Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
I agree with you, but I think the blame here is on the electronic throttle programming rather than the CVT.
We have a 'go' pedal in modern cars, not a throttle pedal.
I prefer to call it an "engine room telegraph"
Some modern e-throttle cars feel about as responsive to the pedal as the Queen Mary. Especially for someone like me who's used to being able to dump 700+ CFM into 7+ liters just as fast as the cable can snap the butterflies open.
But in the case of the CVT, I think the computer really is manipulating BOTH throttle and driveline ratio together to help create the best acceleration it can dependent on the pedal position. The effect, to me anyway, seemed much more pronounced than on any conventional transmission car I remember, even those with e-throttle.
The best analogy I can think of is a modern turboprop aircraft, where separate fuel and RPM levers have been replaced with a single power lever that manages both torque (the equivalent of throttle opening on a turbine engine) and RPM for the pilot instead of making the pilot operate both levers in coordination. I may have my terminology wrong, but I'm sure a pilot will pipe up and correct me ;-) The computer on the CVT-equipped car has turned the accelerator pedal into a "power" pedal instead of just a throttle pedal. With the added caveat that percent of pedal travel no longer really equates to percent of available power demanded.