FYI on Asian Corolla

[cabur]

A comparison of the new Civic and Altis.

http://www.simonhar.com/2011/07/driv...ota-altis.html

[SuperchargedMR2]

WOW, a 7 speed transmission! Decent write up comparing the cars. So they use high end interior materials in Asia & not in the US & Canada?

[cabur]

Yeah. Altis is considered a entry level luxury car with all options. Cost pretty near BMW 316, 320.

[c_huynh32]

A 7 speed transmission ... If they stayed with the current 4/5 speed ... i think it's good enough but 7 ... I don't think the fuel efficiency would change that much [but i could be wrong] ..... my gears the more trouble in the future

[xangelox15]

Originally Posted by cabur

Yeah. Altis is considered a entry level luxury car with all options. Cost pretty near BMW 316, 320.

Actually it cost roughly 800,000-1m Philippine pesos. So, $18,000-$20,000. but since its a third world country, only the middle class and upper class can afford.

[PhatRoyale]

Originally Posted by c_huynh32

A 7 speed transmission ... If they stayed with the current 4/5 speed ... i think it's good enough but 7 ... I don't think the fuel efficiency would change that much [but i could be wrong] ..... my gears the more trouble in the future

It's a CVT (Continuously variable transmission) with an infinite number of ratios. Not a real automatic. Toyota just markets it as a 7-speed because it emulates the behaviour of a typical 7-speed automatic.

[SuperchargedMR2]

Originally Posted by PhatRoyale

It's a CVT (Continuously variable transmission) with an infinite number of ratios. Not a real automatic. Toyota just markets it as a 7-speed because it emulates the behaviour of a typical 7-speed automatic.

In other words, it's a single speed CVT like most of them. The beauty of a CVT is it doesn't shift gears & is smooth from start to highway speed. The CVT in my Prius is so smooth with no shifting "feel" which adds a more expensive feel to it.