hey bro, 3 speed gear means, in D mode , their is only 3 forward gears, for more convenient, if u have manual 3 forward gear car, its like that, in D mode, only 3 speed gears,
mini pajero is also 3 speed forward ,
due to this reason they are not gud at fuel on high speeds, like more then 60 km/hr, they drinks like 1800cc car, thats a fact.
manual is gud in both cars, if concerning fuel efficiency,
cheerz