Quote:
Originally Posted by MazdaMatt
Bleh, that's gross... i want a smooth lever that allows me to control the CVT ratio infinitely. Why on earth would anybody who knows anything about driving a sports car WANT to force the tranny to a ratio where the revs drop out of the prime zone?
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I had a Ford Focus CVT that had a virtual 7 speed semi-automatic gearbox. The automatic function had three possible modes; Economy, Normal and Sport. The difference in the three modes was how eager the 'box was to keep the revs high. In Economy (my favoured mode), the revs dropped off immediately when the throttle was closed. It was great for economy but awful for a sporty drive. The semi-automatic mode meant that I could control the revs as I saw fit, either for economy or for performance (holding the revs through the bends). Sadly, the gearstick was crappy, so it was hard to use.
Usefully, when changing virtual gears, the change was slurred. This allowed the revs to stay within about 2-300rpm when going through the gears. Aside from the awful 5 second pre-programmed start routine, the gearbox was the best I've ever driven. Here's a clip of the car in action:
Cheers,
Andy