TFL Top 5: Established Automotive Trends Well Past Their Prime [Video]

Continuously variable transmissions, hybrids and other automotive features have something in common: they’re all trends that TFL feels are past their prime.

TFL’s Roman Mica and Nathan Adlen recently devised a list of the top five trends that are past their prime that automobile makers should stop doing.

At the top of their list is the continuously variable transmission (CVT). The technology has been used for the last 10 to 15 years, with Japanese automakers using them mainly on their small and medium-sized displacement vehicles.

The way a CVT works is it acts like an automatic transmission and you can feel the gears shifting but it actually just changes seamlessly through a continuous range of gear ratios.

With more automatic transmissions now have additional gears, the CVT may seem less desirable and antiquated.

Another feature that is quickly wearing out its usefulness is terrain management on vehicles. Some vehicles like the Honda Ridgeline TFL recently reviewed has four different settings.

Almost every off-road vehicle has terrain management where a person can choose from such settings as desert, snow, rock or sand mode. One of the main issues with terrain management is a person has to decide which setting is best for their conditions and then put the vehicle in that mode, which can take some time.

2016 Toyota Prius Four Touring

Although hybrids offer better fuel efficiency, it’s a trend that also seems to be past its prime. Toyota has improved the mpg on the Prius over the years but an all-electric vehicle still gets the ultimate in mpg. However, hybrids now get better range, with Nathan citing the new Prius Prime, which has over a 600 mile range.

What other features do the TFL guys feel are past their prime, and which one made it to the top of their list? Find out by watching the complete TFL video above.