The 10 Best Cars That Still Offer a Manual Transmission

Since the summer of 1989, the reasonably priced Mazda MX-5 Miata has been thrilling sports car fans with its featherweight rear-drive chassis (just over 2000 pounds) and drop-top fun-in-the-sun persona. The Miata's organically responsive handling, mixed with a large dollop of 1960s British roadster, drew buyers by the tens of thousands. But it's no stretch to say that it was Mazda's brilliant five-speed manual transmission that created much of the trill. The stubby little shifter was so effortless that it moved with just a modest flick of the wrist. The second generation Miata in 1999 got one more gear for the 10th anniversary models; that six-speed remained optional (the five-speed was standard) well into the third generation and was equally great to use.

Miata's sports car formula has lasted for more than two decades, and it's no surprise. For 20-plus years Mazda has offered one of the best manual transmissions available on any car at any price.

One of the most highly anticipated machines of the year is the joint-venture sports car between Subaru and Toyota (which makes Scion). Subaru's BRZ will reportedly have the slight performance edge on the Scion version of this car, but both are lightweight (around 2700 pounds), rear-wheel drive, pack 200 horsepower four-cylinder engines, and come standard with a six-speed manual. These twins are the first credible sports car challengers to the Mazda Miata since the late Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice.

Naturally, the engineers were tempted to design a heavier and more expensive twin-clutch, paddle-shift transmission instead of a manual. But we're sure glad they didn't. Besides, Subaru's goal wasn't just to match its direct competition, like the Miata, but to provide the same level of driving involvement as a Porsche Cayman by making the BRZ as rewarding and organic-feeling as possible. The early drive reports seem to confirm that the team met that goal — during PM's first drive in Japan, the six-speed manual was precise and satisfying. We predict Subaru (and Scion) will sell quite a lot of six-speed manual sports cars.

Often, when an automaker launches an exciting new sports car, it follows its customer research that says Americans only want to drive an automatic transmission or an automated manual with paddle shifters. Not so when it came to the TT RS, the highest-performing version of Audi's entry-level sports car. Audi decided that the TT RS should only have the manual transmission, as a special treat for its most hardcore buyers. Let the rest of the world have the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. It is, in fact quicker, but would a few tenths of a second be worth losing the engagement of a manual transmission? Not to us.

The 360-hp TT RS is a fantastic car for reasons beyond its six-speed manual. This is one of the easiest and most rewarding high-performance cars you can drive. It's forgiving and good-natured, but keeps the driver thrilled by the experience. Only 1000 of these friendly beasts will be available for 2012 and 2013, so you'd better get your order in now.

Lamborghini has been battling Ferrari for Italian supercar supremacy since 1963. Over the decades, both companies offered exotic and potent six-, eight-, 10- and, of course, 12-cylinder powerplants matched to wonderful manual gearboxes. Best of all, a driver lucky enough to be behind the wheel of these Italian exotics shifted gears by moving the lever through an amazingly cool metal gated shifter plate.

But over the past few years, Ferrari has been slowly discontinuing pure manual transmissions. Now you can't get a single model with a manual. Not one. That's sad. And Lamborghini appears to be on the same path. Its new flagship, the nearly 700-hp, 12-cylinder Aventador, is not offered with a manual.

But rest assured, the less-expensive V-10-powered 552-hp Gallardo LP 560-4 is. Nestled between the front seats is a glorious metal shift lever with a large metal ball on top. Just like the Italian machines of the past, the Gallardo has a metal-gated shifter plate. We predict that next generation Gallardo probably won't come with a manual option, so this Lambo might be the swan song for the glorious Italian gated shifter.

Only Porsche would thoughtfully redesign its iconic 911 sports car to include the world's first seven-speed manual. Porsche is one of the only manufacturers to spend the money to evolve the manual transmission, and what's amazing is they did so for a sliver of 911 buyers — the mere 30 percent who still like to row their own gears.

The manual is a pleasure to use, with easy, effortless throws. There's even a lockout, so if you're driving aggressively and aiming for fifth gear, it won't let you flub a shift and end up in seventh. Smart. And when you're in that seventh gear at 60 mph, the revs drop down to just 1800 rpm for easy highway cruising and better fuel economy. We hear that the 911's archrival, the Corvette, also will be offered with a seven-speed manual when the next-generation arrives. That's appropriate since the upcoming C7 Vette will be the seventh generation of America's sports car. It's great to see two sports car icons that still embrace manuals.

