Best Automatic Transmissions for City Driving and Reliability: Top Choices for Urban Use

Hello colleagues, what kind of automatic transmissions work best in the city and are the least emergency? The box is supposed to endure everyday driving in the city traffic jams at traffic lights for short distances.

Toyota Prius cvt
http://www.jatco.co.jp/ENGLISH/monozukuri/introduction/cvt.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=QqTWY0lbT1A

Old automatics with hydrokinetic clutch are the best, old Mercedes are, for example, inaccessible - only mechanical-hydraulic ones. Besides, I had a few years old Mercedes A140 (2003) with a 5-speed automatic, a very pleasant car to drive.

Of the newer ones, Renault's DPO design is quite successful. It is a 4-speed automatic with a clutch bypassing the torque converter. This design is used in many car brands. And it is really frugal, the previous scenic (1999) with a 1.6 petrol engine consumed very reasonable amounts of fuel. The current GrandScenic with the 2.0 petrol engine (134 hp) consumes a bit more, but weighs almost 1,700 kilos.
Just a note, this gearbox does not like to be overloaded, therefore it is not fastened with diesels which are characterized by greater torque.

Also interesting are the Nissan constructions with a continuously variable transmission - there the drive is transmitted by means of a V-belt between the wheels changing the distance between their plates, which changes the rolling radius of the belts and, as a result, the gear ratio.
I managed to drive two vehicles with such a gearbox - an old Micra with a 1 or 1.1 engine (I don't remember) and a powerful Murano with a 3.5 liter V6. The Micra was very interesting to drive, because the noise of the engine said little about the speed of the vehicle and you had to constantly check the odometer. Murano had the option of "simulation of constant ratios" and also drove very interesting.

Current vehicles have either "pseudo-automatic" - that is, the classic transmission and clutch is operated by a computer using actuators. I drove a car like this once - it was an Opel Meriva, but it was unpleasant to drive. Later opinions of users and press articles indicated a high failure rate of this vehicle.

Currently, other types of gearboxes are produced - eg dual-clutch gearboxes; I used to rent a BMW 116 for a week and it was nice to drive it, except that it was a car with a mileage of 500 km - practically new, there were a lot of gears, probably 9. As for their durability - it's hard to say.

I don't know what your budget is, but for traffic jams in the city, a traditional planetary gearbox with a torque converter is the best. There is no friction in the clutch and it does not wear out like in other designs.

General rules:
- avoid a car with an automatic transmission in which there is/was a towbar;
- use the selector in the PRND range only when the car is stationary and with the brake pressed.
- in traffic jams, do not switch to N or P - it may save some fuel, but it wears out the brakes of the planetary gears - much more than during normal driving.

gbhkk wrote:

Hello colleagues, what kind of automatic transmissions work best in the city and are the least emergency? The box is supposed to endure everyday driving in the city traffic jams at traffic lights for short distances.

Do you want to buy a crate or a car? Give what class of car, what budget, etc. The best automatic gearbox is the one with low mileage and not tortured without the concept and basic knowledge of driving with an automatic machine.
In general, the best classic gearboxes have honda, bmw, and giants aisin / warner, jatco, ZF (used in many European brands that do not have their own designs like renault, psa, fiat, volvo, saab, rover), but there are no general rules. The most durable are the old structures from the USA, but outdated and uneconomical. It's different with the newer ones.
The more modern (classic) ones are delicate, they have more gears (driving economy) in smaller and smaller (lighter) housings. CVTs are good for small cars, but not without their flaws. Dual clutches were supposed to be so sensational, but they are not suitable for higher power and torque (more powerful diesels).
The weakest link is the owner of such a car and the service (which does not recommend changing the oil in e.g. classic automatic transmission !!!!).

sanfran wrote:

Renault under the name DPO

DP0 - zero at the end

andrzej lukaszewicz wrote:

The weakest link is the owner of such a car and the service (which does not recommend changing the oil in e.g. classic automatic transmission !!!!).

The service has a lot to talk about here. these are the MANUFACTURER's recommendations. and the factory service must adhere to them.

The recommendations are for you to buy a new car in 5 years, because the old one has worn out.
A good service can suggest to the vehicle owner about the dangers of not changing the oil in a very complicated and loaded mechanism.

sanfran wrote:

Of the newer ones, Renault's DPO design is quite successful. It is a 4-speed automatic with a clutch bypassing the torque converter. This design is used in many car brands. And it is really frugal, the previous scenic (1999) with a 1.6 petrol engine consumed very reasonable amounts of fuel. The current GrandScenic with the 2.0 petrol engine (134 hp) consumes a bit more, but weighs almost 1,700 kilos.
Just a note, this gearbox does not like to be overloaded, therefore it is not fastened with diesels which are characterized by greater torque.

DP0 / AL4 - neither new nor extremely durable - has a lot of faults like "this type has it". Designed for small cars, they put them in mid-range cars as well as the Evasion/807 van.

Only the perpetuum mobile chest is eternal. All others deteriorate. It's always a matter of time, mileage, service combined with operation.

Hello colleagues, I will buy a VW Jette A5 1.6 or a Peugeot 308 with a 1.6 VT engine and tell me how the VW 2.0 FSI engine and automatic gearbox work.
I realize that every crate has failures, but there are certainly models of crates that break down rarely.

In WV you will probably have DSG and in Peugeot DP0.

gbhkk wrote:

there are models of chests that break down rarely

If not the gearbox, the engine will kneel or the electronics Murphy's law. Buy a Honda.

Google the picture "Renault DP0" and see if it optically has the same shape. But if 4 gears, I rather bet on this construction.

gbhkk wrote:

Hello colleagues what kind of automatic transmissions work best in the city and are the least vulnerable? The box is supposed to endure everyday driving in the city traffic jams at traffic lights for short distances.

Look for a car with a classic torque converter. All new inventions are clearly much less durable.

IF it is DP0 it doesn't matter what car it was installed in.
What can I say - the first scenic (v1 ph2 from 1999) with DP0 and 1.6 engine didn't smoke much, but the gearbox was worn out, because I fell for a copy with a towbar. The gearbox was stupid - going into limp mode. Turning the ignition off and on helped. Mileage (rather authentic) when sold is 130,000 km (80,000 miles).
The second Scenic (v2 ph2 from 2008) was bought as a 3-year-old with a mileage of 40,000 km. As it was a 7-seater version coupled with a 2.0 engine, it smoked like a dragon - on the route at least 9l / 100, in the city on short trips it was even under 14l / 100 km. The gearbox jerked unpleasantly when changing 1-2 cold during the first two km of driving. Changing the oil didn't help, but it didn't hurt either. Traded in for a newer car as a 9 year old with 100,000 km (61,000 miles).
Now I drive a Honda Civic in a 5-speed automatic and it is heaven and earth, I must say.

More about these chests in the river topic:
https://www.elektroda.pl/rtvforum/topic1131509.html

Stifler_fun wrote:

Please let me know what automatic gearbox is connected to the 2.0 16V 139 HP K4M700 engine, Renault marking but Nissan BR0/1 engine.

Stifler_fun wrote:

I mean Renault Clio III

There is conflicting information here - if it is a Clio III 2.0 in the automatic machine, it is the M4R engine (nissan MR20DE) and not the K4M (1.6). Is that under the hood 1.6 and on the door markings 2.0
If it's CLIO III, then whether 2.0 or 1.6 is the same automatic gearbox - DP0.
BR01 is the CLIO technical type designation.