With ever-increasing pressure to conserve fuel without sacrificing performance, car makers began in earnest about 10 years ago exploring the continuously variable transmission, or CVT. These automatic transmissions differ in several important ways from other automatic transmissions, such as the traditional type with a torque converter and the dual-clutch automatics, which have become more popular in recent years.

A CVT offers several advantages over manual and other automatic transmissions. As you likely know, engines tend to have certain areas within their usable rev ranges that offer the greatest power and/or efficiency. A CVT, with an infinite number of effective gearings, can better exploit the effective power output of an engine than any other transmission choice. The CVT can keep adjusting the gearing to take advantage of the engines’ optimal torque, and the car continues to go faster as the engine remains at the same RPM.

People new to CVTs have described the feeling of driving these vehicles as driving a car with a standard transmission and a slipping clutch, but this is a complaint seldom voiced anymore. CVTs have become more common so drivers are becoming used to their unique feel, and CVTs have also become better tuned and more responsive - and some are even tuned to feel like a conventional automatic (albeit one with a greater span of effective ratios).

A CVT's main advantage is that it can extend the number of ratios to a far greater level than would be attainable in a conventional automatic, meaning very low ratios can be had for high torque, low speed applications (think clawing up a steep, icy, hill) and very high ratios, for relaxed highway cruising at very low RPMs, saving fuel. Other advantages include relative mechanical simplicity, and even more important, they provide space and weight savings, which help add additional interior room and fuel economy, respectively.

CVTs are being employed in more and more applications, but they seem to be making their biggest impact with hybrid models, subcompact, compact, and midsized vehicles. They are well suited to these applications as they’re typically not used for heavy towing (we’ve yet to see CVTs in heavy duty applications), and the inherent smoothness and fuel savings make them a clear match.

While the feel and sound of a CVT may be different from what you may be used to, it’s also possible that you’ve already driven one and not even realized it. As CVTs continue to evolve and find greater market share, their popularity is only increasing. Ask a 3 Birds Marketing sales associate for an opinion next time you’re thinking of a buying a new or pre-owned car. It’s quite possible you’ll find that a CVT is the perfect fit for you.