Some automakers love CVT's (looking at you, Nissan); others (and most auto journalists) don't.
Adding more gears to conventional slushboxes seems to be the way the CVT-haters are headed.
Tasty bits, from the
Detroit Free Press:
Quote:
GM spent lots of time refining the gearbox for smooth shifts and to work well with fuel-saving stop-start systems. The transmission has a slightly wider ratio spread than the six speed — 7.6:1 versus 6.0:1 — but gets most of its fuel-efficiency improvement from allowing the engine to run at its most efficient level more of the time. The transmission stayed in ninth gear up to 52% of the time in fuel-economy tests, engineer Scott Kline said.
The transmission is already on 2017 Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedans with 2.0-liter turbocharged engines. It will be available on Chevrolet Cruze compact with diesel engines early in 2017, and on the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox compact SUV later next year.
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Full article:
9-speed transmission boosts Chevrolet fuel economy 2%
I've never driven a 9-speed, but have personally heard people complain about the shift quality of the Fiat/Chrysler ones: shift quality and seeming never to get into top gear.