Honda Car Forum

I am looking to buy a 2008 civic.

automatic transmissions do not give better gas mileage. manual is the way to go.

depends on your way of driving...put you foot down all the time..see your mpg go down....

Nope

Get the hybrid civic....they get like 47 mpg....my husband works for Honda, He said it was super nice, and rode really smooth, and they had more power than he expected

All things being equal, a manual would be more efficient. This is because the gears actually touch. Therefore, a manual transfers a higher percentage of the engine's power to the drivetrain. (This is why an automatic transmission that's in gear at a stoplight keeps running, but a manual would stall out.) If you look online, you'd see that a manual is rated a couple MPG more efficient.However, it really all depends on how you drive. You can really rev the RPM on a manual higher than you need to...which wastes gas. With a manual, you can rev it as high as the computer will allow...or until you blow the engine. That's really not easy to do with an automatic, because it'll shift to the next gear before that happens--even if you have your foot jammed to the floor. So, the question is: will you DRIVE a manual more efficiently than the computer on an automatic? (If you decide to, you would.) Or would you be more likely to drive like a racecar driver if you were shifting all the time?

Well, as with so many things, the answer is not as simple as it once was.Generally, a manual transmission is somewhat more efficient than an automatic for one simple reason. Most manual transmissions have a direct mechanical connection to the engine, whereas most automatic transmissions rely upon a fluid coupling that involves a little slippage and so a small waste of energy.However, in the last decade or two most automatic transmissions have incorporated an electric clutch or some other such device to provide a direct connection when the car is in overdrive (whatever the top gear is on your particular transmission). This, of course, eliminates the slippage when cruising at highway speeds giving the automatic trans-equipped car comparable highway mileage to the manual shift car, while affording the convenience of a shiftless transmission in stop and go traffic.Then too, there are a few new automatics that utilize a constantly variable eliptical shifting mechanism that is essentially always in gear and always with a direct mechanical connection, thereby eliminating the slippage factor at all speeds. If I recall correctly, and I may not, this is referred to as the ECVT, or electronically controlled variable transmission.At bottom, if you do not mind pumping clutches and enjoy shifting for yourself, well, enjoy. If, on the other hand, you prefer convenience, you need not have much in the way of conscience pangs for buying one of the many efficient automatic transmissions on the market today. Some will even out-accelerate their manual counterparts as computer-controlled transmissions are often better than all but the most accomplished of race car drivers in selecting shift points best suited to staying on the engine's power curve.

DEPENDS ON THE WAY YOU DRIVE BUT THE STANDARD WOULD GIVE YOU A LITTLE BETTER MILEAGE BUT WOULD HOLD LESS OF A RESALE VALUE.HOWEVER AS STATED ABOVE DO NOT BUY A HYBRID VEHICLE BECAUSE YOU WILL SORRY IN THE LONG RUN.

For that vehicle Honda claims they both get the same combined gas mileage, 29mpg.On www.fueleconomy.gov, actual drivers reported an average of 31.1 for the automatic and 31.9 for the manual (for the 2007 models), so not really a big difference.Unless, you do a lot of stop and go driving, I would go for the manual. A lot more fun!

manual gives better mileage