Verdict on CVT?

wh05apk · March 16, 2016

I have to say that as an autobox hater, I have to agree the CVT gearbox is perfect for the car, being incredibly smooth, high geared when crusing for economy and refinement, but always being in the "right" gear for acceleration.

I occasionally play with the paddles, but normally get bored after about 30 seconds and leave the car to do its own thing.

Yes, if you drive like you stole it, you do get a bit of whine, but only for a few seconds until the speed catches up with the gearbox - which is deceptively quick!

capese21 · March 16, 2016

The "whine" is only the engine revving its not from the transmission. All petrol engine autos do similar when you kick down. A slight bit of revving engine is nothing compared to constant diesel clatter imho. Odd how motoring journos never mention that.

Ed

PaulWhitt20 · March 16, 2016

The CVT makes the drive very smooth. It is a bit noisy when you floor it but with a 0-60 time of 8.5 seconds the noise won't last long before you back off because you are now at the speed limit. You get used to the short delay before the speed picks up and with some forward planning this is not an issue. I also quite like the whine when you slow down and stop.

Why would you want anything else for a relaxed comfortable and smooth ride?

Gearoidmuar · March 16, 2016

I prefer it to a conventional auto.

rayaans · March 16, 2016

Never had an issue in both cars to be honest. Its fun in the RX as the V6 makes a good noise. In the IS its slightly more noticeable because of the 4 cylinder but by no means worse than any diesel. Complete contrast to the C220 CDI we had

dutchie01 · March 16, 2016

my first experience with a CVT box was in my student days 30 years ago when i drove a then already old DAF 44. ( rustgreen) this variomatic had thesame strange effect on the driver as a new CVT box can have namely the revs stay high up there and the car accellerates faster and faster. i think that the more powerful the better it works as there is no need to rev up or floor the throttle to accelerate. first gen prius for instance you really needed to trash it to go faster so frequently revving up and whining engine noise. With my IS 300h this is not the case. the enigine is powerful enough to blip the throttle and let go. 220hp works fine ( 300 would be better haha). for in town driving i find it just perfect. no shiftmoments and just a fluid and noiseless acceleration. I also drove a honda jazz hybrid with CVT and also just loved that experience. It just Works.

ganzoom · March 17, 2016

10 hours ago, PaulWhitt20 said:

Why would you want anything else for a relaxed comfortable and smooth ride?

Try a full electric drivetrain car. The difference is like going from a rotary dial phone to a current gen smart phone.

DanD · March 18, 2016

DAF Variomatic... wow... memories... my granddad had one of those...

darrude · March 28, 2016

II think 95% if the time it is really good, just the odd time when it's weaknesses show. Pulling out quickly on a roundabout been an example. You floor it, wait what feels like a minute then it launches you like 17 year old setting of in a corsa! Still it is a lot better than the the audi cvt. Sport mode does seem the best for reducing this effect.

capese21 · March 28, 2016

1 hour ago, darrude said:

II think 95% if the time it is really good, just the odd time when it's weaknesses show. Pulling out quickly on a roundabout been an example. You floor it, wait what feels like a minute then it launches you like 17 year old setting of in a corsa! Still it is a lot better than the the audi cvt. Sport mode does seem the best for reducing this effect.

I floor my fsport and it goes instantly not noticed any delay

darrude · March 28, 2016

18 minutes ago, capese21 said:

I floor my fsport and it goes instantly not noticed any delay

That's interesting, there is a noticeable delay with mine. I've learnt not to floor it to get the best 'instant' acceleration. Not just noticeable when stationary but also when moving and wanting a sudden change of speed, ie approaching a flowing junction.

gazza5 · March 29, 2016

should have a is300h on loan this weekend - first time with a cvt box - i have driven a nissan juke which had a 1.6 and cvt gearbox - didn't like it personally. I am looking at maybe getting one - the buggy fits, child car seat fits, now just have to have a extended test drive. If all fails will have to wait a year and then pick up a IS200t a bit cheaper!

rayaans · March 29, 2016

3 hours ago, gazza5 said:

should have a is300h on loan this weekend - first time with a cvt box - i have driven a nissan juke which had a 1.6 and cvt gearbox - didn't like it personally. I am looking at maybe getting one - the buggy fits, child car seat fits, now just have to have a extended test drive. If all fails will have to wait a year and then pick up a IS200t a bit cheaper!

