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Captain Insano · 01-20-2013, 05:23 PM

Exactly - I consider the AT more like a 5 speed (for performance) AT with an extremely long 6th gear for overdrive and gas mileage. I would never have the car in 6th gear for anything performance related. And even if I was doing the Texas mile, it would probably stay in 5th gear as shown in that pic. So if the testers did consider it "drag limited" at 125 in 6th gear, it just proves (like I theorize) they are not driving the AT to its full potential.

The very same magazine has the MT in 6th gear for the top gear 30-50 and 50-70 mph. Obviously as they should for the top gear test. But then the AT is in auto as stated and must be down in a lower gear in auto mode when the test is started and it makes a huge difference. Now why didn't the magazine for the sake of consistency very simply put the AT in manual mod, in 6th gear, and do the same test versus running it in complete auto mode (not even sure if it's in sport??)?

These things make me question the overall consistency of testing and drivers. And for the record, I definitely do think the AT is a tad slower than the MT. But that is just a tiny bit. Not nearly the disparity some of these tests show once the cars are in motion. Again, I think the MT has a huge advandage from a complete stop and launching since the AT pretty much does not allow for performance in that test. But once in motion, I think they are pretty close with a slight edge to MT. I have driven both MT and AT so have a decent feel for each. I own the AT and very familar with it in spirited driving. Unfortunately I only test drove the MT so didn't get to launch or beat on it, but definitely did not feel like a huge difference from the AT in normal driving from an acceration perspective.

01-20-2013, 05:23 PM	#84
Captain Insano Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Drives: 2014 Jeep Wrangler RubiconX Location: Midwest, USA Posts: 1,282 Thanks: 110 Thanked 292 Times in 224 Posts Mentioned: 7 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Exactly - I consider the AT more like a 5 speed (for performance) AT with an extremely long 6th gear for overdrive and gas mileage. I would never have the car in 6th gear for anything performance related. And even if I was doing the Texas mile, it would probably stay in 5th gear as shown in that pic. So if the testers did consider it "drag limited" at 125 in 6th gear, it just proves (like I theorize) they are not driving the AT to its full potential. The very same magazine has the MT in 6th gear for the top gear 30-50 and 50-70 mph. Obviously as they should for the top gear test. But then the AT is in auto as stated and must be down in a lower gear in auto mode when the test is started and it makes a huge difference. Now why didn't the magazine for the sake of consistency very simply put the AT in manual mod, in 6th gear, and do the same test versus running it in complete auto mode (not even sure if it's in sport??)? These things make me question the overall consistency of testing and drivers. And for the record, I definitely do think the AT is a tad slower than the MT. But that is just a tiny bit. Not nearly the disparity some of these tests show once the cars are in motion. Again, I think the MT has a huge advandage from a complete stop and launching since the AT pretty much does not allow for performance in that test. But once in motion, I think they are pretty close with a slight edge to MT. I have driven both MT and AT so have a decent feel for each. I own the AT and very familar with it in spirited driving. Unfortunately I only test drove the MT so didn't get to launch or beat on it, but definitely did not feel like a huge difference from the AT in normal driving from an acceration perspective. Last edited by Captain Insano; 01-20-2013 at 05:43 PM.