Modern non CVT automatic impressions

[Richard DAF Webmeister]

I took a few days off this week and went away to Guernsey - nice place, lovely lanes etc and generally quite quiet. Just like being in rural France but they drive on the correct side of the road and, of course, speak English! The road names are all in French though. E.g. Route de la St Peter port, etc.

Anyway, I wanted a hire car to get around and explore, so decided to see if there was an automatic available. They had a month-old Focus 1.6 automatic, so I went for that. These are non-CVT, but "conventional" four-speed.

Now, we all know that the "experts" in the motoring press tend to be very anti CVT, and trying to be as neutral as possible, I can't understand why.

The Focus - very nice - quiet engine, comfy seats, ride etc and power steering just right. But I have to say that although compared to old conventional autos I have driven over the years, you still feel the change ups, and it is not as responsive as the Variomatic. And if you need to make a quick changem such as escaping a junction etc, it takes a moment to decide which gear to choose.

So, this is not a criticism of the car as such, but this afternoon, i took my 340 Vario out for a spin, and I truly believe that its take-up from rest is quicker than a four-speeder and it is definitely smoother!

I suspect that the Focus has a higher max speed but given the fact that the Volvo is an old 1.4 in a heavy car, I really do wonder whether technology has progressed that much.

I must have a go in a modern CVT one day, to do a real comparison - the new Renault Megane is a comparable size car which can be had in CVT - and a whopping 2 litre engine!

[daf44]

hi.

my dad bought a 97 fiesta auto last week (£140 with 12 month genuine mot) and thought there was something wrong with the gearbox as it did not feel right and the clutch was slipping. (hence £140).

i tried driving it this morning and after a little research on the net found that it is a CVT gearbox.
i drove it as i would drive my 44. Absolutely lovely. tickover a bit high, but no problems with the box.

my father is a pretty good mechanic himself but has never driven a CVT car. after i explained how it works and how to drive it properly he is perfectly happy with it.

i must admit that it is quite a nice car to drive.

just not as much fun as a DAF.

another one to add to the list of modern CVT cars.

paul44

[spunkymonkey]

Our Colt is a modern non-cvt auto (well, computer controlled manual but near enough cos it does the shifting for you). It's not exactly bad but..........

We're getting rid of it now we've experienced Dafs ;D