Some Subaru vehicles have a CVT or Continuous Variable Transmission. What does that mean, and why is it so great?
With the average automatic transmission, your engine's gear is determined by the RPM's or rotations per minute, not by what's most efficient for the vehicle. A manual transmission depends on the skill of the driver. The old thinking was that an automatic transmission was less efficient than a skillfully-used manual, though leaps and bounds have been made in automotive technology in recent years.
Subaru's CVT system takes the guesswork out of driving a manual efficiently and offers optimal efficiency for both manual and automatic drivers, all in the same car.
In 2007, F1 racing banned the CVT. Why? The fear was that race teams that could spend money researching and developing a better CVT system would be unbeatable because their cars wouldn't have to stop for fuel as often. So why not consider something that was considered too much of an advantage in professional racing for your own vehicle? CVT's work by using two hydraulic pulleys that widen and narrow depending on the "gear" but without steps.
For instance, in a regular 6 speed, there are only 6 gears to your engine. But without steps, there are an unlimited number of positions the CVT can be in while running. This means that you can be in a position that would normally be between gears-you'll get better performance and better mileage. It's the reason Subarus get great mileage with all wheel drive systems., the bane of many other car manufacturers.
The Lineartronic system that is in all Subaru CVT systems is made with extremely durable pulleys and a metal chain belt, meaning less maintenance than other CVT systems on the market. As well, it's the quietest on the market. But on top of that, in all Subaru CVT vehicles, you can drive both manual and automatic, without even having to change a setting. If you decide to drive automatic, the vehicle will change positions when necessary but if you decide to drive in manual, you can choose when to change positions by using the flappy paddle gearbox changers on the steering wheel-a feature that you'll find on very high-end luxury cars.
If you'd like to see how a CVT system feels, come and text drive one our many vehicles with a CVT system.
Categories:
News
