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There have been a lot of replies on this topic, but I'd like to put in my opinion as well.
12mph is about 20km, you'll bet I'm still in 1st gear during upshifting. I have accelerated in 3rd at this speed. I wouldn't consciously do that again. IMO, either 1st or 2nd gear is fine at this speed.
I haven't had this car for long. I have 2800km on the odo. In general I find the car happiest when I stay above 2500RPM. Yes I sometimes go lower when I'm not putting much stress on the engine, e.g. going down a slight hill.
The reason why I always try to keep it at at least 2500 RPM is that under that RPM, I can often hear what sounds like early detonation when I try to accelerate. It almost doesn't happen when I'm above 3000 RPM.
In short, if I'm going on flat ground, I cruise at about 2500-3000 rpm. When going uphill, I'm never under 3000 rpm. When going downhill, I sometimes go as low as 2000 rpm, or I downshift 1-2 gears to utilise the engine breaking while staying at the speed limit.
I haven't noticed a difference in fuel economy when driving at 2-2.5kPM vs 2.5k-3kRPM, but your experiences may vary.
When in doubt, always go to a lower gear.
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