Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.
Time was when many vehicles offered a manual option, either because customers wanted performance, or because they wanted better fuel-economy - or because they just wanted a cheap option.
While one can still find manual transmissions on vehicles in Europe and South America, automatics are the rule in the US.
Even some performance cars have dropped the manual options, most notably Ferrari. Most people no longer learn to drive on a stick-shift, and for the most part, automatics yield good fuel economy and can be had on inexpensive cars.
Advertisement
So the stick-shift is dying out. But one can still find it on a decent number of cars.
Here's a rundown of some of my favorites, ranked from most satisfying to least:
But its six-speed has a learning curve. The clutch is so firm and edgy that it's quite easy to stall the car, until you get a feel for it. On the plus side, shifts are incredibly brisk.
7. The Civic Type R is in theory a similar kind of affordable track-rat mobile, but ...
Problem is, one could slip from 4th gear to 7th when trying to get to 5th (there was no lockout). I got the hang of it after a while, but it was annoying.
9. The Nissan 370Z Nismo Tech. I love this V6 dinosaur, and for $46,000, what's not to love?
It had a six-speed manual, but it could have been five. It was like managing a farming vehicle. But that's a testament to the Tacoma's legendary ruggedness.