Quote:
Originally Posted by DifferentPointofView
Does the Avenger have CVT? the caliber does, so I have no idea when anything engages cause there's no difference in rpms while accelerating, nor the butt-gauge can't tell me anything cause there's no shifting.  CVT seems nice, but I like the shifts. |
No it has the good 'ol 4-speed auto with Torque Converter.
How to tell if a vehicle has a CVT (not very efficient) find an open space to do a full throttle run for at least a few seconds and see if it holds near the redline/max power point, or if it does the traditional shift-n-drop.
The CVT is
supposed to make the vehicle more efficient by having an infinitely variable gear ratio within its range -- that way it can keep the revs in the most efficient range.
I drove a Nissan Rogue (Sentra based mini-SUV) in the bitter cold of Norther Iowa this Winter (-10F). Once it warmed up to Zero-Degrees, it drove normally -- the best feature was the way it would drop the RPMs to around 1500 just driving around town. Same for the highway operation.
The argument, is a CVT less efficient itself with all of it's extra mechanical processes and the question remains: will it be a reliable, long-term investment? In my case, the CVT made a terrible metal-on-metal screeching noise, on acceleration, until the temp rose to near Zero -- of course an extreme example. The vehicle just couldn't warm up otherwise -- it was freezing in there! (that was with no heat, trying to send what it was making to the engine/transmission).
I've driven CVTs in the Ford Taurus ("500" version) and Nissan Murano with no problems. A little bump in FE can usually be expected.
RH77