Head to head: 2015 Micra manual vs. automatic MPG/fuel economy comparison

[MetroMPG]

True. The numbers were a lot closer in Montreal (5.1 vs 5.5) than in Cornwall (5.1 vs 6.5).

Couple of reasons I can think of:

1) The Montreal comparison had a lot more steady speed highway driving in it (about 50%) than the Cornwall test. And when the Micra automatic is in top gear with the torque converter locked, it's essentially as efficient as the manual in top gear -- with similar cruising fuel economy. The automatic actually has a slightly taller top gear than the manual, so on a long enough 100% highway trip in the right conditions, it could even come out slightly ahead of the manual. The top-gear cruising MPG of the automatic is actually pretty decent.

2) The Montreal cars were both already hot (warmed up) when I drove them. So the automatic didn't face the "warm-up hit". The Cornwal cars were both cold starts, and it was a shorter route too (20 vs 34 km).

3) Also, we have to take the Montreal comparison with a good size grain of salt. I didn't get to run the cars head-to-head, like in Cornwall. So there's no guarantee the numbers are as accurate. I can't be sure I accelerated/decelerated both cars at exactly the same rates, or drove at exactly the same speeds, even though I tried to.

4) Lastly, I used eco-driving techniques on both cars in Montreal. And as Alpha pointed out, an automatic suffers more of a loss than a manual when it's not eco-driven (it wasn't in the Cornwall test).