Note both models get about the same on the highway, the top two gears on each have nearly identical ratios (1.000 and .838 man v. 1.000 and .833 auto) but I agree with David, and even tho I love my manual trans I'd say if you live in an urban area think twice about all the shifting in stop-and-go.

Personally I think the lower MPG for the manual is due 100% to the fact that any driver who gets behind the wheel of the Crossfire manual trans succumbs to irresistible temptation to take revs a little higher than optimal. This car just sounds too good in 1 and 2! But the real reward comes in 3 IMHO.

As to the "clunky" shifting, it's like catching fly *****, it gets a lot easier after the first 1000 or so. But between the somewhat deceptive RPM volume and the initial awkwardness of the shifter/clutch combo, that probably accounts for a fair amount of the fuel consumption as well as some slow times out of the blocks.