In doing a bit of google searching for

short unloaded whip tuner

I've found some sources that say that the auto tuners tend to have a
wider efficient matching range than the typical manual tuner.

So it may have nothing to do with network topology, it's just that if
you can manage to match a very short unloaded whip with your typical
manual tuner, you're going to be out at the edge of the matching range
where it is quite inefficient.

What's the group experience with this? If it's true that the automatic
tuners tend to be more efficient for a given range of impedances, what
are likely reasons?

Can the typical auto tuner switch from LCL tee to CLC tee? Pi to Tee?

Is it always going to be better to use a binary switched inductor and
capacitor system as opposed to a variable capacitor/tapped inductor
system?

Maybe it's just that the latter usually gets shoved into a tiny box and
the inductor Q is ruined?

Dan,
N3OX