CVT- Kizashi's Achilles Heel

[phaeton1]

Hi

I own a Kizashi over in the UK and have to say it is one of the most underrated cars in the market save for one thing which is it's achilles heel when fitted,namely, the CVT gearbox. It's not a marriage made in heaven that's for sure.

Overall, the car is superb with excellent handling, great interior and head turning looks( if only for the rarity value over here.). A lot of bang for your buck as you say over the pond.

But the CVT box is awful. It changes "up" too early so if you are light on the throttle, you feel the car is labouring. I end up clicking the downshift paddle time after time to overcome the problem. The kickdown response can be unsubtle on occasions where you want to give the car some "welly".

If it had a six speed manual box, it would be keeper but with the CVT box I am starting to dislike the car. Sad but true.

[coref1]

Your not alone with your opinion, probably the majority of owners with the cvt tranny feel the same way. After two years and 30000 klms I'm used to it, however my biggest concern now is with the cvt reliability or possible lack thereof.

[murcod]

But the CVT box is awful. It changes "up" too early so if you are light on the throttle, you feel the car is labouring.

Yesterday was driving next to a Nissan Dualis CVT (Quashqai in other markets?) and was listening to hear how the CVT was behaving. It sounded exactly like you describe- with it changing up at the earliest opportunity and the engine labouring. No doubt programmed that way to gain the best fuel economy figures.

I wonder if a market will open up for CVT reprogramming, much like you can get for engine ECU's? Someone smart enough should be able to make them into a decent thing to drive?

[Knightstruth]

I have no problem with the kiz's cvt, I think it works well with the car. Compared to some conventional autos I have had it merges on the interstate a lot better. Even the 2012 legacy I drove (which felt like it had no oomph) merging onto the interstate felt better than the e46 BMW I had.

I also like how it goes up hills and does not feel like it is laboring which quite a few 4 cylinder cars with conventional automatics feel like.

[bootymac]

Also no complaints about my CVT, but the issues you're describing were common complaints for the early model years. I wonder if there was a software update since then?

Mine does gear up to sixth "gear" quickly but accelerating from a stop isn't laggy. I like that the engine is quieter and more fuel efficient at the lower RPMs. When I do step on the gas, the CVT gears down quickly enough.

[Speed_Racer]

I've never driven a CVT-equipped car and left feeling satisfied.

[bootymac]

I've never driven a CVT-equipped car and left feeling satisfied.

Me neither, until I drove my Kizashi. I'm a die-hard manual guy too

[Speed_Racer]

I've never driven a CVT-equipped car and left feeling satisfied.

Me neither, until I drove my Kizashi. I'm a die-hard manual guy too

Very interesting! I hate the CVT on my parent's SX4. I test drove a Kizashi with CVT the week before I purchased my 6MT and found it about the same - sluggish, noisy, and more vibrations than in the manual. It may have just been the example I drove, though.

[WESHOOT2]

I've learned to 'compensate' for the CVT by simply mashing the gas pedal; tranny then works just fine

Current mileage = 131,697.

[KuroNekko]

What I don't get is why Suzuki opted to only offer a CVT Kizashi in the UK. Europeans are known to favor manuals so I'm not sure what the logic was behind that. I understand for places like Japan (all Kizashis are CVT there) and even the US (a number of Kizashi rivals are only auto), but I think that was the wrong move on Suzuki's part for the UK.