www.surf4 uick Se Review by David Donde earboxes seem to be the differentiating factor for the last few cars I have tested. I champion the new twin clutch gearboxes with their ease of the auto, instant gear changes and all the control of a manual 'box. Not the cheapest way to build a car but my favourite. Sequential manual gearboxes are best reserved for the mechanically insensitive, and traditional autoboxes inefficient. The manual was, until the advent of the twin clutch, the enthusiast driver's choice. Now not all cars are built or even intended for enthusiasts. Their place is transport and their purpose is convenience, ease of use and price. Enter the CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) and the object of my recent test, the Nissan CashCow, I mean Qashqai. The principle of the CVT is both extremely simple and mindbogglingly complex. G Two sets of pulleys infinitely vary their diameter, altering the gearing much like a bicycle changes gear ratio by which cogs the chain is stretched over. They generally do this by the sides of the pulleys being hydraulically squeezed together or separated forcing the drive-belt further from the centre or closer altering the gearing. CVT's were the exclusive domain of scooters and low torque vehicles until a decade or so when the technology advanced. Many modern “autos” are CVT's but until recently they were designed to run like autos with fake steps built in to feel more like an auto. I blame my brethren, the fellow motoring scribes, many who felt the real thing droned, as one would accelerate with the engine 8