I have a manual for one main reason that it was the only HCH availible. The dealer told me that over a month that it sat on the lot he had 25 inquiries and when people found out it was an MT they backed out. Which was fine with me since I was even able to get a better price on an MT. Personally I like being in control an not the victom of some possible bad software. I shift when I want and I feel that I could better FE with my MT. Under certain conditions I do better lean burning than I do on cruise control. Sometimes I just get lazy and throw on the CC because I get good enough milage.

 

Hi All:

___Although I own the Accord w/ Auto because of resale and the ability to purchase it as a PZEV, I would have preferred a MT for the slightly better FE (26 vs. 24 in the city per the EPA <-- those are EPA’s number’s, not mine ). There is a lot of slip going on in an Auto (including the CVT) that a MT doesn’t have. A MT’s gears surely don’t. MT’s are usually a bit faster due to their positive engagement as well.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

 

Come to think of it, some of us people with 5-speeds might benefit with a 6 or even 7-speed.

I hear 18-wheelers have as many as 20-speeds....

 

Hi Delta_Flyer:

___I was speaking with an 18-wheeler offloading Sodium Hypochlorite a few weeks ago. He said he can only use 15 and 16th gear at ~ 1,400 - 1,500 RPM at 55 mph with a load. I was trying to teach him the Driving w/ Load method but he hadn’t a clue as to what I was speaking about

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

 

MTs still get better MPGs than ATs (though the gap seems to have narrowed recently). My '05 HCH is the 1st AT car I've owned since 1977; I got it so both of us could drive it. My wife suffers from a severe case of "clutchophobia" and won't go near a MT.

 

There's a few cars now where that's no longer true, with the 06 Civic being one of them. The 5MT is rated at 30/38 and the 5AT is rated at 30/40. They can do that because they gear the final gear of the AT much taller than the MT. Why? It's largely political. They don't want people to think the cars are gutless and can't accellerate at all in top gear for the MT versions. With the AT, you can't lock it in 5th gear, so no one will think it can't accellerate since the AT will automatically downshift once you start using more throttle.

 

If I read this correctly, Honda could have made a better MT....

 

Hi AZCivic:

___The 06 non-hybrid’s MT fifth and final are geared lower then the Auto’s so comparing FE between the two tranny types is not a good comparison. Another Honda mistake more then likely and I am non-to-thrilled about it either ****ed Honda and their useless performance over FE in many of their models as of late. When has anyone ever used fifth gear in a 0 - 60 or 70 mph dash anyway? In other words, what planet do they live on? Must be one where Fuel prices did not almost double in the last 2 years?

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

 

I'm not sure misleading is the right word. The figures speak for themselves - Honda's current AT offering scored higher than the MT. I didn't claim that means an automatic is more mechanically efficient, but the reality is that especially for highway cruisers and non-hypermilers, you will get better FE from the automatic transmission Civic than the manual because of it always attempting to hit the highest gear possible (unskilled drivers dwell in low gears too long) and a much lower engine RPM in top gear. Like Delta Flyer said, if they had chosen different gearing for the manual transmission model, or offered a 6th gear for cruising it would have instantly added 2-3mpg to the MT model.

 

"Why would anybody want a CVT" is a better question. The CVT is more expensive, less reliable, usually gets worse mileage, and lacks the control you get with a MT. The only reasons to prefer a CVT that I can think of are:

1) Availability, got one cause you couldn't find a manual
2) Lazeyness in the extreme.
3) You need your hands free to do things you shouldn't be doing in a moving vehicle.
4) You don't know how to drive a MT.

I think "4" is very valid if you are just learning how to drive. You have enough to worry about when you are learning how to drive without a clutch and shift lever to worry about.