Can an auto keep up with a manual?

[Sparrowhawk]

I often wondered why the police opted for the auto 850 and V70 T5's and not the manual. They were renowned for keeping up with a lot of pretty quick cars in fairness.

[DaveNP]

I had a manual 2.5na 850 followed by an auto 2.5na 850, I didn't do any side by side comparisons but the auto always seemed to end up going faster with less drama, to the extent that I had to watch out that I didn't end up speeding. From a theoretical point of view I would expect the auto to be at a disadvantage due to some energy being lost in the box, but then the manual would need to be driven perfectly to get crisp gear changes at just the right revs, on the road the auto can't see ahead to select a gear before a roundabout or corner but then again the manual driver would be distracted from those perfect gearchanges by other things on the road too. I suspect with a bit of effort it would be possible to devise 2 test courses, one of which would favour the auto and one the manual.
While for my car I prefer a manual, at work I drive trucks with a pseudo auto box, it's actually a manual box with a clutch but the gearchanges are done by compressed air actuators controlled by the computer, the manual override is handy for the first part of my journey across Milton Keynes with 20 roundabouts in the first 11 miles!