That is the wackiest transmission I ever used.
When you are stopped and punch the gas, the motor goes up to a certain set RPM, the car goes through the gears, but the RPM's stay constant. You FEEL the gears changing(kinda), but the engine speed doesn't vary.
It's not like an ordinary auto transmission where you see the RPM's drop each time it shifts.
I went by the dealer this morning. There are no Rogues on display; I didn't ask the saleperson about them.
From wiki:
"CVT stands for Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) is a transmission which can change steplessly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios between maximum and minimum values. This contrasts with other mechanical transmissions that only allow a few different distinct gear ratios to be selected. The flexibility of a CVT allows the driving shaft to maintain a constant angular velocity over a range of output velocities. This can provide better fuel economy than other transmissions by enabling the engine to run at its most efficient revolutions per minute (RPM) for a range of vehicle speeds."
Yes, it's a weird feeling not to have shift points. :surprised My ATV does the same. The patent on this idea over 100 years old. The problems are the material / parts availability and quality.
The original design is for belt drive, which would not last long on cars, so they use chain links between the pulleys. There is a special friction material on the chain and the pulley - requiring a special ATF - so it can still maintain friction but also gets lubricated. The tension between the pulleys regulated by hydraulic mechanism - using the same fluid.
Most of the times the friction material wears off and the chain grinds into the pulleys. Same effect when the friction lining wears off from your brake pads. :ermm:
Quite few years went buy since the introduction of the CVT but they are still prone to fail. Maybe few more years and their lifetime will reach longer time, like the regular geared type transmissions.
Meanwhile CRVs or a RAV4s are perfect small-size SUVs.:bunny:
The Hun