2018 Hyundai Ioniq PHEV First Drive | Edmunds

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  ezpickins Member Posts: 1

  December 2017 edited December 2017

  The Prius has had the " more exotic planetary gear arrangement" you lauded in the Volt since 2004, long before there were Volts. If I recall correctly I think Ford actually payed royalties to Toyota for the design until they came up with their own clean room design. WAY back in time, DAF had a rubber belt CVT for low power and tiny vehicles. Subaru took that design and improved it so it could handle larger cars with more power using a metal belt in between the two sets of cones. Nissan and probably others use that design as well. Not the Prius!!! The advantage of CVTs (planetary or otherwise) is that the engine is always at the correct RPM for the current conditions. A six speed auto is at optimal 6 times during acceleration to speed, one for each gear. You may have notice that automatic transmissions are sprouting more gears trying to achieve the same thing. I remember in the 50s three speed trannys were common, and some had two (Powerglide), or even one, using only the torque converter (Buick? Oldsmobile?). In those days gasoline went for $0.18 per gallon and nobody worried about gas mileage. Need more range? Get a bigger gas tank!

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  dandybydo Member Posts: 1

  December 2017

  Not mentioned here is the Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid with 47 miles all-electric range, a larger and more premium interior, and no conventional transmission, just a reduction gear and lockup clutch. Elegant and efficient.

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