The 1996 Honda Civic Was The Largest And Most Powerful Car To Come With A CVT, And It Was Quicker Than The Automatic

Car enthusiasts already dislike traditional automatic transmissions because they create a less-involving driving experience than manual transmissions, but one transmission that gets even more hate than the traditional-shifting automatic is the continuously variable transmission, or the CVT. Once an innovative and novel new way to get power from an engine to the drive wheels as smoothly and efficiently as possible, the CVT has become the subject of ire for virtually every automotive enthusiast who reviews cars now saddled with the offensive transmissions. Now, more cars than ever have CVTs, and they continue to draw criticism.

However, 30 years ago, the CVT was still a burgeoning alternative to the then-commonplace four-speed automatic transmission. It had at least a little bit of potential. Honda released its first CVT in 1996, under the hood of the Civic HX, and at the time, it was the largest and most powerful car on the U.S. market to ever sport the gearless transmission. In Car and Driver's testing, the CVT enabled a one-second-quicker 0-to-60 time than the automatic-equipped Civic.

The Civic's CVT had three forward "gears" or drive modes that drivers could select: Drive, Sport, or Low. When in Drive, the computer selected the most fuel-efficient ratio, but it never let the engine go above 5,900 rpm. When the transmission was in Sport, the computer let the engine rev higher, up to 6,600 rpm, and it also allowed for greater engine braking — probably a big part of why it made the sprint to 60 mph to much quicker. Low gear maintained even shorter gearing and maximized engine braking for steep hills.

The Civic HX CVT ran its fastest 0-to-60 time with the transmission in Sport mode, where it accomplished the sprint in 9.4 seconds. In D, it took 10.2 seconds, compared to the four-speed automatic-equipped Civic LX, which took 10.5 seconds to go from 0-to-60. On top of being impressed with the acceleration results, the C&D reviewers loved the CVT-equipped Civic's responsiveness around town, and on the freeway, where it revved to just 3,000 rpm at 80 mph.

Even in 1996, the folks who evaluated this pair of Civics still preferred a manual transmission to either of the other transmission options, but of the two automatics, it seems like they preferred the CVT. The article, published in the February 1996 issue of C&D, does a great job of explaining the mechanics of a CVT, so if you're interested in learning about that, check it out.