Are we nuts............

[ATXT3XaS]

Manual cars generally get better gas mileage because they usually have more gears and 5th gear runs at a real low RPM compared to an automatic its a completely overdrive gear, my toyota only has a 4 gear automatic if it had a 5 or 6 gear automatic i bet i could get 40 + mpg on the highway buy they dont make them like that, dunno why im not an expert.

[Mandarinsolara]

on a trip i just took to my granparents house in georgia (from jacksonville), i averaged over 33 mpg in my V6. i thought it odd also considering i was pegged right at 80mph and 3kRPM the whole time.

[SunnySolara]

The Solara Gen 1 automatic was rated 1 mpg better then the standard transmission on the highway. That's the first time I've seen that. I guess that's why the mileage is so good.

[Rudy]

The Solara Gen 1 automatic was rated 1 mpg better then the standard transmission on the highway. That's the first time I've seen that. I guess that's why the mileage is so good.

No, that's impossible.

Manual: 21 mpg / 28 mpg Automatic: : 20 mpg / 28 mpg

I think it would be physically impossible for a 4 spd automatic to get better gas mileage than a 5 spd manual geared for fuel economy in the same car. You have less gears and less control. With a manual you have complete control of your RPM's, that added with another gear, it makes no sense that the auto could get better gas mileage. You take a manual give it some gas, and it speeds up in that gear, you do it in an auto and you run the risk of the car downshifting and shooting to 4-5k RPM.

[SunnySolara]

I've seen it in a few reviews. For example http://www.new-cars.com/2002/toyota/toy ... tions.html It takes a huge hill to cause the V6 to downshift and at 50 mph it only increases about 600 rpm. I thought the final gear might be taller on the auto but it's not. It could be due to the differential to gear ratio. Manual 3.933x0.731=2.875023 Auto 3.720x0.735=2.7342. I suppose that could make a difference on a long level highway run.
5-Speed manual 4-Speed ECT Automatic
First 3.230 2.810
Second 1.913 1.549
Third 1.258 1.000
Fourth 0.918 0.735
Fifth 0.731
Reverse 3.545 2.296
Differential Ratio
3.933 3.720

[Rudy]

all I'm saying, is that in daily driving there is no way you'll get better gas mileage out of an auto.

[ATXT3XaS]

I get about 400 miles a tank which a tank costs about 30 bucks. 2.4 liter 2002 4 cylinder Automatic, im not complainin, ive got nearly 550 miles on a tank on a road trip.

[John7429]

One of the main reasons I bought my Solara was the gas consumption. My corvette was giving me 8-10 miles per gallon. lets just say my solara puts a smile to my face when I think about fuel...