If the actual data in a field can vary a lot in size, varchar is better because it leads to smaller records, and smaller records mean a faster DB (more records can fit into cache, smaller indexes, etc.). For the same reason, using smaller ints is better if you need maximum speed.
OTOH, if the variance is small, e.g. a field has a maximum of 20 chars, and most records actually are nearly 20 chars long, then char is better because it allows some additional optimizations by the DB. However, this really only matters if it's true for ALL the fields in a table, because then you have fixed-size records. If speed is your main concern, it might even be worth it to move any non-fixed-size fields into a separate table, if you have queries that use only the fixed-size fields (or if you only have shotgun queries).
In the end, it's hard to generalize because a lot depends on the access patterns of your actual app.