But I LIKE the "gearless" shifting of a CVT.

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If the engine, CVT and vehicle weight combination is designed appropriately, a CVT can be an acceptable transmission, although I've never heard anyone describe them as being exciting to drive.

When the Ford Flemstar (or maybe it was called Freestyle) came out, it was paired with a 3.0 V6 and the CVT. The engine was underpowered for the weight of the car. On a test drive, I remember I had to redline it just to gain enough power to merge on a freeway entrance ramp, to reach a speed appropriate with oncoming traffic. It was slow to build speed, even with my foot on the floor.

The engine made very unhappy noises, and the salesman who rode along had a look of panic on his face.

Once they revised it and renamed it the Taurus X, they added a bigger engine and a normal transmission, and I'm sure that made it a better car.
 
We have a '08 Prius, and it was odd at first not having the "shifting" and now we don't notice it or miss it.. Car got almost 100k miles on it no issues.

I like my manual on my Ranger, and many cars don't come with manual anymore.
 
Heard back from Subaru . . .

Original email follows their reply:
-------------------------------------

Hello Joe:

Thank you for contacting Subaru of America, Inc. and for your continued interest in Subaru.

I am sorry, as we do not offer modifications to the CVT in our vehicles. They are set at the factory. But, we do appreciate you bringing this product feedback and recommendation to our attention. I will pass on your feedback to Product Development to consider when developing future models. Past input from our customers has been helpful in initiating changes to our newer models. The most valued opinion of any business is that of its customers. Your comments are valuable to us in that they provide us with a clear picture of our products as seen by our owners.

Thanks again, Joe, for your interest in Subaru.

Sincerely,

John J. Mergen
Subaru of America, Inc.
Customer/Dealer Services Department
1-800-SUBARU3 (1-800-782-2783)
Service Request Number: 1-8545477531

[THREAD ID:1-3XBR8NZ]

-----Original Message-----

From: [email protected]
Sent: 2/14/2015 03:50:10 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: (SR #:1-8545477531) General Inquiries

Is it possible to disable the "6-speed" stepped shifting on the newest version of the Lineartronic CVT so that it behaves like a regular stepless CVT?

I'm not in the market for a new Subaru right now but if I ever am, I'd like to know in advance if that's possible.

Thanks.

-------------------------------------

So, if they offer an on/off switch in a couple model years, maybe it's because I wasn't the only one asking. :)
 
CVT

First off, Joe--congrats on that response from Subaru! Or maybe congrats to Subaru for making an owner feel listened to and valued....

Second, my daily driver is a 2012 (bought new) Lexus CT200h Hybrid (same powertrain as the Prius, but a very different body). I love it. I don't really notice a lack of shifting--it's never felt odd to me like so many people have complained about. Most of the complaints of the feel that I have encountered came from people driving Nissan Altima and Maxima. I don't know if Nissan's CVT is different from Lexus/Toyota's, or if it's a matter of those being mainstream volume cars, so a larger sample size of drivers.

By way of comparison, my husband's car is an Audi A4 quattro with an 8-speed shiftable automatic, and we also have a 1999 Saab convertible for warm-weather weekends that has a manual 5-speed. I love playing with the manual gearbox on the Saab, but glad I don't have to deal with a clutch in stop-and-go traffic on my commute (except on those 'perfect' weather days when I just HAVE to drive the ragtop). I don't really notice the shifting in the Audi, and I never use the manual mode unless I am trying to maintain a safe speed on a long downhill stretch.

I think the 8-speed on the Audi might be a DSG. We used to have a VW Eos with a 6-speed DSG transmission, and never had a complaint about that transmission. (The rest of the car however...)

I have driven the new Ford Focus with the double-clutch automatic and HATE IT WITH A PASSION. That car is very jerky and constantly feels like it's stalling out.
 
My parents have a 13 Outback with a CVT and I don't care for it. It feels like its slipping and the engine revs up and down too much. Combine with the Sub engine, which isn't that pleasant sounding anyway. The car is not my cup of tea, but on the other hand I can understand why they are popular.
 
