I picked up a 2015 S GT manual a few weeks ago. I think it depends on the steepness of the hill. My commute includes a pretty steep hill on a 65 mph state highway and I generally don't use cruise exactly because I need to downshift to 5th going up to maintain 65. My old Kia forte sx (175 HP) was a 6spd auto and always shifted down to fifth going up this hill. That said, there is a significant HP loss at 6,500 feet above sea level.