Five-Point Inspection: 2014 Hyundai Tucson Manual

3. Fuel Penalty

As is the trend lately, the manual transmission option comes with a fuel penalty. The six-speed stick-shift is rated 4.3 percent less efficient in the city and 8.8 percent worse on the highway compared to the six-speed automatic. Part of this may have to do with the transmission spinning at a high 3,100 rpm when cruising at 75 mph in sixth gear. During our week with the vehicle we averaged an even 25 mpg in the heart of winter.