I understand the USA revised the way they test, to bring the official numbers closer to the reality of regular drivers. I'm wondering if the style of driving/geography/culture of the US leads to greater fuel consumption, or if it is just a matter of the test parameters. Are higher speed limits or greater urban congestion the cause, or is it just that the US has taken a more realistic approach while others have taken a more optimistic one?

Put another way, would an average driver burn more gas going 100 000km in a Mirage in the US than that same average driver in New Zealand, the UK, or the Phillipines? Is this a testing error, or something different about the infrastructure of the different regions?

Just curious as to your thoughts. Also noted that in some places the CVT is a big advantage, and in others it is not at all.