After having a 6-speed manual for almost a month, I had a CVT for 3 days.

[skullan]

I've had the benefit of owning a 2016 Honda Civic LX 6-Speed and a also, having a 3 day service loaner 2016 Honda Civic LX CVT.

Here are my thoughts:

The CVT is not my cup of tea.

Acceleration using it sounds like there is a central vac directly in front of you and it wasn't a pleasure to drive for me at all. The sound of it whirling up was just aggravating and loud.

Somehow, I managed to use a half a tank of gas in a day, which would take me 2.5 days in my Standard. It could have been driving habits, or perhaps I was somewhat rougher on the CVT trying to figure it out. But I was blown away at how much fuel I managed to use.

With that said, by the 3rd day, I understood how the CVT liked to be driven and had comparable fuel numbers on the highway compared to my manual.

I can say however, that Brake Hold is a great addition, while nice for standard, it is effortless and smooth for the CVT. I really did like that combination more than my 6-speed manual which means you have a conscious decision to having to switch out of gear for shorter lights or not.

When I got my standard back, I became more appreciative of it's smoothness and quietness.

Edit note: Meant to put this in the original:

I find the CVT soulless. It's not a vehicle I would choose, simply because it doesn't feel like it's really doing anything. At least gear based transmissions feel like they have character.

Sponsored

 

[Ultrafrozen]

I feel the same about power steering and power brakes. They just don't give the proper feeling.

Did you try dropping the CVT into S and L modes?

 

[David Harper]

CVT's are for people who just want a car for everyday transportation.People who are not enthusiasts,or, put another way, "car guys". People who love cars and love driving don't like CVT's.
All the enthusiast press that I've read,(Motor Trend,Car and Driver, etc) say the same thing; they don't care for CVT's. The complaints sound like these;"there's a disconnect between the engine and the trans",
"it feels like the trans is slipping", "it makes the response sluggish", "the trans whines and drones and the rpm's seem unrelated to the drive to the wheels".
I asked my brother,(who has absolutely no interest in cars) how he liked his new Maxima with a CVT. He said "it's fine". That was it. Didn't even occur to him that there might be something not to like about it.He had no interest in the subject at all.
I bought the LX coupe with the six speed MT, and I love it. The most fun to drive car I've had since I was 20 years old. Quick,corners like a sports car,tight,smooth,unbelievably quiet at 60 mph,there's virtually no wind noise.

 

[inv4zn]

CVT's are for people who just want a car for everyday transportation.People who are not enthusiasts,or, put another way, "car guys". People who love cars and love driving don't like CVT's.

I mostly agree, but for this Civic, Honda didn't give a lot of enthusiasts choice.

You want a manual? Sure, but you can only have it on the lowest trims.
Want some extra features? Sure, but you're also getting a CVT!

 

[asdf916]

That choice will be available in a few months (Si).

 

[Ultrafrozen]

...Quick,corners like a sports car,tight,smooth,unbelievably quiet at 60 mph,there's virtually no wind noise.

How does transmission choice affect these things?

 

[skullan]

I feel the same about power steering and power brakes. They just don't give the proper feeling.
Did you try dropping the CVT into S and L modes?

No, I should have though, maybe I'm be unnecessarily unfair.. but the noise just drove me nuts.
The steering I'm okay with, but the brakes seem a little mechanically noisy. Almost like there is something clunky in them when it stops the
momentum and then the brake hold kicks in.

How does transmission choice affect these things?

I believe he was generalizing about how much he liked the car, not specific to the transmission.

 

[skullan]

That choice will be available in a few months (Si).

Too late now

My wife would gut me, tie me to my car and throw it over a bridge if I wanted to do any sort of car swap

 

[mno86]

I had a 2013 Si before this so I've been driving stick shift for years. I was nervous going back to an "automatic".

I gotta tell you, this transmission is light years ahead of the 2010 EX-L I had. It's not perfect but it's about as good of a CVT as you can buy. Honda does it way better than others.

I was surprisingly happy with it in this car. Thought I was gonna miss the stick shift and I do sometimes. But it's very smooth in my opinion. Definitely needed to "re-learn" how to drive it to maximize fuel economy. Especially with Econ on.

 

[buggzy]

in my case its the opposite, why go MT when cvt does it all for you, i dont care about the "feeling" of lost gears, the cars aint any slower as is, just push the pedal and let the honda ingeniuity do its stuff. its not any slower cause its cvt, if losing 0.01 seconds from 0 to 60 mp/h is that important i dont understand why.

 

[GoPackGo]

I'm a "car guy", my first car was a '73 Camaro . God I loved that car. . But I've never liked manual. To each their
own.

 

[skullan]

in my case its the opposite, why go MT when cvt does it all for you, i dont care about the "feeling" of lost gears, the cars aint any slower as is, just push the pedal and let the honda ingeniuity do its stuff. its not any slower cause its cvt, if losing 0.01 seconds from 0 to 60 mp/h is that important i dont understand why.

