First off, I'm sorry if this has been discussed, I couldn't find my answer on the search.

I've read some threads talking about the mileage being better with the manual. According to what I can find the rated mileage is acutally 1mpg better with the auto.
Is this true? Can someone set me straight? Less work to drive and better gas mileage? What a country!

 

those are just extremely unrealistic epa estimates that deon't take into account actualy driving conditions like weather, temperature, topography, wind resistance, weight of the driver and/or passengers and so on. anyway, manauls driven properly can get better mpg than an auto because the driver has much more control of fuel consumption being able to have input on throttle and shift points. anyway, because the auto is a 4 spd versus 5 speed, i'm going to guess it has a taller final drive gear ont he auto to make up for only 4 gears. oh yeah, also, manuals are considerably faster and more responsive. and saying that a manual is more work just doesn't know how to drive one! LOL.

 

Personally, I've found that the auto is geared better for highway driving. When you're in 5th gear at 75mph, your running close to 4K. I've been told the auto has a tall enough 4th that it doesn't have to do that.

That said, if you keep the RPMs down, the manual is better and much more fun.

 

Manuals are more fun.

 

Just a comment on my xBs mileage I just took a trip to Vegas and got 30 miles/gal but as yet haven't gotten the 34 promised. I had a a hard time keep under 70 mph this is where the car gets it's best mileage.

 

Yeah, the xB's mileage drops like a rock over about 65. I think a taller 5th gear in the manual or a 6th gear would fix some of that. In mixed driving I'd get 31mpg, on my 75mph road trips, I would get about 27. Needless to say, I now take longer to get there on my road trips, but I save a bunch of money when gas is $3.30!

Removing the snorkel and dropping a K&N filter in will also help...but there are tons of threads on that subject.

 

well said as usual, i wish i knew how to drive a manual, but ill learn at some point... but yeah he said it right, it all depends on conidtions and the driver. if you gun it like me, i get like 27 mpg street.... but you COULD do better, ALOT better!

 

In my manual, (mixed driving) mostly city - 30 mpg average.

On my last long trip set the cruise at 73 and got 33.95 mpg

 

Purely unscientific--but it seems that most people that complain about the MPG drive automatics............

 

xB Speeds at RPMs in 5th Gear Manual
40 MPH is 2000 RPM
60 MPH is 3000 RPM
70 MPH is 3500 RPM
80 MPH is 4000 RPM

xB Speeds at RPMs in 4th Gear Automatic
40 MPH is 1700 RPM
60 MPH is 2560 RPM
70 MPH is 2990 RPM
80 MPH is 3410 RPM

 

no wonder automatic drivers complain about not enough power! Look how tall those gears are.
I've never had the slightest problem mergeing on the freeway to 75-80 mph

 

Thanx for the input boxers.
I guess that means more power for the manual but also it will burn more fuel if I am reading this right?

 

when traveling at a constant speed, yes, but if you know how to drive a manual properly, you'll get better mpg.

 

The only way for a manual to get better mileage than an automatic is to use less throttle and less rpms. The only way to use less rpms is to shift the manual at lower rpms than the automatic will shift. For instance, I upshift at 2000 rpm normally, and the engine will gladly take an upshift at 1500 rpm if no acceleration is needed.
But most people's ideal of driving a manual properly is to shift at higher rpms, and that will not get better mileage than an automatic. The Scion automatic is a genius of a transmission and it is hard to outsmart it with a manual.

 

SecretAgentMonkey wrote:
$3.30!! Don't even.. it's $3.60 here in California!

 

not hard to outsmart an auto, autos are purely reactive, manuals are proactive with a capable driver. because they lose less power through the drivetrain, they are more responsive at lower speeds than an auto. the auto only gets better mpg at highway speeds which are related more to the rpm at cruising speed.

 

Oh, I'm going there!

I've heard rumors of some stations in CA at $4.00 a gallon...so no matter how bad it gets, someone always has it worse.

But hey, I filled up today and only paid $3.12 so there!! (and got almost 34mpg to boot)

 

I can't say one bad thing about my automatic. It definitly has enough power for when I merge onto the Interstate and I'm getting really good gas mileage. I have been averaging 36 with mixed driving, last tank was 38. Dont get me wrong I really like manual cars but I am very impressed with my auto.

 

Folks driving manuals almost always get better mileage than folks driving autos. Poke around the fueleconomy.gov site to see some real-world examples. (Granted, the folks who report their mileage on a site like that are more likely to be trying to drive efficiently.)

 

Don't overlook that the odo readings are inaccurate because of the change in tire size from Japan/USA, and Toyota being too cheap/lazy to change the speedo calabration.

Multiply your odo reading by about .3 (or your mpg by 1.3).

You are actually getting better milage than you think. Your box also has more miles on it than it says. Oh, and you're traveling slower than the speedo reads . . .