Ask an expert

In the past I had been recommended by my mechanic to keep away from anything with a cvt transmission but now these seem to be commonplace and increasingly difficult to find a non cvt transmission. What are the reliability and long term implications with purchasing a car with a cvt? What are your thoughts on the following vehicles - Nissan Qashqai, Toyota RV4 or Peugeot 4008 for a mixture of around town driving and regularly driving a 10km stretch of gravel road and uneven lifestyle block driveway?

Earlier CVT transmissions suffered reliability problems. In simple terms, start clutches and lock-up systems were harsh and drive bands were weak, so a harsh jolt in the transmission on take-off, coupled with a weak band that drives the wheels, meant that bands would deteriorate quickly and break - destroying the transmission.
In more recent times, both weaknesses have been overcome. There's no harsh lock-up, and band construction is now much stronger, so CVTs from around 2009ish on have become much more reliable. As a consequence, most new Japanese cars now have CVTs and they are very reliable.
I think all the vehicles you mention are excellent, and reliability is unlikely to be an issue.