So I did the Micra thing in Montreal. Let's cut to the chase:
I got to drive the manual and the automatic over the same 34 km route in around Montreal. Conditions were pretty ideal: cars were warmed up, weather was perfect (minimal A/C), roads were dry, traffic was moderate, highway portion had very mileage-friendly speeds (probably never went past 90 km/h / 55 mph).
The results:
- 5.1 L/100 km - 5-spd manual (46 mpg US)
- 5.6 L/100 km - 4-spd automatic (42 mpg US)
This was with very basic ecodriving techniques: no pulse & glide, no engine-off coasting -- in fact, the engines stayed on at all times, even long traffic lights. Anticipation, choosing the best lane to preserve momentum, timing lights, minimizing brake use were the order of the day. I kept up with traffic (right lane flow on the highway portion). I went a bit over the posted limit in the urban/exurban portions. In other words: this was driving that ANYONE could do.
For context, the car's official ratings are:
- 7.7 L/100 km - 5-spd manual (31 mpg US)
- 7.8 L/100 km - 4-spd automatic (30 mpg US)
So that's decent: 48% over the manual's combined rating, and 40% over the automatic's.
A little more effort and a few more hypermiling techniques could easily get the manual Micra into the 50's or 60's mpg US range in sub/urban driving.
I didn't have a chance to gather any steady speed vs. fuel consumption numbers, but I'm hoping to be able to borrow a Micra to get that and some additional info.
Here's the full ecodriving report:
2015 Micra fuel economy/mileage test: ecodriving a 5-speed and automatic in Montreal
And here are my general impressions of the car:
2015 Nissan Micra test drive review (manual & automatic) - first impressions