When you get down to searching for options to get a car, one of the very important aspects is type of transmission. While the notions of fully automatic or manual transmissions are more or less clear. What a continuously variable transmission (CVT) is remains a secret for many car owners to be. This is why we addressed this issue in this article below to clarify all basics and details about this kind of mechanism.
A CVT is a kind of automatic transmission. But instead of fixed gears, it uses two pulleys that are connected by a steel band, with the diameter of one of them continually adjusting as needed in order to provide an optimal “ratio” that transfers power to the car’s tires. According to statistics at KIJIJI if you buy a car today, then you will see that more than 10% of all vehicles sold today have CVT transmission because of its advanced fuel efficiency and much lower manufacturing costs.
Advantages of CVT
One of the greatest benefits of CVT transmission, if you decide to buy used car, is the cost of their production. Owing to the modern technologies, companies spend much less money to produce CVT transmissions which make the final product, cars, cheaper. Furthermore, as automotive experts explain acceleration also stays in a “sweet spot” for the purpose of minimizing wasted power, thus improving fuel efficiency of a vehicle.
Apart from that people also report several pros of CVT cars. Some drivers report that CVT transmission cars run smoother and are in general easier to drive and control. They also very good at picking the proper ratio for most road scenarios, which pass ahead the other automatic vehicles. Another advantage is that if you buy a car and change speed, you will feel almost nothing when the speeds are actually changing as the process goes smoother. And the final advantage is about the drive terrain. Drivers report that the CVT transmission cars’ drive terrain is pretty peppy, especially if driving off the line.
Disadvantages of CVTs
One of the most important things to mention here is that we are not talking about the direct disadvantages of this technology, but about the peculiarities of this mechanism especially if you buy used car. Secondly, it is worth mentioning that these peculiarities are generally connected to the older versions of CVT and today may not be present. But if you decide to buy a car make sure that you know about these changes. If you consider buying newer versions of CVTs then you can expect them to be more reliable.
But coming closer to the point. Some drivers say that there is lack of revv and gear changes and they find this steady acceleration to be “boring”. Some older mechanisms were not perfect in terms of miles counting, claiming that older CVT cars add additional miles to the odometer, since this part of a vehicle is costly to replace. One of the long-term spending that you have to be ready to is the idea that CVTs require regular fluid change and according to the requirements it must be done more often that for manual or fully automatic mechanisms.
And the very last tip: if you are a newbie in the world of automobiles, go online and learn more about various types of transmissions, their influence on the performance of a vehicle and pros and cons of each type so that you purchase a car based on knowledge and not just some visual preferences.