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Comment by kazinator | Hacker News Reader

> dual clutch automatics are much faster than manual transmission and most modern automatics have 7 to 10 gears for better fuel efficiency

In what < $15K econobox? :)

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I believe every US market Nissan sedan, including the stanza at the lowest end, come standard with a continuously variable transmission programmed to fake the sensation of shifting at fixed gear intervals. so in that case, you get an infinity of 'gears'

The Mitsubishi Mirage (Space Star in parts of Europe) is offered with both manual and CVT transmission options.

According to the figures in the manual for the 2016 model revision (https://mitsubishi-motors.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/1...), the CVT is indeed supposed to be slightly more efficient, according to the figures for the 2019 model (https://mitsubishi-motors.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/1...) on the other hand the CVT is consistently slightly worse than the manual transmission.

(Also somewhat interestingly, in some cases the auto engine start-stop system actually seems to increase nameplate consumption/CO2 emissions.)

I'd take the manufacturer's efficiency claims with a grain of salt; they are not going to be individually reproducible, let alone comparable to each other for those models. You can drive a manual for fuel efficiency, and be assiduous in doing so; there is intent and skill involved.

Where can I buy a < $15k econobox? Seriously, I'm looking. Yes I'm also looking at used cars, but they're also expensive.

Chevy Spark: https://www.chevrolet.com/cars/spark

Nissan Versa at $15.5k: https://www.nissanusa.com/vehicles/cars/versa-sedan.html

Kia Rio and Hyundai Accent aren't too far off at $16.5k: https://www.kia.com/us/en/rio

https://www.hyundaiusa.com/us/en/vehicles/accent

Mitsubishi Mirage, too: https://www.mitsubishicars.com/cars-and-suvs/mirage

The prior gen Ford Focus and Fiesta had a DCT, along with the C-Max.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_PowerShift_transmission

It was disastrously unreliable, and they knew it, and got sued for fraud over it. So they don't use a cheap DCT anymore.

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