It’s no secret that many of us tend to interchange the concept of the regular automatic transmission with the now en vogue Continuously Variable Transmission. Take the case of the Toyota Vios, which is equipped with a CVT. Yet many people simply say that it is an automatic.
While there isn’t anything wrong with this, Toyota Motor Philippines wants to let more people in on why it chose this type of gearbox over the regular AT. More specifically, a CVT has a few benefits that give it an edge over an AT. What are these, you ask?
- It uses a belt and pulley rather than gears and cogs. What this means to the everyday driver is a smoother drive, especially in traffic. Since there are no gears to change, things like shift shock are practically nonexistent. This is especially beneficial in traffic and when accelerating.
- It’s more fuel efficient. Again, no gearswapping that can sap the life (or power) out of the engine. This in turn helps keep the mill at its most optimum operating capacity. And any car nut knows that this translates to improved fuel economy in any driving condition.
- This CVT has a plus: In this case, Toyota threw in a manual mode and a set of steering wheelmounted paddle shifters. This allows more enthusiastic drivers to swap cogs themselves—albeit virtually. And these aren’t gears, as mentioned above. What they are are simulated “gears” that give one that “manual driving” sensation—minus the clutch pedal.
Yes, the Toyota Vios, despite being a subcompact, does give its drivers smooth, fuel-efficient driving with a hint of driver involvement to boot. Get to know the Vios, such as the value-for-money XE variant that goes for P735,000, at your nearest Toyota dealer.
