A lot of car enthusiasts hate continuously variable transmissions because they’re bad to drive. (Here’s a full list of cars with CVTs, if you’re curious.) Even in a car where driving enjoyment isn’t as high as fuel economy on the design brief, the sensation of matting the throttle, listening to the engine rev, and then accelerating much more slowly than you’d expect is a bummer. Some automakers and suppliers build them better than others, and they do have their advantages, but they can be very finicky and costly to repair.
The VW repair guys at Deutsche Auto Parts recently pulled a CVT out of a B8 Audi A4 to tear it down and explain why they hate it so much. It’s a fascinating solution to the power transmission problem, even with its many shortcomings and it’s cool to see it pulled apart.