I see many auto maker especially Toyota switching to a CVT that some car reviewers ( Edmunds etc) seem to hate. That could be that old school transmissions are more attractive to car enthusiasts whereas the CVT is just fine for the typical commuter.
What is the difference between these two, reason. For the switch and should CVT be avoided?
In: Engineering
A lot of it has to do with how the car feels and sounds. With discrete gears, you can hear the engine rev up as you accelerate, there’s a pause between gears, then it repeats. A CVT has no discrete gears, and can essentially accelerate the car by holding the engine speed/RPM steady and changing the gear ratio upwards instead. You just apply the gas and it’s a pretty smooth acceleration even up to highway speeds. (Source: i rented a CVT car for a week once)
Being more in control and feeling the behaviour of the car is “more fun”, but a computer controlled CVT will do wonders for fuel mileage while still being pretty good overall. That’s definitely what the “typical commuter” wants. Whatever the optimal gear ratio is, a CVT can provide it while the manual or automatic must choose which gear from a list is closest.
The only concern I have is the longevity and reliability of the CVT. They’ve been around for 15+ years which is pretty good, but I’m not sure about how often they need repairs. But this is my knowledge gap. Classical automatics may need a rebuild after a long-ish period of time, and manuals are almost maintenance-free other than oil changes as long as the clutch doesn’t wear out.
Latest Answers