We have an acquaintance who is now an executive at Chrysler...he was formerly at GM working on transmissions, but the launch of Chrysler's 9 speed in the Cherokee and the 200 was such a disaster that they canned the previous executive and hired our friend. The launch of the Cherokee was delayed for 6 months before they had the transmission right...and still they have had several recalls to get it adjusted. Now, with all the computerization, those recalls are just reprogramming of the transmission modules, but still, not a huge confidence builder. I rented a Cherokee and wasn't all that impressed, but it was better than the dual-clutch in the small Fords...oy that's an awful automatic experience.
 
A couple of years ago my mother and I rented a Dodge minivan while in Washington to move some things out of my uncle’s house after his death. The van part of the Dodge worked fine but the transmission was just awful.

I have no idea how many speeds it had as the lever controller was pretty much indecipherable. It would keep upshifting even on hills until the minivan would slow down and often no amount of batting the lever around would do anything. A stiff push on the accelerator would get a snappy double downshift and then it would accelerate quickly unless you backed off a tiny bit, at which point it would upshift and then once again bog down. This wasn’t a big problem on the Olympic peninsula where traffic is light but was a huge PITA in Seattle. We’d either have a line of cars stuck behind us or be cresting hills at 50 mph in a 40 mph zone, not a good thing in unfamiliar territory where you don’t know where the cops hang out.

To me a manual gearbox with well chosen ratios is far simpler and more pleasant to operate than most automatics, particularly in traffic where you don’t have to second guess what the gearbox will do.
 
Yep, that's a couple-years-ago Dodge/Chrysler van automatic alright. 4000rpm at 15mph in the mall parking lot, bogged down on the freeway. Colossal piece of..... 'what the hell were they thinking?' engineering. Disgrace to the term.
 
When I was car shopping....

I checked out a couple of CVT cars....didn't care much for them. Ended up getting one with a 6 speed automatic and I like it a lot.
 
My car was in the shop for engine reseal

Well I had the opportunity to drive the 2015 Subaru Impreza and the CVT was very smooth but there are little hiccups that takes a little getting used to.

1: When putting car into reverse, the computer had has an 3-5 seconds delay before gears engage.
2: Every now and then when slowing down then pick up speed, gears somewhat hesitate between gears changes like how a bicycle changes gear when shifting.
3: Engine sounds bogged down when going up hill, I think it's just me getting used to the new sounds of the motor.

Would I like it in the future?
Maybe but in 3 years when more information comes in for transmission reliability!
 
I can't remember where the other thread on automatics was, but I'll post here anyway:

 

Driven my friend's Double-Clutch Focus (2011 model) some more - and I have to say these couple of points:

- When "granny gassing" around, the transmission is fine. In fact, its almost perfect 

- Give it anything resembling "normal" or "harsh," and the jumpiness and odd behavior become more apparent. Coming through a corner, I decided to "give it some," what followed was the engine revving up to around 3000, and a very pronounced "slipping" sensation, before we started accelerating, quite briskly. I backed off, and once again, no trouble. 

If you try and boot it from a stop - its like driving with someone who doesn't understand how to use a clutch smoothly. Jump, jerk, wheel slip. Postively dreadful. 

 

Gimme one of those new-fandangled 8-speed ZF units anyday, and I'll be happy (at least until it breaks). 
 
A friend of mine bought a 2011 Focus and had the total opposite experience with the PowerShift transmission... He said it would act all crazy and buck around and such when driving it lightly, but when he got on it hard it would behave. He also said in traffic it would start emitting a terrible burning smell.

IDK what Ford did to that design but that experience is enough to keep me away forever. The design VW uses has been around for 12 years and has proven to be very reliable. My cousin has a 2009 Jetta Wolfsburg with the DSG and minus regular servicing it's never given a lick of trouble and is up to 140,000 miles.

On the 8spd note: I drove a family friends 2015 BMW X1 last week which has the 2.0 turbo and 8spd auto and loved it. It was always in the right gear and kept the engine in the meat of it's powerband and was so incredibly smooth. It was also very fast and in traditional BMW fashion wanted to be rode hard. hehehehe
 

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