Opions on CVT gearbox please

[toyotaowner]

After watching the Fifth Gear review, can anyone give an opinion on the CVT gearbox. 

 

[wh05apk]

Can't speak about the gs, but ib the is it is great,  incredibly smoothe and always instant power, under hard acceleration the engine revs hard but only for a few seconds until speed builds up,  then the revs instantly drop back. 

[OldTrout]

Watched the video. Has the new GS450h got a rev counter then? (Engine sits at 6000rpm.) Only under maximum acceleration surely?

John

ps There is a video of Jason Plato driving the previous 450h. 

 

 

[C Mclean]

Virtually seamless acceleration after a slight pause while the engine reaches optimum revs. As above, the engine revs pretty high depending on the power needed, but in my opinion and contrary to the professional experts reviews, the CVT is virtually silent. It's the engine revs they hear, but they can't resist knocking anything that wasn't manufactured in Germany.

[toyotaowner]

So the screaming only happens under hard acceleration? 

[C Mclean]

1 minute ago, toyotaowner said:

So the screaming only happens under hard acceleration? 

Wouldn't really class it as screaming, yes the engine revs high but it's a steady rpm until the speed and power required are in sync. For a normal auto box, torque converter type, you get the revs rising to max and then dropping down when it changes up. Best thing to do is have a test drive in a CVT and see what you think, it takes a little while to get used to the way it works, but you'll soon get hooked on it.

[Northern_Si]

Was actually thinking about this today when driving down some fast bendy country lanes. If you floor the gas peddle, the revs do race and when doing 0 to 90 (but not in the uk), it is quite noisy but when doing every day driving it is no different than a normal automatic.  How often when having a spirited drive are you actually accelerating more then 30mph at a time?  In the UK, I'm more interested in keeping the speed through the bends and I would say the GS is better than my previous E-Class sport. 

[Habu]

2 hours ago, OldTrout said:

Watched the video. Has the new GS450h got a rev counter then?

Rev counter default is off when in Eco or Normal mode but on when in Sport S and Sport S+.  It's customisable so you can have the rev counter on all drive modes or off on all.  You'd only get 6000 revs if you're driving the nads off the car.  Under normal driving it's serene.

 

 

[rayaans]

This "droning" is non existent if you're doing normal speeds. The GS450H goes so bloody quick that it sounds like you're changing gears as you lay off the throttle otherwise you'll be doing illegal speeds very soon, especially with the crazy mid-range acceleration it has. 

The problem in the video was that they were doing maybe 80-150mph on the strip which is why it was holding the revs. In normal driving with the GS you'll hardly have to go over 4k

[mkbean]

20 minutes ago, rayaans said:

This "droning" is non existent if you're doing normal speeds. The GS450H goes so bloody quick that it sounds like you're changing gears as you lay off the throttle otherwise you'll be doing illegal speeds very soon, especially with the crazy mid-range acceleration it has. 

Yes this. You just can't keep your foot down for more than a second or two on a 'normal' road, so its not a problem.

[Northern_Si]

8 minutes ago, mkbean said:

Yes this. You just can't keep your foot down for more than a second or two on a 'normal' road, so its not a problem.

 

 

How many normal people would take a BMW 5 series, Jaguar XF or Mercedes E-Class onto a track?  This is the problem with the 5th gear review.   In normal driving, the only think you notice about the CVT is the smoothness. 

 

[rayaans]

5 hours ago, Northern_Si said:

 

 

How many normal people would take a BMW 5 series, Jaguar XF or Mercedes E-Class onto a track?  This is the problem with the 5th gear review.   In normal driving, the only think you notice about the CVT is the smoothness. 

 

Agreed. There is a slight delay before the power comes but its nothing detrimental and even then, its better than turbo lag.

[OldTrout]

1 hour ago, rayaans said:

Agreed. There is a slight delay before the power comes but its nothing detrimental and even then, its better than turbo lag.

Agreed too! The delay is less than my 1998 GS300 and there is no delay for the electric motor to kick in. The old GS auto box was very good. My MOT place said it was the smoothest car they test. The CVT box is even better in my opinion.

Sometimes when coming to a halt there is little noise which reminds me of a tube train stopping - electric motors.

John