I work in the automotive industry as a mechanic. There's a reason that Nissan is viewed today as what Chrysler was 20 years ago. Nissan is junk, in particularly their CVTs. Their CVTs even after 20 years of development and production suck (made by JATCO I believe). I thought that the Venue came with a CVT, and I haven't heard any major issues with Hyundai CVT transmissions, but wikipedia only lists options for a standard auto or DCT transmission options. I have no problems with CVTs either (in case anyone was wondering), as I daily a honda CVT. I'd take the Venue over the Kicks any day of the week. My 2 cents.