folks,

looking to replace a totaled vehicle (I was rear ended)

options I am considering are a new, or CPO Corolla, Civic, or Impreza,

I've test driven a new C-HR (basically the Corolla drivetrain) and a new Civic and 2015 Civic,

will hit the Impreza next week,


anyway, wife refuses to learn a stick and this will be both a replacement for my daily driver, and a back up if she needs it (I also have a 2000 Tundra)

so far I have also had, as a rental, a Mitsu Mirage (4 door golf cart that was not anything near impressive) a Nissan Sentra and Chevy Sonic,,

not considerint either of those,

so, question is (sorry if this has been long winded)

reliable in the long run? no major issues? etc etc


thanks

My 2015 Nissan NV200 has a CVT, and the gas mileage has been great. There is no "bump" or stepping like a traditional automatic transmission. I consider it a positive.

CVT's are good to go my friend. I rebuilt them for a living and they have less failure prone components than traditional autos. I will always opt for one in my personal vehicles when available.

What are they and why are they superior?

Thanks

^^^ wikipedia - Continuously variable transmission

I had a 2012 Impreza with the CVT. It was a good car, no issues after 36k miles, just did not need it any more. The CVT does take a while to get used to.

My Subaru Legacy’s CVT simulates an automatic transmission. I hate the shifting feeling. Wish I could disable it.

If you have driven a snowmobile you'll feel right at home. You aren't allowed to lug the motor. The engine spins rather freely while you lug the trans for lack of a better description.

Like any tech some were introduced to soon, those on the bleeding edge got hurt. Have at least three in the family never an issue. 2 Nissan, and a Subaru

Move on. I have on on my 14 accord. When starting for my commute, I have to sit and wait for the CVT to "warm up". Otherwise step on gas and you go nowhere. Just like a slipping transmission. Honda says "thats normal". Never again.

I have a 14 Accord Sport, no issues with the CVT here, 110 grand on the clock. PeteF, there was a tsb for the cvt transmission that sounds like it addresses what you are experiencing. If your dealer won't check or do, try a different dealer.

2010 Nissan Maxima with 320,000 trouble free miles.

We had CVTs in our 2012 Altima 2.5 and our 2.5 Outback. The Outback got less than spectacular mileage and had paddle shifters and manual mode to make it seem like an auto, but than was kinda silly except for maybe holding in a lower ratio for traction. The Altima could get over 40mpg on my interstate commute through some mild up and down 100-200 feet hills, but was very temperature, humidity, and gas blend picky. It was loud to accelerate and generally felt cheap. By comparison, my 6 speed auto V6 2015 Accord gets a dead on consistent 35mpg on that drive. City mpg is worse, but it is also alot more fun. The wife and I are both "never again" for CVT.

Our 26 month old Subaru Legacy 2.5 performs well with the CVT. Despite my initial skepticism, at 25000 miles I have become a fan of the application in this vehicle.

Love the paddles. 30+ in freeway travel. Never slips. Seems like an excellent blending of engineering principles.

Don't think they are my cup of tea. Had a 2018 Nissan Rogue with a CVT as a rental. I could not stand the yo-yo/rubber band feeling that I got when driving it. The vehicle had other issues I didn't like, so I may have been a little biased to begin with, but I am not sure that there is a vehicle on the market today with one that I would consider. Same goes for 7+ speed transmissions. Just a solution looking for a problem in my opinion.

I have a 2017 Subaru Outback with a CVT and 28K on the clock. Runs fine, gets 29-30 mpg. The only mild annoyance is when backing out of the driveway in the morning, going from reverse to drive takes an extra 2-3 seconds over what I'm used to.

I don’t own one, but drove a female friend’s Nissan Juke. It takes some getting used to, but that little car would absolutely LAUNCH out of a corner. It really keeps the engine in the powerband.

I recently test drove a Honda CRV and HRV, both with CVT.
I did not like it at all. It feels like a constantly slipping clutch and was not really very smooth. It felt like they had used crunchy peanut butter as transmission fluid. But I cant really comment on reliability.

quote:

Originally posted by NK402:
I have a 2017 Subaru Outback with a CVT and 28K on the clock. Runs fine, gets 29-30 mpg. The only mild annoyance is when backing out of the driveway in the morning, going from reverse to drive takes an extra 2-3 seconds over what I'm used to.

Yes, this too. This was annoying.

Addendum, the cvt in my Accord is the only one that I have driven that has been decent, driven others and definitely didn't like. Drive it, and if you can't stand it, definitely don't buy it

I’ve driven a Polaris Ranger with CVT quite a bit. When compared to a standard auotmatic off road type vehicle, I find the lurch as you start and the back-up lag to be annoying. As a result, I’m looking at the Honda Pionner which has a standard automataic transmission. A little bit different from what you asked but it’s my experience FWIW.