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Like everyone is saying, it's not as simple as manual and automatic transmissions anymore so it doesn't do anyone any good to try and force the current options into these two categories. At the very least there is manual(physical gearbox with no electronics besides neutral detection and a tachometer), automatic(torque converter with electronic shifting based on hydraulics and bands, controlled by the ECU), and CVT(constantly variable transmission, used in a lot of hybrids, engine is connected to a belt system that allows for any gear ratio in fairly wide range, ratios are controlled by ECU), and at worst there are multiple variations on these like autostick(regular automatic with the option of telling it to shift up or down, but it can and will ignore you), and paddle shifted CVT(regular CVT, but paddles shift to predefined ratios programmed into the ECU) which sounds like the setup on the alti you're talking about. I know the '08 lancer has the paddle CVT option. A real sequencial transmission is like what is on a motorcycle. I'd love to have one, but I've never found a true one on a street legal car.
Now which ones better for FE? That depends the most on you, the engine this trans is plugged into, and the ratios available in this trans. An auto as described above is almost always the the worst of the three because of the torque converter, therefore if you don't want to have to shift for yourselft the best option is usually some flavor of CVT since most of them are capable of astonishingly high gear ratios. If you drive mostly city miles or for some reason the regular manual has a higher possible ratio than the CVT, go that route. Overall, I'd say do some more research and go with the option that allows the highest gear ratio to be chosen by YOU. Like I said, CVTs usually have huge POSSIBLE ratios, but often will only let you use something significantly less unless you're coasting. Also, all this is strictly from the point of view of FE. There some concerns for the service length of CVTs, so for overall value on a car it might still be worthwhile to chose one with slightly lower FE in favor of longevity and warranty. I prefer the good old manual with it's cheap maintence/replacement and a general lack of a need for said maintence/replacement.
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