[varunsangal]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

I am just not able to enjoy the CVT no matter how much I try to like the car. The car is fantastic, no two doubts about it, but just not a drivers car.

I have had a City CVT for 12+ years/1 lakh kms (the dolphin model). The car is an absolute pleasure to drive if you decide to not hurry from point A to B. Also, painless in traffic.

As suggested by many others here, try to use gentle acceleration and let the revs build. You take longer to get there but the top speed is not off by much. I have done some crazy speeds on the old CVT on straight roads, beating manual Citys as they wasted time shifting gears (they might not have been top notch drivers though ).

Another suggestion, mechanical this time, given 43k on odo and given Mumbai, the CVT fluid would be stuck/sluggish, replace the CVT fluid, or take the car out to the expressway and let it build up some good speeds. The CVT is a lot more responsive once it has had a chance to stretch its legs.

The last suggestion, if you live only by high revs, sell the car. CVT will really bore you to death.

PS: PM me if you want to sell, I know someone who is in the market looking for a CVT.

[jetsetgo08]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

Hi Guys,

Now I have two options -

1. Live with the car to absorb the depreciation hit for about 2 years.
2. Sell the car ASAP and buy something I like

Any view guys?

If I am not wrong, you got the car for a decent price. I am pretty sure the depreciation hit will not be more than 10%(worst case), which is very much lesser than a new car. The City is a boringly reliable car, which is why many prefer it over European automatics.

Statutory warning, if you have the money, time, patience and energy to grease your palms and are ready to take up a challenge, I would suggest Laura/Jetta/Superb 2.0 Tdi DSG. You will get high mileage but well maintained pieces for cheap(~5L in mumbai).

[acidkill]

As a past vw owner, all I will say is Stick to your honda city cvt and learn to play the s mode and the paddle shift. If you feel the steering is light, up size the tyres.

I have a Honda city CVT and trust me the car has a better feel with 205 tyres

[Altocumulus]

Why don't you install a Pedal Tune to it. It would give you a better throttle response (some say placebo but I doubt a human can replicate electronics 100% every single time) and it works well with Autos.

[bhp_maniac]

It may not be a straightforward Yes / No. If you absolutely require an automatic, I would suggest stick to it and give it some time. Am sure you'll get the knack of living with a CVT in a couple of months time. The key to driving a CVT is to be gentle with the throttle input. For sure, it will never be an enthusiast car, however your hatred for it will fade soon once you start enjoying the characteristics of it. If you hate driving it even after a couple of months, then don't hesitate selling it off and start hunting for a car of your choice. All the best

[Guna]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Having four Hondas in the family incl two ATs (Civic & Brio) what I will say is that Honda's are not exciting but very reliable to run. The ATs (both old 5 speed) have a lag, which may be manifesting itself in the CVT as well, as a Honda trait. I will say, get used to it,

In CVT, the problem is different(rubber band effect).
When you push the accelerator hard, 2 things happen simultaneously

1. Engine revs raising
2. Gearbox (somewhat gradually) shifting down to a lower point through continuous ratios

Result is, there is no significant rise in the vehicle speed (it gets nullified), even-though the engine is revs are climbing
Once the gear is reaches the required torque point, subsequent acceleration should result in the vehicle gaining speed.
Even-though, I haven't driven CVTs, I can imagine the frustration.

I had read that the CVT on the current Honda city also has a small Torque Converter to minimize the rubber band effect.

[deetjohn]

Sell the City. And get a Fiesta DCT from the used car market.

Sure, the engine + gearbox is not the last word in performance even though the spec sounds wonderful on paper. But the rest of package more than makes up for it. Not many cars will come close to the Fiesta if you count the kilometers in similes per hour.

Besides, it is tremendous value in the used car market. You should be able to sell the City, get the Fiesta in Titanium trim and still pocket some cash. On the flip side, getting a good car will be tough since it hasn't sold that well in the first place. And owners too will not be willing to part with the cars that are kept well.

The Ford is easy on the upkeep, reasonably practical and the DCT got a 10 year warranty. Its a no-brainer. A close friend of mine picked one up a few months back and he couldn't be more happy.

Let us know!

[littlebrother]

The Honda City cvt is one of the better options amongst petrol automatics available in the market. The rubber band effect is not very prominent and it offers good performance but you just don't notice it. There's actually no feel of thrust or push back or torque feel at all. And there's no use flooring A pedal too. You need to build up the pace smoothly with part throttles waiting for the car to respond along with your pedal inputs. We have an ameo diesel dsgs, city cvt, Volvo s60 D5 and BMW e90 320d. You can see all the other cars except city have the torque and seat push back effect . But mind you it's cvt that responds without any initial lag to your A input. You don't realise since it's just butter smooth. The point is with city u can drive brisk . And really rev it with S mode and 7 step ratios . That is fun but it's very audible and puts a hole to your fuel tank. It can be used when you really need it. And it still remains too flat and linear and not torquey.
I would suggest to give some more time, see if you can work around with that tranny and if you are still not happy change to a driver friendly automatic soon. Used Jettas and Octavias seems a good choice for you.


