Read one car with CVT actually mimics AT shifts (new Honda Civic?).
Whatever car does that, would be interesting to test drive.
2015 Forester VS 2015 CX-5?
- Thread starter buliwyf
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Read one car with CVT actually mimics AT shifts (new Honda Civic?).
Whatever car does that, would be interesting to test drive.
Nissan's reliability record for CVT does not inspire confidence.
Considering Nissan was the first to use CVT large scale, and that they still are not rock solid, would give one second thoughts about owning a CVT vehicle. Its it Nissan or CVTs that are unreliable?
By interesting, you mean terrible.. right?
I test drove a few cars with CVT's, and during simple test drives a CVT might seem like an OK option, if you're willing to sacrifice a significant amount of driving enjoyment, but a short test-drive cannot reveal all of the drawbacks.
I highly recommend renting a car with a CVT for a couple days before committing to buying one for the long run.
I had a brand new jeep compass rental for a week and that CVT transmission was laughably bad in every possible way.
After ascending hills at a quick pace it smelled of burning rubber, the car had no throttle response in spirited driving.. basically you floor it, the RPM moves up to 6k+ and a couple seconds later you start accelerating at a moderate pace. The problem was worse when letting off the throttle after accelerating, the car would actually surge forward as the CVT dropped the RPM and the momentum of the motor pulled the car forward harder than at full throttle.
I ended up driving the car exclusively in the semi-manual mode, but the transmission didn't feel like it liked being shifted manually, and if it was my car I would be very concerned about it's long term reliability.
I just test drove a 2015 Forester 2.5 Touring. The CVT was not bad. However, it felt a step back coming from a Mazda3 with 6-speed auto. The car felt "heavy" and was not quieter than my Mazda3 like I expect it to be. I will test drive it again tomorrow. On Saturday i'll try a CX-5
A classic example of really bad CVT implementation giving a bad name for all others.
Compass as a whole is "what were you thinking?" kind of vehicle.
I agree with you on renting, just in general, being a much better way to see if you like the car. However, it is hard to rent a specific vehicle.
I've never driven the new Forester, but before I got my CX-5 I test drove the Impreza and I was not impressed by the road noise.
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- 23 CX-5 Premium
And you were impressed by the CX-5's road noise??!
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- 2015 CX-5 Touring 2.5L FWD
From what I've seen of how a CVT works, there's two belts that move back and forth as the torque/speed changes. How often do those belts have to be replaced??
With brand new tires, I found the road noise of the CX-5 to be low. Definitely quieter than my old protege5 or the Impreza I was looking at.
With 33k on the tires I wouldn't call the CX-5 a quiet car anymore, but I only notice the road noise when driving over poor pavement.
From what I understand most (all?) modern car CVT's use some sort of a chain instead of a belt.
Most CVT's are not designed to be taken apart and should last the life of the car (if you get a reliable one.. and the Subaru CVT looks like it's reliable) or cost 5000+ to replace if anything goes wrong.
CVTs: Too bad they aren't as cheap as the belts and rebuild rates for CVT clutches of a snowmobile or large bore ATV. If one is inclined to do the work themselves on power sport equipment it can be really cheap.
yes, CVTs are a sealed unit. meaning they are replaced entirely if something goes wrong, not repaired. I did some research when shopping and was told the Subaru CVT would be in the ballpark of $7500 to replace, if it happened out of warranty. That was enough to scare me away.
I test drove 2 cars tonight: the CX-5 and a Hyundai Santa Fe XL (different class car I know).
The CX-5 drives, feels, looks EXACTLY IDENTICAL to my Mazda3. It is actually a good thing, since I LOVE how my Mazda3 drives, but now I feel it is redundant to own a CX-5. When I'm inside, It feels like I'm driving the same car, literally.
It definitely drives better than the Forester though...
The CX-5 drives, feels, looks EXACTLY IDENTICAL to my Mazda3. It is actually a good thing, since I LOVE how my Mazda3 drives, but now I feel it is redundant to own a CX-5. When I'm inside, It feels like I'm driving the same car, literally.
It definitely drives better than the Forester though...
You listed the stuff you like and nothing wrong with that list, It comes down to what do you value higher that stuff or the feel of driving the CX-5 No wrong answer, but often a passionate answer. CX-5 is not the most tricked out in it's class but it is the most fun to throw into a corner.
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- 2021 CX-9 Sig
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- 2021 CX-5 GT
As someone who is owned two Subaru's I tend to bristle at the idea of them being reliable. Maybe I got lemons but I found they need constant and rather expensive maintenance to keep going and tend to have some major issues at around the 80K mark. I thought it was normal to have $2000 car repair bill every year. The plus with the Subaru is the AWD system, it is the best around but you pay for it. If you want reliable, get a Honda,
I think that's a stretch. I owned a 3 before the cx-5 and the cx-5 is larger, wider, and rides higher. It drives very well, especially for the market its in, but it definitely has more body roll due to the ground clearance and less nimbleness than a smaller car like the 3. I've even driven the new 3 for a week as a loaner, and the 3 has phenomenal steering feel, but you give up cargo and ground clearance, which is why I went with the cx-5. The interior of the 3 is a more plastickey too, owing to its slightly lower market position.
I did some digging through CR and I didn't see supporting evidence (more than the norm) showing that CVT transmissions in general were less reliable than planetary transmissions and this is going black to 2004. The Nissan Altima did have 2007 and 2008 as below average for the transmission major but that's it. I didn't see any trouble spots for Subaru except for 2008 for minor transmission stuff. The Toyota Prius, which also uses a CVT transmission has excellent transmission reliability all the way back to 2004. I think the CVT in the Forester will be just as reliable as their other transmissions were. Subaru also has a very good track record for reliable SUV's, even better than Mazda. The CX7 was especially bad in the earlier years.
