Why CVT's are awesome

[Diamondpilot]

We just bought a 2016 Honda Civic 1.5 Turbo EX-L with a CVT. I really like everything about this car.

I am a Ford guy but in this class Honda rules hands down. I looked at Ford, Subaru, Kia, Chrysler, Toyota, Hyundai, GM, and probably a few others. To even come close to the Civic you had to spend 10K more and still give up something plus it was built just 25 miles from my house!

Chris

 

[My Hoe]

The CVT in our Toyota Highlander Hybrid works seamlessly.

 

[Travelover]

The CVT in our Toyota Highlander Hybrid works seamlessly.

I think the Highlander uses a an eCVT like I linked above - no belts or pulleys, just gears and two electric motor generators..

 

[ultrarunner]

In the early 90's my boss bought a brand new Subaru Justy 4wd for his daughter in Montana... they had no end of CVT troubles and it was attributed to snow driving... they had to go a distance to get to a plowed road and why 4wd.

Since then I have avoided anything with a CVT... even bought an older Corolla just to avoid it.

 

[joefromga]

Do you base all your purchases on 80s technology?

 

[ProjectKing]

I think the Highlander uses a an eCVT like I linked above - no belts or pulleys, just gears and two electric motor generators..

That is correct. It's actually planetary gear train. Motors rotate it at different rates creating variable gear ratios. Really slick design.

 

[ultrarunner]

Do you base all your purchases on 80s technology?

Pretty much older for the most part... been there done that when it comes to being an early adopter.

1930 Model A Ford is the first car I owned and bought it at age 12 and paid for it in full with money I had earned... still have it.... many more A's and T's...

For 20+ years my daily driver and college and career is the 1972 Plymouth Valiant I bought for $800... towed 1 yard concrete gondola's with it... too many to count.

My "New" car and only new car I ever bought is a 2002 BMW 325iT that I was able to get a special deal when I was working in Europe at the time... brought it home as a souvenir.

Currently my collection is about 50 vehicles from 1905 newer.

I grew up around the car business and am happy to leave the latest and greatest bells and whistles to those with money to burn...

Also am certified as a California Lemon Law Arbitrator and have seen first hand who gets stuck when technology doesn't live up to the promise.

Anyone remember the GM 8-6-4 cylinder engines or the Diesel Oldsmobile?

The there are the supercharged cars or the Ford Fiesta debacle with the dual cone automatic... can't give those cars away...

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/201...-ford-but-too-late-for-consumer-reports/?_r=0

 

[Diamondpilot]

In the early 80's my boss bought a brand new Subaru Justy 4wd for his daughter in Montana... they had no end of CVT troubles and it was attributed to snow driving... they had to go a distance to get to a plowed road and why 4wd.

Since then I have avoided anything with a CVT... even bought an older Corolla just to avoid it.

That was 35 years ago!

Chris

 

[ultrarunner]

It was a 93 Justy... my bad.

Failed twice before it hit 10k miles and he donated the car...

The reason he bought it was because it was 4wd and Subaru said the reason the transmission went out is because of driving through the fresh snow/snow drifts.

Subaru Justy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Because of the long distances, the CVT was considered unreliable, but this has not been the case in other countries"

I'm open to data to support real world experience and Corolla has now had a CVT several years and I would like to see if these CVT Corollas are just as reliable is the non CVT

CVT isn't new technology...

 

[Travelover]

That is correct. It's actually planetary gear train. Motors rotate it at different rates creating variable gear ratios. Really slick design.

I know, I posted the video above on how they work.