it rifles 3 short gears in the time you'd think of manually upshifting once in a stick equipped car, all the while cutting ignition while speed shifting and letting out a rally style exhaust fart. It's a lot of fun coupled with quattro for take offs that are truly neck snapping. I should confess however that the DSG in my S4 already went through a $4000 Mechatronic replacement (it's the brain of the thing) and that many others (including Chris Harris) have had the whole tranny replaced (another $4000+) - none of which is doable outside of dealers. So the minute the warranty expires, bye bye!

PDK seems to be bulletproof however. I'm still going back to a stick next time.

I do not want to see another mechanic when I get a new vehicle(till the next service). Even if it has a warranty I don't want transmission problems of any kind. CVT vehicles do feel strange to drive. The DSG trans. of VW does feel good but there is enough bad press to scare me away from VW's.

The CVT option on the Forester is a $1600 option so you would have to drive a lot before you get the economy of a CVT. Looks like about 20% saving or so of fuel.

Cheers, G.

I lean towards a real manual every chance I get, which isn't often anymore. Our Jetta TDi was available with both manual and DSG. The DSG is fun, but I still prefer the feel of a manual. Plus the DSG cost extra up front, AND when you service it. IIRC the dealer service for DSG was around $450. ouch.

As for the CVT, there's no way I'd get one. I don't like the feel or the sound.

Early CVT's didn't hold up well, and to an extent, that reputation has stuck with them. These days, that's probably undeserved.

The programming of the transmissions (like any automatic) really makes a difference. If you consider one, for your test drive, try it in slow, heavy traffic (as some can jerk) as well as how it performs in a passing situation.

Probably the biggest complaints today have to do with how a CVT sounds and acts compared to traditional transmissions.

Since there aren't any gears, it can (for any situation) identify the best rpm of the engine, then accelerate the car by sliding the belts. If you're used to the feeling of gear changes, this can be sort of creepy.

Yet, in effect, you have a transmission with a hundred+ gears rather than 4-8. That means it (theoretically) can always give you the best combination of gear & performance. I don't think they are as stout as geared transmissions, so you are unlikely to find them on upscale cars with big engines.

Having paddles or gear selectors is actually a little insulting. It just slides the belts down to specific positions to imitate gears. I think if you get a CVT, just accept it for what it is.

they did/do hold some promise

http://www.auto123.com/en/news/f1-technique-williams-tested-a-cvt-transmission-back-in-1993-video?artid=137686

the only experience I have with one was in a Smart Car on St Barts.

St Barts is a volcanic island. You are either going up a steep hill, or are going down a steep hill there. Not the best place for a CVT, coupled to a 1Ltr motor, using electronics that were not thinking that you would be going up/down a steep hill all the time.

We just bought a new car with a 3.6l six that makes just shy of 300hp and a 6 speed auto. It gets 25/26 mixed and over 30 easy on the highway. I have driven cars with the CVT that "shifts" and didn't see the point. Let it be a true CVT or put in a regular auto. The CVT can be a little weird as you accelerate and the engine note doesn't change.

not unless there are no other choices remaining...and at that point I'll then only buy used...which is not much different than today.

My niece has a Honda Fit with CVT. It's a fantastic little car. Really fast. I'd consider one as I see the new Corollas have CVT as an option. I'd do lots of fluid changes and not give it death. Just use it an easy around town car.

Jury is out for me. I've owned one in a Nissan -- well, leased one. And I'd lease a car with a CVT again. But I'm not sure I'd OWN one and plan to play roulette for the long term, unless it was under warranty the entire time. Just my professional $0.02

Bill you have been messing with old porsches too long if a fit is "really fast"!


CVTs seem wide spread enough that one wouldn't give me much pause. Of course I like to buy cars with 3 pedals when possible.