From what I've read, Nissan has been putting a ton of effort into their CVT automatics the last few years. The wife has a 2013 Pathfinder with a CVT and it gets low to mid 20s mpg with her letting it idle for 20-30 minutes a day waiting on the kids at school. That said, I'm just not particularly overjoyed by the way it feels. I mean, it does the job just fine, and has plenty of get up and go, but it's just meh overall. It just doesn't feel like you are connected to the car like in the old days.
From what I've read, having the 1.6 powering the CVT makes for a dull and gutless feeling ride in the Note. They tried to get me to drive one but I wasn't interested and didn't bother.
Nissan says it's the fact that the CVT can allow the engine to operate at it's peak efficiency by using the gear ratio that is most efficient rather than by using whichever gear ratio is closest. I also wouldn't doubt the CVT having a higher final highway ratio.
I can't quite remember the 60 mph rpm but I'll try to remember to check.