You should be pleasantly surprised by the "CVT" in the Lexus which is actually not really a conventional CVT anyway. The Juke CVT is genuinely horrid down to the fact that the 1.6l engine is too noisy and the CVT tries to act like a gearbox in that it changes gears, very odd!

The one in the Lexus is smooth as silk - honestly you won't notice it much unless accelerating very hard.

tHomBleached · March 30, 2016

On 28/03/2016 at 6:22 PM, darrude said:

That's interesting, there is a noticeable delay with mine. I've learnt not to floor it to get the best 'instant' acceleration. Not just noticeable when stationary but also when moving and wanting a sudden change of speed, ie approaching a flowing junction.

I've got an f sport and there appears to be a bit of a delay from stationary if you floor it (certainly compared to my 250). As you say, I find the best acceleration is being a touch more gentle. You can turn EV off completely I think in the dash settings, which might make a difference, bit of a faff to do that every time you stop at a roundabout though.

I've noticed my driving style has completely changed in 3 days since owning. I used to keep the 250 in ECT power mode all the time, I'd use the flappy paddles alot etc. Now I get EV anxiety (I consider myself a failure if I'm not seeing the green light come on for the majority of round town driving). So much so, I look forward to 30mph sections as I know I can max out the EV

Getting a solid 45MPG and 50 on dual carriageways so I'm very happy (low 20's in my 250 - I'd be lucky to see 300 miles out of a tank)

DJP · March 30, 2016

2 hours ago, tHomBleached said:

I've noticed my driving style has completely changed in 3 days since owning. I used to keep the 250 in ECT power mode all the time, I'd use the flappy paddles alot etc. Now I get EV anxiety (I consider myself a failure if I'm not seeing the green light come on for the majority of round town driving). So much so, I look forward to 30mph sections as I know I can max out the EV

Yep, it changed mine too. Financially the difference in mpg doesn't really matter but keeping that green light on can become obsessive behaviour!

Gearoidmuar · March 30, 2016

Mine is not an F but I get the same MPG. Averaging 45 with mostly town stuff, got 53.6 from Dublin to Cork. Got nearly 600m out of a tank, 49.6 mpg. Included a long trip (300m) another 100m trip and shorter stuff.

darrude · April 2, 2016

It's not just me trying to stay on Battery all the time then, even at the expense of driving a bit slower. Im getting 55mpg on long runs and my best, due to traffic on a 65mile journey was 63mpg. Think the motorway been restricted to 50mph for half the journey is helping this figure! I keep thinking one day I will do a true 'eco' run and see what I can get on long jouney.

Zotto · April 2, 2016

On ‎30‎/‎03‎/‎2016 at 10:51 AM, tHomBleached said:

Now I get EV anxiety (I consider myself a failure if I'm not seeing the green light come on for the majority of round town driving). So much so, I look forward to 30mph sections as I know I can max out the EV

Give a look to thread about hybrid driving, trying to keep the most time possible EV is NOT the best way to achieve best mpg ;-)

tHomBleached · April 2, 2016

2 hours ago, Zotto said:

Give a look to thread about hybrid driving, trying to keep the most time possible EV is NOT the best way to achieve best mpg ;-)

Interesting. Had a quick search but couldn't find it. Can you remember the title of the thread?

Zotto · April 2, 2016

Best technique for regenerative braking

Of course in that topic I was talking only about regenerative breaking, other techniques are involved to gain mpg, such as Pulse & Glide and a proper use of right foot, but condensing all rules in few words, avoid to have strong braking keeping charge indicator at half, try to reach the speed you want to keep not too fast but also not too slowly, and then keep the indicator at about 2/3 of blue ECO zone with engine ON and 6 charge bars if possible, not insisting for EV driving.

If you use too much electricity you will have to recharge HV batteries later on, and doing this you loose more energy ( wasting more gasoline) because of transformation losses. All energy recovered with regenerative braking, is somewhat gained, and you spare brake pads too ;-)

darrude · April 7, 2016

Well I was in an astra auto on holiday last week and hired a new C class this week, got to say having not driven a conventional auto for a while the Lexus cvt is awesome. And response times for acceleration are better in the Lexus.