Just for your reference on the top end punch of Honda City cvt.

https://youtu.be/f-XNo2GugxU

[2000rpm]

Originally Posted by bhp_maniac

It may not be a straightforward Yes / No. If you absolutely require an automatic, I would suggest stick to it and give it some time. Am sure you'll get the knack of living with a CVT in a couple of months time. The key to driving a CVT is to be gentle with the throttle input.

I am in a worse off situation now!

Now I still dont like CVT but have gotten used to the comfort of the automatic. I keep trying to drive other manuals like the Scross, Wagon-R, Swift, etc, and realize the pain of driving a manual.

I am in no mans territory right now

[bhp_maniac]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

Now I still dont like CVT but have gotten used to the comfort of the automatic. I keep trying to drive other manuals like the Scross, Wagon-R, Swift, etc, and realize the pain of driving a manual.

Whenever you have some time to kill and ample appetite for a test drive, do try out some of the dual clutch options. It strikes a good balance between the performance of a manual and the comfort of an automatic. Yes, there are reliability concerns about the DSG's and DCT's out there, but once you're exposed to the lightning fast shifts, there's no going back.

[imidnightmare]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

I am in a worse off situation now!

Now I still dont like CVT but have gotten used to the comfort of the automatic. I keep trying to drive other manuals like the Scross, Wagon-R, Swift, etc, and realize the pain of driving a manual.

I am in no mans territory right now

I know the feeling. Similar issue. Looking for a C2 kind of sedan and definitely need an AT, but am stuck. Have an Octavia and the DSG is something I can't praise enough. It's lightning quick and having used AT cars for years, I value AT more than most. That said, I can't stand a CVT. And even if I was to get myself to go for it, my wife wouldn't allow it. But the only decent AT I can see is the Vento 1.2 and VW service is a risk I'm unsure I want to take (since I already own a Skoda and a Tata...)

In Goa a few months ago, had a Jazz CVT on hire. The wife was driving and then floored it to pass a car. There was just no response at all and she almost had an accident - scared her off it so badly she refuses to contemplate a CVT any more. I was able to handle it a lot better, but frankly even the TC on my Brio gives me a far better feeling than the CVT on the City. Maybe it's just me, but that's how I see things.

Others have mentioned this - but if you're looking at a pre-worshipped car within a budget, evaluate something with a DSG. It is so much better for driving feel! My experience with Skoda so far has been quite good to be honest and if you can get a good deal, it's the sort of vehicle that will allow you to genuinely enjoy driving. Regardless of what people say, to me, CVT is something that I could only go for if someone forced me to compromise and fine a "workaround" just to have a Honda City with a sunroof (my opinion, please don't fry me for this).

[imidnightmare]

Originally Posted by littlebrother

Just for your reference on the top end punch of Honda City cvt.

Hmmm... From the sound of it, very noisy (felt this on the Jazz too), definitely not a real driver's feeling and (most importantly), sounds like the issue with reference to the light steering remains. One of my major cribs about my City (2010 model, but still), is the fact that the steering quality is just not what I'd like at high speeds. Too lightweight and the feedback is astonishingly poor.

If you have a new(er) City, how is it at high speed in crosswinds? I live in Mumbai and on the sea-link in the monsoons, my City can be a nightmare if there's a strong crosswind.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

I am in a worse off situation now!

Now I still dont like CVT but have gotten used to the comfort of the automatic. I keep trying to drive other manuals like the Scross, Wagon-R, Swift, etc, and realize the pain of driving a manual.

I am in no mans territory right now

Probably worth checking if you can get a Pre-Owned Vento TSI. The Honda will have a good resale value and a VW car will in general have a poor resale value. So you might get a good deal.

You can get up to 7 years warranty on VW cars. So that should help safe guard against DSG worries.

[Durango Dude]

One mans pain is another mans pleasure, I beg to differ, City CVT is best automatic I've driven, you just need to caress the gas pedal (not floor it like in a manual) to make brisk progress, when you floor it then you'd encounter the famous 'rubber band". I use D only, it's compact dimensions, power and a well matched CVT gear box, makes it an absolute pleasure to pilot in traffic. Added pluses are the seat comfort, space, boot capacity and fuel efficiency.

[H_Dogg72]

Can it.
Mami has Jazz CVT. friend had same city CVT. Laggard of a gearbox. Even driven cousins baleno cvt. They are all bleh.

Go for a DSG. Vento or Polo TSI. Nothing beats TSI and DSG. Go for 1.8 octy if you can.
I will not suggest 1.5 TDI DSG (I own both polo DSG and ameo dsg) it has annoying noise and lag but it's faster than TSI.

Torque converter is also flop. Dad's creta has it (petrol) lazy lazy car.
For those saying live with it, life's too short to drive boring cars.

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

I am in a worse off situation now!

Now I still dont like CVT but have gotten used to the comfort of the automatic. I keep trying to drive other manuals like the Scross, Wagon-R, Swift, etc, and realize the pain of driving a manual.

I am in no mans territory right now

Personally my family and I refuse to drive manuals now. It's been 4+years since I started the trend with my polo and got a question "isn't auto for people who don't know how to drive"from mum. That is till they tried it and we ended up selling our manual cars for autos. Luckily 2 dsg and only 1 TQ.
It is too much of a hassle. The one free hand and leg thingy sold me. Also even if I have to choose between manual or sad CVT/TQ I will still go with auto.