Ford is reportedly taking another look at continuously variable transmissions, or CVTs, as it’s recognizing the advances made in the area, amely improved fuel economy and smoothness.
Automotive News reminds us that the automaker’s US market Fiesta is still lacking an automatic option for the 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine, despite the fact that fewer than just 5 percent of all cars sold in North America come with a manual.
Raj Nair, Ford’s global product development chief said “we’ve had some experience with CVTs and it wasn’t all good. They are getting better. And we are taking another look, particularly in the low torque applications. There may be some [potential] there.”
Ford hasn’t offered a CVT in a non-hybrid model since it phased out the Five Hundred and Mercury Montego, in 2007, however, now that this type of transmission is gaining popularity and getting better, they will be forced to reconsider.
If you aren’t familiar with how CVTs work, do check out the video posted after the virtual jump – it may be from Subaru, but the tech is the same and it also goes into a bit of history.