Quote:
Originally Posted by johnhenry
Test drove 08 Civic LX A/T and at 2000rpm it was running 61mph. The M/T at 2000rpm was running only 45mph giving 1/3 more speed at 2000rpm with the A/T, thus more mpg's. Call it whatever you like I wanted the most MPG. After 28,000 miles my average has been 36.6mpg for the life of the car. Did drive the M/T for close to 2000 miles and best that I could get was 37.7mpg as opposed to 43+ with the A/T.
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I find it annoying that car companies insist on gearing automatics so they run nicely at 60mph at around 2000rpm, whereas the manual version will almost always be doing 2500-3500rpm at the same speed. There is no reason they can't widen the gap a bit more to make highway cruising more efficient in a manual (or just have a really high 6th gear). I suspect part of it is that automatics would start to look worse on the highway EPA cycle, whereas at the moment manuals and autos tend to get pretty well the same score.
Whether you have an automatic or a manual doesn't make much of a difference on the highway (unless you want to pulse and glide), assuming similar top gear ratios. On the other hand, traditional automatics will never compete with a manual in the city, where they spend virtually all of the time with the TC lockup disengaged, while a manual still has a physical connection from engine to wheels.