While I don't like the noise that CVT makes under hard acceleration, my experience with CVT has been reliable, at least.
For the four years me plus the two years under my brother's ownership, there hasn't been one issue with Altima's CVT paired to their 2.5 engine.
Nissan is doing better with the CUVs lately, IMO. Rogue looks like it's selling well and the Murano with the lower price will also sell pretty well, I think. Standard navigation for all models is a surprising move.