There are plenty of Japanese vehicles in SL equipped with CVT and still running smoothly at 10+ old situations. Future of the automobiles are based on CVT transmission due to strict carbon tax.
Maintanance wise CVT is behind by the cost of oil change and parts. But it will gradually replace the existing conventional auto transmission in near future.
It's just what had happen when converting the manual car to the auto car. these days all the new cars are come with automatic instead of manual. if we want a manual we had to request it with optimizations.
In the otherhand CVT has very smooth operation and it does very well in the trafic. Normal auto is just like a riding a manual in the regard of smoothness.
You need to visit Nilwala Motors sometime

Check how many low-mileage JDM Toyota CVTs are being repaired/replaced every day there. Ever wondered why Honda FIT aria 7-speed CVT transmission equipped cars have such a low second-hand market value?
Future of the automobiles is NOT based
solely on CVT, check out Mazda's patented conventional auto transmission. Check out what DCT is. Yes, CVT is smooth and saves fuel etc etc but reliability-wise it has a long way to catch up to conventional auto (which I think it will someday - but that day is not today) and let's not forget the fact it is plain boring to drive - but for the average consumer that is not much of a concern, reliability, however, is - at-least in Sri Lanka.
If you're buying a used vehicle in Sri Lanka, 90% of the time there is no way
for you to know if it has been maintained properly. CVT transmissions are VERY sensitive to maintenance, unlike conventional autos - employees of Toyota Lanka themselves weren't sure which hole to pour new CVT fluid in - (member marquis shared an article on this matter) that says a lot about how CVTs are being maintained in SL innit?
So for the time being, conventional autos/manuals are the way to go if you intend to use the car more than 5 years without having to worry about the transmission. Go for CVT if the seller has complete maintenance records or you're buying the car unregistered/Brand new, or you're gonna sell the car anyways in about 3-5 years time or when you feel the transmission is not performing as well as it did before
