Originally Posted by Auae85
Something else to think about:
I have a 2013 with the traditional 5-speed automatic. Merging in and out of highway and city traffic is normal, i.e., acceleration when needed to safely merge.
However, my parents have a 2017 with the CVT. One time I had to take them to the airport out of town, and that !@#$% CVT almost got us hit a few times. Gave it gas to merge, and it would rev up and do nothing for about a second, which was a huge pucker factor when changing lanes to merge, etc.
I'll gladly keep my 2013 model.
JMHO, YMMV.
We have a 15 with the CVT. with econ mode off it will Jump off the line and spin the tires without hesitation. In traffic, yes, you have to lead it a bit. Driving in Sport mode reduces the lag time, but I never need it - know the car, it's timing and its limits.
to me this is the same we went through when moving to EFI from carb'd cars. Carbs have an immediate response that EFI lost. Felt like a rubber band between the pedal and the throttle when EFI came out. Especially with finessing a manual, EFI lag was a big difference.
If you had to live with the CVT, you'd figure the timing out.