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[AlphaMicra]

Just try to do 60km/h in Oshawa without getting run over. I dare ya. 70 is keeping up with traffic in the motor city. But I could lug it in 5th at 50 too. Engine doesn't mind at all, and it's just barely enough power to keep momentum on a level road.

But I tend to lead foot it in the hammer lane on the highway a lot more than I should, and while I tend to avoid spinning the tires, I launch 'er pretty quick with the tires chirping at threshold when I can, and I tend to average around 6.4L/100km, so I'd say it is really more economical and more fun than an automatic driven more...boringly. It really has nothing to do with the engine, it has everything to do with the transmission and the driver.

Given that fast launches are only possible in light traffic or when accelerating on a highway on-ramp, this type of driving represents a small portion of the actual driving done on a tank of gas. In heavy traffic, it makes more sense to short shift, coast, and lug, and if that's all I ever did, I'd probably beat 5.6L/100km with mostly city driving. With the old school 4 speed automatic, you really have no choice but to accept the pre-programmed shift points, power loss through the transmission fluid (which gets worse when it's cold - not an issue with stick shift), and the subsequent lousy fuel economy.

EDIT: Don't forget that the power required to simply shift gears in an automatic has to come from the engine, but in the stick shift it's done with human power.

2nd edit: Here's a second opinion for you from Scotty: