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Dear advisor,

For new small cars with CVTs, what are:

the advantages?
the disadvantages?
the maintenance needs and schedules? Eg. CVT belts need changing etc.

How would such CVTs compare with usual 4 or 5 speed autos in terms of how long / kms well maintained transmissions should last?

Cheers,
Leo

Hi Leo,
The main advantage of CVT is that if the car is driven gently, the engine is always in the correct rev range so there can be improvements in fuel economy.
The main disadvantage is that a driver who accelerates hard will find there's lots of slip and flare, so fuel economy can be worse. Also, enthusiastic drivers tend to have a dislike for the slip, prefering transmissions that lock-up such as DCT type transmissions which give more feel of control over engine speed vs road speed.
Maintenance varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, but it is vitally important that the recommended fluid is used. There is no belt change though.
As a generalisation, manufacturers are telling us that any bugs with older generation CVTs have been ironed out and the new generation used by most Japanese manufacturers since around 2011ish will last as well as any traditional auto, which should last well beyond 150,000km/200,000km or more. However, the jury is still out until these cars reach that kind of mileage.
The downside of the traditional 4 speed autos is that they're not that great for fuel economy, but they do seem to last well.

Many thanks Andrew, for sharing your valuable knowledge so clearly :)

Cheers.

Leo