CVT @ 7000 miles (review / impressions / thoughts)

[Go4th]

I've been driving for almost 30 years. I taught myself to drive stick shift by watching what my parents did with their feet in relation to the shifter in our new 1989 Suzuki Swift GTi (one of my favorite cars ever). Whenever given the option in life, I've gotten a manual transmission car. Save the manuals! You'll pry the stick shift out of my cold, dead hands. And then suddenly, I was done. Doing delivery and dealing with traffic, I didn't want to shift anymore. And with rentals like Turo, I can go rent some cool manual transmission car and go on a road trip for a day. So what does this have to do with the CVT? Well, I've truly been a die hard manual guy my whole life. So to purposefully pick not only an 'auto' transmission, but a CVT....well that was a huge thing for me. Especially since the manual in the Mirage is so much fun! And I also wanted to have cruise-that was more important that a manual. So I did a short and a long test drive (both in the car I wound up buying) and decided I could live with the CVT. Well, here are my thoughts at just shy of 7000 miles and 2.5 months of ownership/driving.

Doing delivery around the Portland/Vancouver area, I have driven everything from I5 rush hour, to downtown Portland, to scenic Scappose. Smooth roads, windy roads, crazy elevations, hole riddled roads, emergency maneuvers, tight parking, U turns, you name it. And after all of this driving, I'm absolutely smitten with the CVT.

Now, it's not perfect. But, if YOU, the driver, are confident with how you modulate the pedal or take the time to learn how to, the CVT (and engine) will willingly play and reward you with a fun, surprisingly spirited driving experience. Off the line or trying to do any sort of 'pedal to the floor' acceleration is just a noisy mess. If you are indecisive about your pedal modulation (for whatever reason) the CVT will go right along with you, being indecisive also. But, cruising along at 55 and I want to pass a car on I5, just a slow, steady and deliberate press on the gas and my car ALMOST feels like it has a little turbo, or is a little V6 from the 90's. In fact so much so that it startles me sometimes, and I honestly think "Did they mean to put 178 hp and 78 is a misprint???". And then I modulate the pedal just a little TOO far and I'm reminded it is indeed 78 hp lol.

Or, there's the scenario I know I need a little more oomph to pass. Simple, slap that shifter over to Ds and BAM, 1000 rpm downshift. Which is how it was designed....per the owner's manual anyhow. It mentions that selecting Ds gives you the equivalent of a 1000 rpm downshift, or it left in Ds, a more RPM aggressive driving mode. And it really is. Again, if you master that modulation of the gas pedal, you'll be rewarded more than you think should be possible in this car. And the L-per the manual is for steep inclines and such. So, while out delivering, I have indeed come upon some steep driveways, roadways etc. Throw it into L and away I go. No problems. But honestly, again with pedal modulation, most of the time I can handle the inclines with D or Ds. I've also used L and Ds when I do want a LITTLE bit quicker acceleration at an intersection or light. Overall though, accelerating slowly from a stop is the best for the CVT, and after 2-3 seconds, then there's a little more life to be had.

I have the 15 inch alloys, and they play heavily into the fun factor (vs the 14's) in driving down twisty two lanes in the country. When doing those roads, I love flipping back and forth between D/Ds. This CVT has also become a viable 'manual transmission' for me. For one, the knob feels legit like a manual knob. The 'snick' between D/Ds feels like a manual gate (I got over the sideways vs up/down quickly). And at my immediate control I ALWAYS have either a 1000 rpm down or upshift. No needing to pick gears, or try to get my rpms right for the shift. The CVT does all that for me. Suddenly need more power? Press down a little further on the gas (I swear, don't ever floor the pedal on these unless you need to lol) and the CVT will do another 'downshift' and another little burst of power.

I drove a FIAT 500 Abarth for 6 years/83k miles. There is nothing else out there, to me, that drives like this car. They are so much fun! But they can also be a handful. Think Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. With my CVT (and alloy wheels), my G4 offers an experience that for me gives me the essence of the fun side of Mr Hyde without all of the BS of Dr. Jekyll. As for reliability of our CVT's, I'm honestly not concerned. Either it breaks or it doesn't. I've yet to have a 'perfectly reliable car' (and I've had 2 corollas, a Matrix and a Vibe, all of which my Abarth was as reliable), so I won't expect this one to be any more or less reliable. But as far as the driving experience, this CVT is one of the best manual alternatives I've driven (I have driven manumatics from several different manufacturers, as i used to valet cars and also have worked as a lot person at a high end used car dealership)-if you learn it, use the D/Ds modes, and modulate that pedal. Now how to translate that to potential buyers....lol.