My 3.0 manual gets just over 26 MPG average overall, with a mix of town and motorway, and I drive it quite hard. 30 MPG should be achievable driving like a pussycat 
My auto gets 25mpg. And I'm no pussycat. So how poor is a modern, well matched, auto?
Very 
The fuel economy is the least of its disadvantages, in fact my fuel economy would probably get proportionately even worse with a slushy as I'd constantly have the gas pedal on the floor rather than just 80% of the time to make up for the power being wasted heating the transmission oil
I suspect I drive mine every bit as hard as yours, possibly moreso.
The software update on petrol boxes is hugely beneficial, and the loss in the TC is much less.
As for the boring old manual v auto, when I was your age, I was exactly the same. Years being the only techie in the region have made me want an auto:
I used to support MS-Mail back in the mid nineties. I was the only the only mobile techie covering East Anglia, across to just south of Brum, down to Aldershot, and North and West London (plus a few oddities like Docklands, and Stone in Staffordshire). It was nothing to be out in Norwich, and my boss to call that Aldershot needed a vist. The only way to get round these sites (bearing in mind that the top speed of the 1.8 diesel Fiesta was about 100/105 with the kit I carried) was to lauch start every time, crash the box, and generally scream the nuts off it. It was frequently driving at 100% for extended periods. I was young, and was happy to do it.
The grief/'stress' of doing that, day in, day out, was pretty immense. The van took a hammering - brakes usually every 10k, clutch about 30k, gearbox about the same as clutch.
One day, due to a disagreement with my boss, I decided to work to rule. Stick to speed limit, take break after 2hrs. He went potty, but nought he could do
. Anyway, I got help after that from a guy in Colchester (95m from where I lived), so we used to meet up in morning somewhere, then take one van and share driving. Much easier.
Those early days in MS-Mail support was enough to finally finish off my driving 'desire' (I had a job as a service engr previous to that). And driving through London virtually daily has made manuals bloody annoying when in traffic. I rarely get 'enjoyment' through driving like I did when I was younger. Don't get me wrong, I do not drive like grandad, but it purely is a A to B think for me now. The 'enthusism' of my drive is directly related to how early/late I am.
I hope that explains why I prefer auto with a big effortless V6. It is predictable, and I never shout at the gearbox. The tractor/auto combo is bloody annoying, and I do end up shouting at it. If I was to get another 2.5TD, it would have to be a manual, but as the V6 is matched well to the autobox (with v9 auto firmware) I am happy to stick with that.
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Topic: V6 2.5 or 3.2? (Read 2049 times)