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Midsize Sedans 2.0

18228 messages,  Last post on May 25, 2013 at 7:54 PM

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What is this discussion about? Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Volkswagen Passat, Mazda MAZDA6, Ford Fusion, Chevrolet Malibu, Kia Optima, Car Comparisons, Sedan

Messages Page 1743 of 1824

#17414 of 18228 Re: Actual 2013 Nissan Altima CVT video..... [backy] by gimmestdtranny

Jan 28, 2013 (1:44 pm)

Replying to: backy (Jan 28, 2013 11:55 am)
I tend to agree with this, and I also think that if you regularly loaded one of these mid-sizers with their max payload, or often towed a small trailer with no more than 1500 lb including trlr weight (what I do often since I don't have a pickup...must be the English blood in me) then you would see (CVT) algorithms, designed to look good in EPA, scattering for cover to avoid the "how comes" cuz I am quite confident that the numbers would not stand up to the same test using a 6 sp auto.
 
Some of my bias against them is due to some time that I have spent in an Outback that had one. It boasted fairly impressive highway numbers, but in the real world, you'd have to draft every semi-truck you could find in order to actually get them. That thing could smell a grade with revs a half mile off.
 
And the other thing I have against them..and granted it is a mental thing but still counts if you can't get over it...but I had a hard time mentally convincing myself that that trans wasn't slipping everywhere I went. With the revs all over the place, the only car I can think of that would be even more disconcerting in this regard would be the Volt once you had exhausted all batteries and were on gas generator.
Now I imagine a person must get over that sorta thing, but I am a very visceral seat-of-the-pants type driver. Irregular noises like engine revs that have nothing to do with your actual speed etc really rob some of the fun I (still) get from driving. And for this reason I doubt I would ever spring for a Prius type car if it was my only ride. It'd be strictly an A - B fuel saver. I still have to drive one, but my guess is that in 'go' mode it is easier to take than a CVT in, let's say that 10?Subaru or the 09? Altima I last drove that had it...that is until you applied the brakes..then all bets are off as for any normal visceral feedback that you would normally associate with braking a car..
 
That said though I hear the new Accord has really nailed making the CVT as...well..apparently it's CVT works quite 'normally' (doesn't spin up unexpectedly compared to what you are asking of it).

#17415 of 18228 Re: Actual 2013 Nissan Altima CVT video..... [gimmestdtranny] by backy

Jan 28, 2013 (3:25 pm)

Replying to: gimmestdtranny (Jan 28, 2013 1:44 pm)
I will say this in favor of the CVTs, based on 3 years driving a 2010 Sentra with a 2.0L engine and CVT: it's possible to get super-EPA FE numbers if you have a light foot. That's because the CVT keeps engine revs very low when the engine isn't taxed. That also contributes to low engine noise while cruising. And the "turbine" feel when accelerating, no shift points, is kinda neat.
 
But there's also the downsides... pretty sluggish when pressed (at least my Sentra is, but it's not Nissan's latest CVT design), and high engine noise at high revs.
 
My preference is still a good 6MT, although there's some really good 6+ automatics out there now that are easy to live with. My wife's 2013 Sonata has a very smooth 6AT, and it has a manumatic feature if someone really wants to shift for themselves (which I think is kinda dumb with an automatic, but whatever).

#17416 of 18228 Re: Actual 2013 Nissan Altima CVT video..... [backy] by pegasus17

Jan 28, 2013 (4:12 pm)

Replying to: backy (Jan 28, 2013 3:25 pm)
"My wife's 2013 Sonata has a very smooth 6AT, and it has a manumatic feature if someone really wants to shift for themselves (which I think is kinda dumb with an automatic, but whatever)."
 
I have a 2011 Sonata with that same 6 speed AT and it is very smooth with decent gas mileage (hwy 31 avg at 70mph). the manumatic feature works very well and really shows the power that DI engine has at 198hp.

#17417 of 18228 Re: Actual 2013 Nissan Altima CVT video..... [pegasus17] by m6user

Jan 28, 2013 (6:41 pm)

Replying to: pegasus17 (Jan 28, 2013 4:12 pm)
Isn't that car supposed to average more like 35mpg hwy?

#17418 of 18228 Re: Actual 2013 Nissan Altima CVT video..... [m6user] by backy

Jan 28, 2013 (8:44 pm)

Replying to: m6user (Jan 28, 2013 6:41 pm)
At 70 mph? Maybe at 65. I can't wait to get my wife's out on a long trip and see what it does. Almost everything has been less than 7 miles in town so far.

#17419 of 18228 Re: Actual 2013 Nissan Altima CVT video..... [backy] by m6user

Jan 28, 2013 (9:53 pm)

Replying to: backy (Jan 28, 2013 8:44 pm)
Yeah, maybe at 65. But I can usually hit the hwy number on a straight hwy trip at 70.

#17420 of 18228 Re: Actual 2013 Nissan Altima CVT video..... [gimmestdtranny] by nyccarguy

Jan 29, 2013 (5:44 am)

Replying to: gimmestdtranny (Jan 28, 2013 1:44 pm)
I too am skeptical about CVTs. I personally know someone with a FWD Jeep Patriot that had to have the CVT replaced twice. Once 60K (on Jeep's dime) & then again 120K (on his dime).
 
That being said, the fact that Honda (from what I've read) seems to have gotten it right gives the technology itself a lot of credit in my eyes (YMMV).

#17421 of 18228 Re: Actual 2013 Nissan Altima CVT video..... [m6user] by backy

Jan 29, 2013 (5:46 am)

Replying to: m6user (Jan 28, 2013 9:53 pm)
Depending on conditions (weather, traffic, amount of passing etc.) I can also. So 31 does seem at the low end. I could make my car get much less than the EPA rating at 70 if I tried.

#17422 of 18228 Re: Actual 2013 Nissan Altima CVT video..... [backy] by pegasus17

Jan 29, 2013 (10:33 am)

Replying to: backy (Jan 29, 2013 5:46 am)
IMO, 31 mpg at 70mph (2050 rpm, 6 speed) is quite good.
EPA hwy estimates are based on 48.3 mph over a complex testing spectrum
IIRC, difference in mpg from 50 to 70 mph is approximately 20%
details:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml
 
FWIW, my trip computer (2011 Sonata GLS) always overestimates fuel economy by about 2 mpg...

#17423 of 18228 Re: Actual 2013 Nissan Altima CVT video..... [pegasus17] by backy

Jan 29, 2013 (11:26 am)

Replying to: pegasus17 (Jan 29, 2013 10:33 am)
31 mpg at a constant 70 mph is pretty poor for a car rated at 35 mpg highway, IMO. As I stated, conditions could make it tough to get 35 mpg 70. But cruising down the highway at 70, one should be able to get the EPA highway rating or very close to it. And should be able to exceed the EPA highway rating cruising at 50-60 mph.
 
At least that has been my experience in every other car I've driven on the highway in the past 20 years or so.

Messages Page 1743 of 1824

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