On a whim, I decided to rent a car, borrow a few friends and head to Manhattan. "Turduckin" the renta-Sentra ('12) was equipped with a CVT.
I hate the awkwardness of the things and, especially the Nissan CVTs that just act odd. Lugging the engine, or randomly spiking the RPMS.
Other than fuel economy, never could figure out why someone would want one.
The CVT seriously EXCELLED at city driving. I didn't have to worry about wearing out the transmission (if it were mine), or wasting gas by driving around in 1st gear all day in the city. I was able to drive up and down Manhattan - don't ask - and through times square Saturday night without the engine going above 1500RPM. For that tank the car averaged 30MPG ... not bad considering I spent 3 hours driving around Manhattan.
I was really, really impressed with how well they work in city conditions. It just worked really well.
My other complaint with them was how they won't accelerate when you want them to, then they suddenly bounce off the rev limiter. Apparently I wasn't driving it right.
The "rubber band" effect goes away if you aren't nice with the throttle. If I'm cruising along at 1/8 throttle and need to increase to 1/2 to pass someone, I always do it gradually. That seems to "confuse" the computer. If I'd increase throttle pressure quickly, it would kick down and take off quickly.
After spending 15 hours in a CVT-equipped car over the weekend, I think I could live with one as far as behaviors.
Now, if someone could figure out how to make them last 200K miles reliably, I'd be on board!
I hate the awkwardness of the things and, especially the Nissan CVTs that just act odd. Lugging the engine, or randomly spiking the RPMS.
Other than fuel economy, never could figure out why someone would want one.
The CVT seriously EXCELLED at city driving. I didn't have to worry about wearing out the transmission (if it were mine), or wasting gas by driving around in 1st gear all day in the city. I was able to drive up and down Manhattan - don't ask - and through times square Saturday night without the engine going above 1500RPM. For that tank the car averaged 30MPG ... not bad considering I spent 3 hours driving around Manhattan.
I was really, really impressed with how well they work in city conditions. It just worked really well.
My other complaint with them was how they won't accelerate when you want them to, then they suddenly bounce off the rev limiter. Apparently I wasn't driving it right.
The "rubber band" effect goes away if you aren't nice with the throttle. If I'm cruising along at 1/8 throttle and need to increase to 1/2 to pass someone, I always do it gradually. That seems to "confuse" the computer. If I'd increase throttle pressure quickly, it would kick down and take off quickly.
After spending 15 hours in a CVT-equipped car over the weekend, I think I could live with one as far as behaviors.
Now, if someone could figure out how to make them last 200K miles reliably, I'd be on board!