Out of curiosity, I'm no pro at manual transmissions yet: Is it more economical when accelerating to use more throttle, more shifting and get to higher gears quicker? Or should I use less throttle, and accelerate slower while staying in each gear a bit longer before getting to higher gears?

This is for my dad's Mazda MX-5.........it's tempting for me to do the former. I used to use a fair amount of throttle and upshift around 2750rpm quickly from 1-2-3-4. However, I've tried the latter......acceleration is slower overall but I'm afraid lower gears are less efficient. FYI: The 6-speed MX-5 is geared very close; 6th gear spins a not-so-efficient 100km/h @ 3000rpm.