I tend to agree that people are pushing back against change. People have become very accustomed to the sound and feel as the engine revs steadily climb, then drop suddenly as the car accelerates. It provides feedback in terms of what the car is doing - as the revs climb, you sense that you are going faster. With early CVTs they would optimize the gear ratio to match the situation...if you are accelerating full throttle, they would constantly adjust the ratio to be near maximum power...but by doing so the engine revs don't climb, and instead stay at a fairly constant speed. It's disconcerting at first, even if you understand (and like) what is happening...but most people don't know / care how their car works, and as a result they are turned off by the "it never shifts" sensation.
More recently they have updated the CVTs to simulate a normal automatic by putting in faux gear changes...Probably the right thing to do from a marketing perspective, but it drives engineers crazy because it gives up some of the main advantages of a CVT. However, I have found that my 2016 outback does pretty well overall. It simulates shifts while accelerating, but as best I can tell it freely varies the CVT ratio when cruising or climbing a steep grade etc...On the highway we get 31 mpg (indicated), and I credit the CVT for at least some of that fuel economy.
I do wish there was a way to put my CVT into "true CVT" mode, but on the whole I think what they have done is OK...particularly if it makes the CVT more palatable to the masses.
Also, CVTs have historically been considered unreliable / too weak to be used in cars, and early attempts did have problems. There might be some lingering stigma from the early attempts, but I bet most people don't even know what a CVT is, much less the historical problems they might have had.
