Howdy. I test drove a CVT a couple weeks back and did not like it. I found it loud, slow off the line (merging, not Indy racing) and felt like it couldn't find what gear to be in, which is funny because there is only one.

I hated it, and want a five speed. I can't find one and no one around here has any idea when they are going to get one. That said, I want impressions...

Other people have noted the same issues I have and have bought them anyway.

Does the CVT grow on you? Do you regret getting it?

Basically, I may get something other than a Fit, but can't figure out what. The Fit is perfect for me. I'm using y'all as the 1-800-justifyit hotline.

 

I like my CVT. It is plenty fast enough for me. The CVT always seems to stay right around 1500 or 2000 RPM which seems like a good "gear" to be in.

If you are worried about the transmission being loud then definitely don't get the six-speed. The sixth gear is the same as the 2013's fifth gear, its not even overdrive, so you don't save gas, you just end up having to shift more often. People say the gears are way too close together. 4th and 5th are not that useful because you can just go from 3rd right to 6th. At 75 mph the RPMs are 3,600 where in the CVT it is just 2,000 RPM. The CVT runs quieter and gets a few more MPG.

 

I drove a Nissan Cube with CVT for five years, and now I have a CVT Fit. No problem with either car. I like the way it doesn't clunk into each gear.

One negative I have heard about CVTs is that if you stomp on the pedal off the line, it can have trouble getting moving. I've never tried that.

 

I can say that I've had a cvt for the first time with the new 15 Fit. I had a '10 before this with the five speed. I like the CVT, it seems to work very well for such a small car and engine size. Although I want to agree with your comment about the volume of the car inside the cabin, as I feel that way too when going from another family members car (jetty or grand Cherokee) compared to my last Fit it is significantly quieter...

 

What you've described is actually the way a CVT works -- that's Continuously Variable Transmission, meaning it doesn't just sit in one gear as the engine RPM goes up. It continuously keeps the RPM right around some optimal point, depending on how heavily you've pressed the pedal. If you press it hard, that point is higher (for the power you're obviously aiming for). Light, and it's lower (for the efficiency it assumes you want). Here's Wikipedia's description:

"A continuously variable transmission (CVT) is a transmission that can change seamlessly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios between maximum and minimum values. This contrasts with other mechanical transmissions that offer a fixed number of gear ratios. The flexibility of a CVT allows the input shaft to maintain a constant angular velocity."

As for the noise, I had a bit of an issue with it during test drive because I was driving a bit more aggressively than my norm in order to see how peppy the car was at getting onto the interstate and such. Day to day, I have a lighter touch as I like getting great gas mileage, but if I do need the power for passing or merging, I can tolerate the noise for a bit. So I really don't notice any noise day to day. If you have a consistently heavy foot, you might. Or at least for a while, until you stop noticing it. Maybe go test drive it again and try different driving styles while you're out. Think about how you are really going to be driving every day. Watch how it is at steady cruising speed (with the radio on, if you will typically do that) and see if that's tolerable for you.

As for me, yes, it grew on me quickly as most of my problem was during brisk acceleration, and at this point I don't regret it at all. I do like the awesome fuel efficiency it brings. Those who prefer manual transmission (which has been me in the past) do have a hard time believing that the CVT might beat the manual for MPG, but the official numbers claim that it does and the posted results seem to be showing that it very well might be true.

But final word -- if you drive it again and it bothers you too badly even when replicating the various conditions I've suggested, maybe it isn't for you.

 

If you can, go test drive a 6MT. The gearing and your ability to change gears yourself makes it feel like (to me at least) that it accelerates much quicker than the CVT.

 

Technically speaking, 4th, 5th, and 6th gears are all overdrive gears—the output of the transmission to the final drive is faster than the input. That doesn't really matter too much in the real world, though; the bigger questions have to do with the overall gearing of the entire system, from engine through to the final drive and tire diameter. The Fit almost seems to be geared like a large truck, with lots of close-spaced gears down low.

 

My Daughter loves her CVT. She made her own decision on what she wanted, and stuck with it. That also included the color "Passion Berry Pearl".

 

Sounds like you answered your own question? If you truly HATE it, don't buy it. I don't think you'll go from HATE to love, or even like. If you think you need to acclimate to its differences, that's another story.

Initially, I felt the CVT was WEIRD. It just felt WRONG. It still feeds weird sometimes-- like how it feels like a slipping clutch at a start, which is normal for the CVT. I think that's the sort of thing I'll get used to as I drive it more. There are things I like about it though-- it's super smooth and I think there's a relative lot of power at speed (for merging, passing, etc.), but it IS slow off the line. The heavy engine braking was another adjustment point, but I'm coming to like that too.

