Proton announces upcoming introduction of CVT models
Proton’s Campro family of engines are known for many things, but fuel economy isn’t among their list of virtues. That situation may be improved soon, as Proton released a statement today announcing the introduction of Continuously Variable Transmissions (CVT) in their upcoming range of cars.
“We have been conducting comprehensive development and integration tests of the CVT with our Campro engines and we are happy to be able to provide this option to future buyers soon,” said Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, Group Managing Director of Proton Holdings Berhad.
The Malaysian market was first introduced to CVT technology in 2003 by the previous generation Honda City. Although Honda has since backtracked to a conventional 5-speed auto in the current City, it has paved the way for more models to enter our market with this type of transmission. Nissan is currently the biggest champions of the technology, while Proton has also offered CVT in its line-up for the first time in the Inspira, which is available with either a 5-speed manual or Mitsubishi’s INVECS-III CVT.
Noted for exceptional fuel economy, CVTs are nevertheless not very popular among enthusiasts due to the way they operate. Typical CVT programming usually has the engine spinning at its optimum RPM, while the vehicle speed builds up as the transmission gradually reduces its ratio. There is no step sensation that motorists have grown accustomed to in torque converter or dual clutch transmissions, and this is not to everyone’s taste.
Traditional opinion is that conventional manual transmissions still offer the best in fuel economy, but this is no longer quite true. For the Inspira, Proton quotes rated fuel consumption of the 1.8 manual version at 6.3 litres/100km, identical to the 2.0 CVT. The 1.8 CVT, meanwhile, registers a lower 6.2 litres/100km.
“In the near future, CVT will be mated to our Campro engines as an option to our range of cars along with the conventional four speed automatic gear transmission that is currently being used,” Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal said.
Proton has been performing extensive tests on CVTs before making this announcement, and according to Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal, their data suggests reduction of fuel consumption by up to 4% in urban driving and almost up to 10% for highway driving. Carbon dioxide emissions has also been reduced by 5%. It was not made clear if these figures were measured against manual or automatic transmission, but we suspect the latter.
