Quote:
Originally Posted by dmafanp
Some of the new vehicles have automatic trannys that surpass manual in the epa.
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I read this and was ready to jump in, but MetroMPG explained it all already.
To note: I've driven hundreds of new cars over the past few years, and have been able to get week-long tests in both manual and automatic variants of a dozen odd of them.
It isn't even close. Unless the automatic is a CVT, the manual will always outdo the automatic in every situation.
CVTs can be driven to economy numbers as good as manuals given certain conditions, but this is highly dependent on the CVT in question. The Honda CVT from the first-generation Insight and first-generation Fits (from outside America) seem to do very well, as does the Mirage CVT... but as MetroMPG showed, in real life, manual variants of the Mirage still do better (especially in traffic, where the extra losses of the CVT are still noticeable).