Suzuki examining cvt alternatives

coref1 · Fri Aug 29, 2014 11:48 pm

Doing some surfing and came across this article from December 2013.

http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/suzu ... 2ymwx.html

I don't think it has been posted before

murcod · Sat Aug 30, 2014 3:02 am

Nice find.

What hope is there for Suzuki Australia if this guy is in charge?

Suzuki's Australian managing director, Tony Devers, says most buyers do not look at technical elements of a car and instead purchase something to get them from A to B.

"Most people who buy cars, they aren't car experts," Devers says.

"They get in the car and they drive it.

"Some people will ask what's that noise, what's that movement, why is there a lag, but the majority of people just accept it as it is and it becomes a normal part of their driving regime."

He should be employed at Toyota.

coref1 · Sat Aug 30, 2014 4:58 am

Yeah Murcod, so true. What planet is this bloke on? I bought a Suzuki because I didn't just want transport from a to b.

Maybe I'll make this a new mission to write to him and go wakey wakey.

Sun Aug 31, 2014 5:17 am

It would be nice if Suzuki moved away from CVTs. I think I may have posted on this some time ago, but Audi is moving away from CVTs and looking to DCTs as their automatics.

I just think CVTs were something implemented more for automakers to meet fuel economy standards. They trumpet characteristics like smooth shifting and better fuel economy, but I just think they aren't suitable in cars bigger than a little compact.

Given the number of issues CVTs have brought across different brands, I think these transmissions need to disappear from cars weighing more than 2700 lbs. They are parasites to performance and don't really belong in a car like the Kizashi which Suzuki claims is a "sports sedan".

Kelevra · Wed Sep 17, 2014 4:35 am

I don't get all the anti-cvt sentiment.
If your car only has the cvt and no paddle shifters, then I understand.
My SLS with the paddles works great!

Most all Nissan cars have a CVT, and they are among the top 3 car companies.

murcod · Wed Sep 17, 2014 6:26 am

Kelevra, I don't know how much reading you've done on here, a number of owners are having serious issues with their CVT's. Including total failures with the CVT being replaced (sometimes more than once!)

coref1 · Wed Sep 17, 2014 7:36 am

After two years and 32000 klms I'm mostly happy with the way the cvt performs however I am concerned about it's long term reliability. So far no problems however I bought the Kizashi partly because of Suzuki's reputation for reliability so I am disappointed that I have to drive it around wondering whether the transmission is about to fail.
Having said that even traditional autos have problems sometimes as well. My niece has a 2003 Mazda 323 auto with about 150000 klms on it which has recently developed a problem with it's tranny. My niece bought this car second hand however it is in good condition and has a good service history. I can't find any evidence of tranny problems with this model car so I guess sometimes it's a matter of luck.

murcod · Wed Sep 17, 2014 9:37 am

coref1 wrote: Having said that even traditional autos have problems sometimes as well. My niece has a 2003 Mazda 323 auto with about 150000 klms on it which has recently developed a problem with it's tranny. My niece bought this car second hand however it is in good condition and has a good service history. I can't find any evidence of tranny problems with this model car so I guess sometimes it's a matter of luck.

Secondhand and 11yrs old/ 150000km.... I wonder what Jatco's CVT track record will be in vehicles around that age?

PS: Has the auto trans ever had the fluid changed or been serviced? Stuff like that is often overlooked in vehicle services until there's a problem.

Woodie · Wed Sep 17, 2014 10:54 am

Kelevra wrote:I don't get all the anti-cvt sentiment.
If your car only has the cvt and no paddle shifters, then I understand.
My SLS with the paddles works great!

You should try a manual. More power, better mileage, lighter, more reliable, better control over the car.

Wed Sep 17, 2014 1:37 pm

Kelevra wrote:I don't get all the anti-cvt sentiment.
If your car only has the cvt and no paddle shifters, then I understand.
My SLS with the paddles works great!

Most all Nissan cars have a CVT, and they are among the top 3 car companies.

From what I've read, the paddle shifters make a huge difference. However, I'm still not convinced they rival a real manual transmission in terms of performance.
I recall reading one professional automotive reviewer who test drove both the CVT and the MT Kizashi. He described the difference in the driving performance as the MT feeling like it had 50 more horsepower. That's a huge difference. I wouldn't call it preposterous given the MT Kizashi has a 0 to 60 time about 1.5 to 2 seconds faster than an AWD CVT model. That's also a huge difference.

Regarding Nissan: Yes, they are a major automaker and they've implemented the use of CVTs more than anyone. They also happen to have some of the worst problems with CVTs. Some cars like the Nissan Pathfinder are well-known as problematic cars entirely due to their CVTs. However, Nissan does not put CVTs in performance-oriented or heavy duty vehicles.
Nissan's CVT supplier JATCO is also the one who makes the CVT for the Kizashi. It's a bit concerning when JATCO has one of the worst reputations for CVTs in the industry.

Subaru, Toyota, and Honda all have their own CVTs and each are considerably better than JATCO CVTs.