I am a mere amateur in these matters, but the following extract of your Toyota Yaris 1.33 (non hybrid) automatic (ie Multidrive S) review seems to me to be completely incorrect and misleading as the gearbox is not a CVT gearbox, as you state, but a "standard" 7-gear sequential gearbox with clutch all controlled by a very clever computer with multiple sensors so that it knows what it is doing. I believe as used by racing cars? That might be the real reason why the gearbox is v. good as you indicate. See
http://www.nwtgearboxes.co.uk/mmt-transmissions
for some helpful explanations.
Chris Tomlinson


Here is your misleading copy with three spelling errors and all for possible urgent correction! :
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A CVT gearbox - dubbed Multidrive S by Yoyota - is available as an option and has seven 'steps' with paddles on the steering wheel allowing the driver to change gear manually, so to speak. CVT gearboxes are rarely enjoyable on small engined cars like this, but the Toyota one is a very different animal.

There's none of the usual high revs and screaming noise you associate with CVTs and it doesn't feel like it's sapping all the power from the engine. In fact, it's one of the best automatics, CVT or otherwise, you'll find in a small car. The shifts are smooth but noticeable (which is a good thing) and it reacts quickly when you ask it to accelerate. There's even a Sport model which sharpens the acceleration peformance.