Pardon my injections, but in general it seems that Xterras with Auto get better gas mileage for highway use. At least that's what everyone seems to be posting elsewhere in the forum.

As far as computer's not being reliable... well I just haven't seen that trend. Yes, I know there are people with horror stories, but I definitely believe that if it wasn't more reliable and cheaper, we wouldn't be seeing OEM's going that way.

As far as loosing manual control however, I'm seeing a trend of more and more manually controlled automatics popping up. Yes, they are auto, but the tech to make them act like manuals is really pretty simple. For a 4l60e (GM) you can get a manual shifter interface for less than $300, and it just plugs into the harness.

What I would really really like to see is the Nissan CVT built for 4x4 use. Now, instead of just having a few low end gear combos for offroad use, you have an infinite set of ratio's (yes with boundaries but we know how to push those out with gear sets and such), less clutch hassle, and you would still get excellent efficiency on the roads.

You could use that supercharged engine in an optimum range if the gearing range was wide enough. I'm not sure it would weigh too much more than a manual either. The Murano's tranny is supposedly much lighter and less complex - fewer moving parts, so even when you beef it up for 4x4 use, you might get the same weight/size as a normal tranny.

Hopefully we'll see that coming down the pipe really soon.