I took a pathfinder for a test drive few days before I got my highlander.
CVT is not something I would ever get used to. Sure, interior finish etc. was nice, but not enough to sway me towards Nissan.

 

I have no experience on CVT. My wife's co-worker bought a 2015 Honda CR-V which uses CVT now. She experiences the vibration at idle. If you google it, you will find people believe CVT is the blame.

 

The hybrid version has a CVT.

Nissan has had a lot of problems with their CVT tranny's over the years. I'm not impressed with their durability.

 

The hybrid version has a CVT.

I've had Highlander Hybrids since 2006 (my wife has a 2012, had a 2006, I had a 2009 and still have my 2006 and a new 2014) and I love the CVT. With the hybrid system, there is no lacking for pick-up, and once I got used to the CVT a "normal" automatic transmission feels clunky. Knock on wood, but the CVT's have been great. I've never driven a non-hybrid with a CVT, but I don't expect to buy another car that isn't a hybrid.

 

Had an '11 Subaru Outback and drove it about 12K miles before I got rid of it (for reasons other than the transmission - it was a POS IMO). While the CVT did a nice job of keeping the RPMs in the sweet spot I really hated driving it. The only saving grace was it did have a manual mode when you could select predetermined ratios that approximated 1st through 6th gears.

 

I had a 2012 Suby Outback and I think it did a decent job, it had paddle shifters and a sport-mode manual shift feature that were useful in slippery conditions.


What I liked about the CVT was when driving through neighborhoods or parking lots, the transmission wasn't constantly shifting up and down, and highway driving through hilly or mountain terrains was much smoother without all the downshifting.


On the other hand, the CVT never was constant when you stepped on it to pass or merge onto traffic, sometimes putting you in harm's way.


Glad the HL doesn't have a CVT, either...

 

I had a 2012 Suby Outback and I think it did a decent job, it had paddle shifters and a sport-mode manual shift feature that were useful in slippery conditions.


What I liked about the CVT was when driving through neighborhoods or parking lots, the transmission wasn't constantly shifting up and down, and highway driving through hilly or mountain terrains was much smoother without all the downshifting.


On the other hand, the CVT never was constant when you stepped on it to pass or merge onto traffic, sometimes putting you in harm's way.


Glad the HL doesn't have a CVT, either...

:surprise:...in what way?

 

CVT in hybrid is not real CVT as in non hybrid car, if you look deeper this is two different transmission

 

i had a 1998, then a 2000 Subaru outback sedan (which they discontinued later) was a four cyl boxer eng. very impressive, well made, great mileage, and powerfull.but i had to trade because too many miles racked up, and the company was paying me for the vehicle. i pulled my 17' carolina skiff, with no problem. then bought a 2002 Toy Avalon ltd 6 cyl. could hardly pull the same boat. it's too bad they stopped making the sedan.

 

Knock on wood, but the CVT's have been great.

Many manufacturers (including Nissan) have had reliability issues with the CVT tranny. Hopefully Toyota's CVT is more reliable.