What he’s trying to say is if you leave your post, we will absolutely jack the thread!
There is a remarkable precedent for starting a thread -- and never returning to see the replies... If you have a few hours to kill, and need your spirts lifted, you might want to check out:
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/last-jeep-ill-ever-own.49175/
Funny then that the EPA tested the manual as getting better highway mileage. As for "more efficient", well that really depends how you're using that term, because one advantage automatics still haven't taken away from manuals is parasitic drivetrain loss. Automatics turn more power into heat in the transmission than manuals do, and probably always will. It's just not easy to design an automatic that's as simple as a manual, at least if you want people to buy the car. Automated manuals do not shift in ways that modern consumers expect or tolerate, which is why they aren't on the market anymore.
It's the way most people drive a stick. They won't drive in the manner than the perfect conditions created by the EPA hence most automatics in real world will get better mileage
I certainly don't drive my manual in cities or on stroads in any way the EPA testing procedure would approve of, but highway driving a manual isn't exactly a shiftfest unless you're doing a lot of weaving.
On the highway, it's not going to be worse, in the real world. It'll be 5th and 6th gear, maybe 4th on a mountain climb or 3rd on the steepest grades at lower speeds. Ratios are about the same as the top 3 gears on the Auto as they are on the top 3 on the manual, so no real difference in efficiency. Technically, the manual gets 1 better hwy, and the auto gets 1 better city, but in real life, it's a wash. These aren't geared in any way to drive stick aggressively. It's not geared like a sports car. There's really no way to do it wrong on the highway.
I have a stock Overland with factory tires. I get 21mpg on the freeway, staying within 5mph of the posted speed limit. I have a RSI Smartcap (250 pounds) on the back and a load of stuff in the back and backseat.
By chance, are you at high altitude? I don't drive crazy fast (no more than 72-73, unless very briefly passing), but 20 mpg isn't hard at all to hit on the highway. I also see you're in az, so is the speed limit higher than our 65? Driving much faster than that in our bricks of course kills mpg quickly. Just a couple reasons why some see better mileage than others. Low 20s highway is easily attainable in a gasser on the highway, up to and including 35s. I've never had 37s, so no idea what that'll do to mpgs. Obviously, it'll make it worse, of course. I tend to believe all the low 20s reports though. It's so close to what we're rated for, after all.
