Big "Meh" on that statement. I drive a manual, and for a vacation, drove an Toyota Camry automatic. It had like 10 gears, and would take a while to search for the gear you wanted, and by the time it found it, it would need to be in a different powerband, so it would immediately pop out, search again...Rinse and repeat. On the flip side, my partner has a Honda with a CVT, and it is a much better automatic in my opinion. Easy power transition, no jerks, always at the right ratio, it really is fantastic. You might get a little hesitation if you absolutely slam the accelerator to the floor, but it is otherwise fairly responsive.