CVT vs 6-speed CVT vs 6-speed Automatic

batman47

I am lost with all this terminology used by car manufacturers. Could someone give some clarification on this, please.

CVT, I thought is a technology where theoretically there is an infinite number of gear changes.

biscuit_xls

CVT -- Stepless changes between lowest and highest drive ratios.

CVT 6-Speed -- Standard CVT with simulation of 6 gear changes. Some users like the feel of the car shifting, but it's really just a CVT.

6-Speed Automatic -- 6 physical fixed gear ratios, automatically selected by the transmission.

rubyred83

CVT 6-speed will have an infinite number of ratios (in theory) but will allow you to select distinct ratios for pretend manual shifting and hill-holding on long descents. They are most useful for the engine-braking feature on long descents; I've never seen anyone out-shift the tranny's computer during rapid acceleration.