Having never owned another car with CVT I must confess than my 18 Max takes some getting used to, with respect to the CVT. A different feel, especially at low(er) speeds. At higher speeds they did something to simulate gear shifting, just to appease those of us who like to feel the shifting :-).

As for reliability of the CVT, it has been said that it is much improved vs. earlier generations, but only time will tell. Fortunately for me, I got my 18 Max with free lifetime power train warranty :-)

 

No transmission lasts forever. I had an Altima 3.5SE wtih 170k miles before the CVT went (along with the VVT). I have also had traditional transmissions that had to be replaced much earlier than that (and more than once; '98 Grand Prix GTP with 4T65E trans). So, take it from a Mechanical Engineer-stop panicking about this! (Get an extended warranty for ultimate peace-of-mind).