CVT transmission
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From: Pa
CVT transmission
I had a car years ago and hated the CVT. How is it in the 350h? Pro's/con's.... Does anyone not like it? A 350h Luxury is not out of the question for now.
Last edited by Sounds; Jun 9, 2023 at 07:51 AM.
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Apr 2023
Posts: 18
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From: Ontario
Like the above said, CVT and eCVT is nothing alike.
To give you a sense of how its like driving it, it's perfectly fine for what it is. With electric motor for the rear wheel, it has a nice get up an go when putting the foot down. I also don't feel any rubberbanding when I drive on the highway passing other cars.
That said, I don't think it's as satisfying as a dual clutch (what I had previously). Given the type of vehicles (hybrid compact SUV), it's find for day to day use. I don't think I'd get much out of it in a spirited driving sense.
End of the day, I got the car to be a fuel sipper and the eCVT does great on that front.
To give you a sense of how its like driving it, it's perfectly fine for what it is. With electric motor for the rear wheel, it has a nice get up an go when putting the foot down. I also don't feel any rubberbanding when I drive on the highway passing other cars.
That said, I don't think it's as satisfying as a dual clutch (what I had previously). Given the type of vehicles (hybrid compact SUV), it's find for day to day use. I don't think I'd get much out of it in a spirited driving sense.
End of the day, I got the car to be a fuel sipper and the eCVT does great on that front.
Driver
Joined: Mar 2023
Posts: 69
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From: Ontario
The major benefit of the eCVT is ensuring the most optimal gear ratio for efficiency which contributes to this car's amazing overall efficiency. Using the electrical motor for CVT, rather than mechanical solutions, means it's very responsive. It's also used for the great start/stop system in this car, as well as using the ICE to generate some electricity.
The real drawback is missing gear shifts that you are probably used to. For example, let us imagine an example where you are stopped at a light and when the light goes green you press the gas for a reasonable amount of acceleration. (The effect is noticed less at low acceleration and not noticed at all during steady-state driving)
In a regular 6-speed transmission, when you put your foot down it will start in 1st gear, RPM will increase until it shifts up to 2nd gear then the RPM drop, then RPM increases and it shifts up to 3rd gear then the RPM drop...
In the eCVT, the engine RPM will stay high and the gearing will slowly be increased by the eCVT system. This is great for efficiency and power because the engine stays in an optimal RPM range for torque, power, and efficiency but the engine sounds like it drones on and on and you wonder why the car isn't shifting gears but it is, just slowly.
Instead of 6 buttons for gears that are pressed one by one, the transmission is now a **** that is slowly turned and it effects the way the engine sounds.
The real drawback is missing gear shifts that you are probably used to. For example, let us imagine an example where you are stopped at a light and when the light goes green you press the gas for a reasonable amount of acceleration. (The effect is noticed less at low acceleration and not noticed at all during steady-state driving)
In a regular 6-speed transmission, when you put your foot down it will start in 1st gear, RPM will increase until it shifts up to 2nd gear then the RPM drop, then RPM increases and it shifts up to 3rd gear then the RPM drop...
In the eCVT, the engine RPM will stay high and the gearing will slowly be increased by the eCVT system. This is great for efficiency and power because the engine stays in an optimal RPM range for torque, power, and efficiency but the engine sounds like it drones on and on and you wonder why the car isn't shifting gears but it is, just slowly.
Instead of 6 buttons for gears that are pressed one by one, the transmission is now a **** that is slowly turned and it effects the way the engine sounds.
Pole Position
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 2,111
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From: Toronto, ON
[QUOTE=Sounds;11520884] hated the CVT. /QUOTE]
Depends on why you hated it. If you had reliability issues, well Toyota's eCVT design is very reliable, as good or maybe even more than a regular auto and with generally a bit less maintenance. A regular auto trans depends on (and is sensitive to) fluid pressure and friction materials to get things to go. The eCVT relies on magnetic fields, no friction materials and the fluid is just basic lubrication.
If you hated the monotone engine drone (ie lack of shifting) which is probably the #1 complaint about Toyota hybrid transmissions, well that's what you get with pretty much any CVT regardless of design. Although for example, some like Subaru have added automatic fake shift points to their CVTs to appease people that miss shift points. You could also do manual fake shifting on the 350h using the paddle shifters if you would be so inclined to bother. However we aren't talking about a 1st gen Prius that takes a half an hour to get up to highway speed, the 350h will get you there in short order so the amount of drone is very short lived and virtually unnoticeable around town.
The most annoying thing IMO is the alien space craft sound when starting out from a stop, so glad my RX hybrid didn't have that, LOL. But that really isn't a CVT thing anyway.
Depends on why you hated it. If you had reliability issues, well Toyota's eCVT design is very reliable, as good or maybe even more than a regular auto and with generally a bit less maintenance. A regular auto trans depends on (and is sensitive to) fluid pressure and friction materials to get things to go. The eCVT relies on magnetic fields, no friction materials and the fluid is just basic lubrication.
If you hated the monotone engine drone (ie lack of shifting) which is probably the #1 complaint about Toyota hybrid transmissions, well that's what you get with pretty much any CVT regardless of design. Although for example, some like Subaru have added automatic fake shift points to their CVTs to appease people that miss shift points. You could also do manual fake shifting on the 350h using the paddle shifters if you would be so inclined to bother. However we aren't talking about a 1st gen Prius that takes a half an hour to get up to highway speed, the 350h will get you there in short order so the amount of drone is very short lived and virtually unnoticeable around town.
The most annoying thing IMO is the alien space craft sound when starting out from a stop, so glad my RX hybrid didn't have that, LOL. But that really isn't a CVT thing anyway.
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From: Pa
Intermediate
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From: MI
[QUOTE=Sounds;11522954]
I have a Pathfinder CVT, and the fake shifting makes it much worse than the Freestyle with standard CVT I had previously. Fake shifting to 1500 RPM while trying to merge on the xway = dumb!
NX is unnoticeable, which for a car guy in an econobox, is about as high a compliment as I can pay to a non stick.
NX is unnoticeable, which for a car guy in an econobox, is about as high a compliment as I can pay to a non stick.
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