Are Toyota CVTs reliable?

Toyotas do have reliable CVT transmissions. You are correct about the Nissans being unreliable. I would not choose the CVT because they are noisy. I have had two Corolla loaner cars and the CVT was made for a noisy cabin. When I passed cars on the freeway, the engine was the loudest I have heard in any mainstream economy car. However, reliability-wise they are good. I would avoid the 4 speed auto in the lower trims of the 2014-2016. I would be more concerned how the hundreds of rental car drivers drove your car. The thing is that it is impossible to know if they gunned it at every green light.

Overtime it is harmful to gun it at stoplights. It causes excessive wear on your powertrain. Some people have had good experience with rentals, and since it is a Toyota and you have the warranty everything will probably be fine. The CVT in this car is much more reliable than the Nissan Sentra and Altima, two other popular rental cars. I wouldn't floor it at a light every time though. There's no reason to since it is a waste of gas and something will break eventually. Wouldn't everyone be flooring it at the light if it wasn't known to be harmful to the car? Probably. I think electric cars can handle this better because they have less moving parts, but it still isn't a good idea. Congrats on the new car!