If a Sport AT is what your looking for then that shouldnt be too hard to find since there will be more Sport AT's imported here then any other model/drivetrain configuration with Sport MT's being the least of all the different combinations and will probably be the most desirable model.

 

jazzman your link doesnt work... I have a manual 1.5 Vtec & i love it :P

 

Only reason some of the automatics geet better gas mileage is due to a higher final drive or gear, and a shift program with one thing in mind, fuel consumption.

I preffer the simplicity of a manual, and how manual transmissions are simply tougher than automatics. Sure the clutch wears out, but in my Integra, it takes me a Saturday afternoon to change it. When an automatic fails, it's usually more expensive. I love how easy you can push start a manual if the battery ever fails.

The added bonus of the lower cost, and lower weight are nice too!

 

Well I would like a stick but due to a knee injury an auto will have to do. There is just too much congestion in this area and this will be my commuter. My legs still twitch for the pedals when driving. Once you drive a stick its just hard to unlearn. I think its a mental block or something. Having been a technician most of my adult life I have experienced the paddle shift Tiptronics and various equivalents and they are cool but just don't scratch that primal itch.
Blend3D

 

MT will always get better than AT in-general. However, the tendency for MT enthusiast to drive their cars sportier is why the fuel consumption for AT's comes closer.

In a conservative mode of driving, anticipation of traffic density, traffic lights, terrain, the experienced driver of a MT, who can shift in conservative mode when needed, who coasts and switches to a higher or lower gear to keep momentum without unnecessary braking can get better mpg over an AT anyday.

Even the idea of an AT stopped at a traffic light with the brakes holding the fwd desire of the drivetrain is an incremental waste of fuel itself, while a MT vehicle is in neutral with no load at all on the engine.

 

My jazz is manual, however I think I prefer having AT now, cos I'm sick of having to change gears and sometimes I don't press clutch enough and my gears grind >_<. Done it a total of like 8 times since brand new....haven't done it in a good 7 months or so.

 

MT, love to wind it up, love to down shift, and when the car is old and the muffler has a hole in it, omg fun times.

 

A lot depends on your daily drive. In heavy commuter, stop and go traffic an MT can be a real drag.

BTW, anyone considering the '07 VW Golf? It will arrive in the U.S. with a six speed automatic and 2.5L five cylinder. Hate to give up my '96 Golf though...

 

I own a 2005 Toyota Tacoma- AT's get 1-2 mpg better than MT- a 10% improvement more or less in a truck that only gets 16/19 or 16/20 This is measured economy, not EPA estimates. AT's are getting 18/21 or 18/22 or better.

The 06 Civic we last looked at was "rated" higher AT than MT by 1 or 2, a much lower percentage- 5% or so.

I actually believe that AT's are getting smarter than we are, that is, they will shift at appropriate times more often than we would, enough so that it makes a substantial increase in mpg. Not that you couldn't do it, but you wouldn't. They shift A LOT!

 

Ok this topic is getting a bit rediculous. Its as simple as this, if gas mileage and fuel consumption is your number 1 concern, then a MT isnt for you. The freedom that comes with a MT no matter when you shift cant match the fuel efficiency of today's AT's.

Personally I will never give up the freedom of a MT for 1 or 2 extra mpg's of fuel consumption but hey thats just me.