The CVT (constantly variable transmission) design is very effective for mileage but a real dog with regard to performance. The 6-speed automatic transmissions have been a great improvement over the older 4-speed designs. They are being replaced with 8, 9 & 10 speed designs. I drove an 8 speed in a Dodge Charger with Hemi last year which takes some getting accustomed to. (If you like a performance ride and a full sized car, you owe it to yourself to test drive one of these.) The shifter movement is different. This 8 speed is a German design that is also being used by BMW and a few others.

All of these take a little to get accustomed to, but do give better mileage while performance is decent almost like a manual transmission. The onboard computer has a slight hesitation. My 2012 Dodge Journey has a 6 speed automatic with 283 HP VVT V-6. If at 55 mph you pull out to pass and step on the accelerator nothing happens for a split second (it has to decide how far to shift down) then it kicks in and acceleration is good. As you pull in, you're doing about 80 mph. I found that if you step on it and then step on it more while it is thinking it seems to get confused and the hesitation is slightly longer yet before it kicks down a couple more gears before your head snaps back. Its rated 283 HP acts more like over 300 HP.

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