I purchased a CVT model. As far as transmission, it is...Ok. Definitely better than the 2012 Nissan Altima I had as a beater but that isn't saying too much. I feel spoiled by my experience with a DSG when I had my Mk7 GTI. It was amazing, in most if not all aspects. The CVT. After putting about a thousand miles on it, driving in Sport mode, and setting the individual settings to Sport, it is still ok. I have found that the paddle shifters do a much better job with the simulated gear shifts and the "shifting" feels much tighter and more responsive. The thing that bothers me is a strange lull in what I would presume is 1st gear at about 3.5-4.5 rpm where the entire transmission seems confused when pressing on the gas pedal or it could of been a simulated upshift and lost its "balls". It just sort of hangs out and doesn't want to activate. The solution with my driving style is to use the paddle shifters, if I want to get somewhere a bit quicker. Overall, if I were just casually driving around town and had no where to be, it is fine. This is the tradeoff with a CVT v. manual. I simply do not want to bang gears around town regardless of how great and praise worthy the 6mt may be. If this vehicle (Integra as a whole) had a DSG style of transmission I suspect a lot more people would be driving them. They are smooth, accurate and faster than the ole 6mt 'regular" manuals.
Congrats on your new integra. Look forward to seeing what you do with it!
After driving a DCT Mk7 for years. It is noticeable. I feel a more refined integra with a detuned 2.0 and a DCT would be a killer combo. It would more or less be the same consideration as a GTI/Golf R. From everything that I have read, the L15 and cvt are definitely not great platform to push.
I'm with you on this mindset, actually. If you're getting a CVT, the Civic Hatchback Touring has some great features, and it's quite a bit less expensive (at MSRP) than the A-Spec + Tech Integra, which is where all of the best features come in.
