How is the CVT w/maual mode compared to the coupes stick shift?

[ribby11]

i am up in the on wheather or not i want to altima coupe's 6 speed maual Vs. the CVT transmition w/manual mode. i drive an 06' altima 3.5....5 speed and love it... i heard mixed reviews about the way the clutch grabs and figured if it had a manual mode, that could be fun.. also noticed many times in traffic wishing i had an automatic trans.. im new to the forum and have had 3 altima's (97, 02, 06)... found this forum and finally stopped reading for a sec..

would be great to hear what u guys think..

[johnny_d]

why not test drive both?

[ribby11]

i would, but the dealership im looking at only has the CVT's. plus im pressed for time and am looking to buy in a week tops.. test drove the 3.5 se cvt and it was nice. didnt really test out the manual mode either.. wasnt really interested in the manual mode at the time.. wanted to feel the cvt and like i said, it felt nice...

[Hussain]

well, when i first got my license i was driving my mom's 2005 2.5S Nisan Altima 5 speed. i loved it! i loved stick shift. she traded it in for a maxima the same time i went to buy my Altima Coupe. i told them i wanted a silver 6 speed Altima coupe and they said the only 3.5SE they had was CVT dark slate 3.5SE... CVT is nice in traffic. it's one of those thing like "look at me, i have the latest technology" it's really smooth and is fast, it's nice... but we both know that if you want something really fast AND FUN TO DRIVE, no auto will do against manual (except DSG). if you live where there is a lot of traffic, CVT is pretty good and it CAN take Turbo and can be fast. but if you dont have a lot of traffic around you and want something fun, stick shift all the way...... don't get me wrong, CVT is nice but, manual is more fun

[ribby11]

yea, ive been driving stick again when i went from the 97 altima to the 02 4cly 5 speed... then in 06 i had to get the 3.5S... 5 speed... alot of fun, especially since i went from the smaller engine... i live in jersey about 10 mins from the city and traffic can be a *****!!! i guess im worried about really missing a stick... i hear the fuel economy can be better with the CVT... but if we're only talking a couple miles?

[Hussain]

lol ya, sometimes i miss stick shift but CVT is really smooth and with the 3.5SE you still have plenty of power.... i still beat most cars i come across. you could play with the manual mode but it doesnt shift like a stick shift and doesnt throw you back in your seat like stick shift does.... unless you plan on turbo or supercharger, CVT could handle it and with that sorta power, you would definitely feel it throw you in your seat in manual mode...... considering the traffic, i'd probably go with CVT

[ribby11]

cool, were you able to test drive the 6 speed? how is the clutch..

[shift_mikey]

.....and it CAN take Turbo.....

.....unless you plan on turbo or supercharger, CVT could handle it and with that sorta power.....

Links? dyno charts? reliability claims? pictures?

Unless YOUR CVT is TURBO or have proof that the Altima Coupe xtronic CVT will handle a 30+% increase in torque and horsepower for extended periods of time, then i'll eat my words

[cuzzbubba420]

[cliffy21]

I personally think the CVT manual mode is dumb. My dealer didn't have any manuals on the lot, so i drove a few CVT's and played with the manual mode. I just didn't like it. I ended up ordering the stick and hoping i like it. If you really like manuals, i don't think the CVT manual will make you happy. Of course, where i live traffic is no big deal, so the down sides of a manual are pretty small for me. I thought the CVT was pretty good as is, and the manual mode was more gimmicky. Just my thoughts....

[Absolute Zero]

The dealerships in my area only had CVTs in the coupes as well and I wanted to make an informed decision, so I test drove the sedan (same engine and transmission) with the manual and I liked it, but my last car (of 3 years) was a manual and my next car (hopefully a G35) will be manual, so I wanted to alternate so I don't get tired of shifting.

(((how's that for a run-on sentance?lol)))