It's not about speed for me, it's about control.
Any time I have rock a car out of snow with a manual transmission, I am thankful for the clutch.

I was willing to give CVT a shot in the initial purchasing stage, but it just didn't sit right with me.
Having it for 3 days let me know that I made the right personal decision.
I have also never had transmission problems on my manual transmissions, save having to replace a clutch around 330k or more.

 

[djasonw]

I used to have a 1990 Integra (loved that car). It was a five speed and it was an awesome ride. Fast forward to 2016 and I would not get a manual if available on my Touring. The CVT on this car is really well done. If you step a bit on the gas the engine doesn't race but appears to just give a simulated kick down on the CVT. It's a pleasure not having to shift in bumper to bumper traffic. The CVT is so much more advanced than a standard auto tranny. As we say...to each his own.

 

[cassembler]

CVT's are for people who just want a car for everyday transportation.People who are not enthusiasts,or, put another way, "car guys".

- Also for people who can't afford to let their wives burn out a clutch bc they can't drive stick

 

[HachiLuver]

I am already lamenting the industry experts' prediction that the manual transmission will go the way of the dinosaur, and be extinct. There are writings on the wall, and the sign of the times nearing more. DCT is replacing the MT in many high performance, high-end sportscar.

Sigh... I guess we should be honing sequential-shift, paddle-shifting techniques everytime we practice play Sony Playstation Gran Turismo. Your shifting hand would not be touching the stick in the middle console anymore. No more H-pattern familiarization. Also, since the left foot had been freed from exacting clutch pedal duties... there has been numerous discipleship on left foot braking techniques & duties. Also, right foot heel-toe bleeping rev-matching techniques will be a lost art now with the DCT. Heck, even with a MT, the Nissan 370Z will "heel-toe" rev-match when you downshift, via its pedal-by-wire set-up.

One true faithful industry / field where MT would never truly go away would be the motorcycles. However, even this sacred cow had not been without its interesting mutants. Here, there are few that offers clutchless shifting (Yamaha's FJR AE) and (Honda's DCT - where a "Drive" mode could be selected).

http://world.honda.com/motorcycle-picturebook/DCT/

Given the many advances in CVT design & programming, the current-day CVT is an engineering delight. The science & technology is very appealing, though as many would attest... It does have a disconnect for those coming from fixed-gear transmissions. There is a learning curve. The Honda 1.5L Turbo CVT & its torque converter had been designed exactly for this engine, as was dicussed by Honda Chief Engineer Matsumochi.



Personally, to make the drive of CVTs fun for me & get to squeeze some thrill factor out of it... First, one has to hurdle with the "learning curve". Our Infiniti JX 35 (now rebadge as Infiniti QX60) has a very potent 3.5 L VVEL 268 bhp engine, but weirdly mated to an XTRONIC CVT, instead of Infiniti's workhorse 7-speed fixed gear AT. It initially drove me nuts for 4 months... The same way 6 Million Dollar Man Steve Austin was battling "Bionic Rejection". (The younger crowd in the forum may not know this. Interestingly... google it). So anyway, I almost gave up, but I love my wife and she loves this JX with me as the chauffer. So after practicing with the JX as my only weapon of choice... after 3-4 months of learning curve, I was driving CVTs like a young boy flying on a Vespa Scooter or a Yamaha Zuma. The trick is to "spin" the RPMs. Flaring the RPM is much acceptable for this, in my opinion. I have embraced this! That's the one-inch punch (with due respect to Master Bruce Lee) that CVTs actually have over any other tranny. That's what we do with scooters with belt CVT back in the days. Bleep - Flare... That momentary dip into a lower gear ratio with higher RPM, followed by a settling back to where you were is the "boost". Similar to scooter & motorcycle's "flick of the wrist" throttle. True, for the unconverted or newly baptized... It is annoying & feels like your clutch is slipping -or- one's torque converter is shot. But it is not. It's now about "throttle control".

Simply put... Put your mindset as if your driving one of the most exciting, most expensive 4-wheel scooter you were not able to be given by your strict parents when you were young, despite your filial obedience & straight As. I kid you not, once you get into this expensive scooter mentality ... You will out accelerate many fixed gear vehicles. Sure the initial take off may be a short second sluggish, and hesitating, but as your tach rev reaches 2,200 and above... You are in a fast son-of-bitch scooter with you leading. (Set to "S" for launching - who cares about mpg at that mode).

Second, one has to be innovative with the CVT with A) Employing semi-manual shifting which Infiniti, Nissan & Subaru offers. B). Using 2016 Honda Civic "S" & "L" mode. For the similar speed, it sets the CVT belt on a lower gear ratio & increases RPM, offering more torque & "control"

For our Earth Dreams 1.5L Turbo, with the CVT and no fixed shift stages, the throttle does not have to close then open (as what happens with fixed gear trans)... the turbo spooling is more consistent and boost maintained. The sweet spot is maintained while the CVT trans goes to work. This is actually fun because back in the days, we never had a turbo-engine scooter.

Sponsored