My advice-- test drive the CVT a couple more times. Test drive the MT when you can find it. Any car shopping means making compromises, but that isn't the same as buying something you actively don't like.

 

This is my first CVT, and so far, I am really impressed with it. I came from '13 Accord V6 AT with VCM.

One of the things that I love about the Fit is the connection I feel from hearing the engine sound (or noise if you prefer to call it that). In my opinion (just my opinion) the Accord was too quiet for my liking from previous gens (I owned a 7th gen and bought a 9th gen). You really had to dig into the accelerator to unleash power, and there seemed to be a strange delay as the Accord tried to find the right gear. Oh, but when she settled and you took off ...

My Fit feels very peppy and responsive. Keep in mind that I'm coming from 278hp down to 130hp. The Fit does not have the power or transmission of the Accord, and I don't miss it. However, the Fit feels to have a more sensitive/responsive throttle than the Accord to me. The major trade off for me between the two cars is that I actually feel connected in the Fit and I enjoy driving it more than I ever did the Accord.

The CVT and engine sound did not have to grow on me at all. I loved it the minute that I stepped on the gas during my first test drive. I don't feel the gear transitions like I did in the Accord (the Accord used a lot of engine braking, and downshifting seemed rough). It just seems that the CVT does what it's supposed to do.

To be clear, I'm not comparing the Accord and Fit, but my experience with the different transmissions.

While I can drive a manual, it's only fun for about fifteen minutes and then I get lazy. Hey, at least I'm honest!

 

i drove a 2010 honda insight before i bought my '13 fit with the automatic. i was between the '13 civic and the fit, so i did test drive the cvt civic, which as i understand is the same cvt as in the fit.

the cvt is great once your at speed, and for casual acceleration around town it was good. as stated in this thread already, though, if you take off hard from a stop, it's not really all that great of an experience and i think that's my biggest issue with cvt's.

after living with the automatic fit for awhile now, though, i'd almost say that the cvt would be a better experience than the 5 speed automatic. what i've found is that the shift logic (at least in mine, for the way i drive) is pretty awful. it'll upshift, and then as soon as the torque converter locks and rpm's drop a bit more, it downshifts and it does this at almost every stop every single day. it's really making me regret getting the automatic - it's almost as bad as the engine stop at low speeds in the insight, where it'd kick off the motor if the brakes were pressed and you dropped below ~7mph, and then kick it back on with a jerk when the break was released.

the cvt isn't for everyone, but i think it's the best one on the market and certainly a decent choice as far as any type of automatic goes nowdays.

 

I don't know what you were expecting it to be like but I love the CVT and find it performs nicely and exactly like I expected it to. No problems here!

 

Compared to my 99 HP (combined among both engines) Prius C, the Fit CVT hauls some crazy ass if I want it to I have experienced the opposite problem, it is very easy to take off from a stop faster than you intended!

 

I've rented cars for over three decades, all with automatics and usually mid-size (except the Citroen in Portugal), and I love the CVT in my Fit. It's very smooth, and what brief noise there occasionally is just delights me with the sound of that Honda dohc d.i. engine.

 

I really like my CVT. It took a little getting used to. You can over-rev it and cause more engine noise than necessary. After driving one for just a little while, you get the hang of how much acceleration to apply to keep in the sweet spot. No gear changes make it feel alien, but that is new technology. I like new technology. I find it to be very peppy and accelerates quickly.

 

I think that part of the problem has to do with your previous experience. I believe (and I can be wrong) that people that comes from automatics are more prone to accept and eventually enjoy the CVT. While people used to MT (like me), will feel the CVT somewhat strange. I personally find difficult to hear the engine increase first the RPM, and then the CVT matching them, than the other way around, in which you select the gear first and the engine increases RPM afterwards. I found this video of a guy driving a Fit CVT that may be useful to confirm (or not) what you felt when you test drove the CVT.

 

I'm pretty impressed with the CVT actually. It was weird at first, but i am getting used to it now. I keep my econ on at all times and rarely go above 2200rpm, it is very smooth and unobtrusive at this low rpms. I am really happy with this car.

 

for those that have a 2015 Fit CVT, when you shift to Drive or Reverse, does it have a 2 second delay before it initiates? i drove a nissan versa with CVT and it blows. i hated the fact that it had the 2 second delay every time i am parking.

 

I test drove both and decided to go with the CVT. The MT just had too many pointless gears. If the transmission offered a true top gear for economical highway cruising I probably would have gone with it as I have always preferred manual transmissions. Even if the MT is a tenth or two quicker from zero to sixty, this is such a slow car that it's not worth too much grief.

 

so does the CVT have the 2 second delay when shifting between DRIVE and REVERSE?