Station wagons used to be the de facto American family transportation vessel. But once the minivan and mainstream SUV came along in the 1980s, wagons became uncool. Today a small contingent of enthusiasts appreciates these cars, especially a high-performance rear-drive wagon. Only Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz offer these beastly machines, and Cadillac makes a six-speed manual transmission for who that like to shift for themselves. Thank you, Cadillac.

The 556-hp Cadillac CTS-V wagon equipped with a manual transmission is so wild and rare that it might someday become a collector car. It's intensely satisfying to throw gears in an American station wagon with such a powerful V-8. The CTS-V is like a throwback to the muscle car days of the 1960s and early '70s — except this wagon could outrun just about anything from that era. The Caddy's Tremec TR6060 six-speed transmission is the same one GM uses in the 638-hp Corvette ZR1 and the new 580-hp Camaro ZL1, both of which share the CTS-V's engine. So this wagon is in very good company.

BMW rarely makes mistakes, but when it does, they are never insignificant. Since 1988, the BMW M5 has been the sport sedan all others were measured against. In its later years, it was closer to a super sports sedan, performing more like a Corvette or Porsche 911 than most four-door vehicles. And of course, these wonderfully rewarding BMW sedans came with just one transmission — a manual.

Then in 2005, BMW launched the third generation M5 with an outrageous 500-hp V-10, questionable styling, and a downright terrible single clutch automated manual transmission with paddle shifters. It was called the SMG, and its shifts were so jerky and unsophisticated in automatic mode that BMW fans (and the media) revolted. So in 2008 BMW finally brought back the manual. Lesson learned.

The all-new 2012 M5 comes standard with a manual transmission. If you opt for the seven-speed dual-clutch, paddle-shift transmission, the M5 will be quicker. But who cares? The new 560-hp twin-turbo V-8-powered M5 is the beefiest sport sedan you can get with a manual. Take that Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

Ford knows how to do retro properly. To our eye, this Mustang looks tight, well proportioned, and purposeful. Best of all, ever since 2007, when Ford brought back the Shelby GT500 as the ultimate Mustang, it has been available only with a six-speed manual transmission. No automatics allowed. That will remain true when the upgraded 2013 GT500, with 650 hp to make 200 mph, goes on sale later this year.

Among the Shelby Mustang's competitors, both the Dodge Challenger SRT8 and the new Chevy Camaro ZL1 offer an optional automatic. Wimps. The new Shelby not only packs an upgraded manual for 2013, but it wears a perfect white ball atop the shifter — a nice little nod to '60s muscle. The setup looks tough, and the ball's dimensions are an ideal fit for the palm, making the driving experience just that much more fun.

The very first 1984 Volkswagen GTI was the granddaddy of a generation of hot hatchbacks and sport compacts. It wasn't rocket-quick, but it provided the kind of visceral driving experience that, until the GTI, was only available on more expensive cars. The GTI remains one of the world's best inexpensive speed machines, but now VW offers performance a notch above the GTI with the Golf R.

For around $35,000, it comes with the same potent turbocharged four-cylinder as the Audi TTS (not to be confused with the TT RS), detuned here to 256 hp. And best of all, this most potent of all Golfs comes only with a manual transmission. The Golf R is such a focused driver's car that VW decided to skip any other transmission.

Our friends at Car and Driver estimate that the R will hit 60 mph in around 5.6 seconds. That's certainly quick, and puts the Golf R in some good company with the Subaru WRX STI and Mitsubishi Evolution. We can't wait to shift one for ourselves.

A Jeep belongs among all this high-performance metal because a manual transmission adds an extra dimension of fun to 4X4s, too. Creeping up and over boulders with a manual transmission is challenging and requires just the right shift timing, throttle, and clutch work as racing a manual performance car around the track. An automatic lets the vehicle slowly crawl over the worst trail obstacles; all the driver has to do is steer and gently apply the throttle. Boring.

The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is one of the most capable 4WD vehicles ever produced, and one of only a handful of 4x4s today to offer a manual. Chrysler has put its NSG370 six-speed on Jeeps since 2005. It doesn't slide into gear with short, low-effort throws like a sports car transmission does. But it does operate smoothly, and brings out the personality of the Wrangler's new 285-hp 3.6-liter V-6. Long live the manual-transmission Wrangler.