What is the Best Manual Transmission Car you have ever driven or owned???

A coworker ordered a 2021 Mustang GT with a MT ……wow best manual shifter I felt in my life!!

 

Owned? Toss up between an ‘04 IS300(Altezza) w/LSD and a ‘13 “86”. I lean towards the IS. I think it’s one of the most under-appreciated RWD car imported into the US in the last 20 years. Toyota only imported 2,000 of them in that config in this continent, and there was no marketing whatsoever. Similar to the Chevy/Holden SS situation. I loved the super strong double wishbone all around, front camber adjustable from the factory and just under 3100lbs when I got done with it. While it didn't have the best feeling manual transmission, the whole thing worked so well together and it had the best balance.

I wish I bought the Aristo GTE block and V161 transmission for the IS when a company selling the combo had a special with $5500 shipped. Add a Sequoia rear driveshaft and no custom “shaftwork”needed to be done. Add a standalone, control the power with a suspension and tire, and you’re basically rolling from there, free to pursue a life of religious fulfillment.

Edit: A Getrag V160 in a Supra was probably one of the best I've driven, and also my friend's S2K. The newer MX-5 6spd is also really good. I was also suprised at how nice the Mustang 6MT shifts, and my cousin's 6spd Camaro shifts well too. You guys make it really difficult to choose...

 

@MikeyMcFly
I love the 1990 Accord!
The color and finishes are perfect!
My 1st car was a 1992 DX Accord sedan with the 5spd maroon paint - I only had it for a few years and then it went to my brother.

I went and looked at what these are going for on BaT and it is mind boggling..

I have a 1992 Prelude VTec 5sp 99K miles in my garage that hasn't been worth jack for like a decade and a half - just taking up space - and now - the market is insane!

 

Those Accords are tanks!
Many of them are still out here running along in SoCal.

 

Oh man, showing my age. Had a green 69 GTO with a factory Hurst 4 speed and a 400 CI engine. So much fun and a magnet for the po-po. Next Manual Trans was a 1991 toyota pu 2wd. My last was a 2019 TRD OR. Had a lot of fun with it, but wife can't drive a stick and so it was traded for a 2021 OR with auto.

 

Manuals I've owned....Let's see:

1982 Toyota Celica ST 5 speed
1977 Chevy C20 350/4 speed
1990 Mitsubishi Galant 5 speed
2000 Ford Ranger 3.0 V6 5 speed
2006 Dodge Ram 2500 Quad Cab Hemi 6 speed
2012 Tacoma DCSB TRDOR 6 speed
2015 Nissan Frontier Pro4X 6 speed
Upcoming - 2022 Tacoma DCSB TRDOR 6 speed

Easiest one to drive was the Frontier. The engine/trans combo was torquey and smooth, and it had a good clutch.
The most fun to drive was the Ram, hands down! I'm weird in the sense that the more difficult it is to drive, the more I enjoy it, because you have to master it. It got a lot of attention because of having the Hemi instead of a Cummins. Even being a big ol' truck that Hemi moved it around pretty good.

 

I will go with my top 3 I've owned. 2001 Acura Integra GSR, 2003 WRX Wagon, 2008 Audi S5. They were all different and fun in their own way. The Integra and the WRX were fun with mod's. The S5 was just a smooth luxury ride. Ah heck I will throw in the 2010 Legacy GT as well. Even though it stayed stock it was a a great move to get out of the S5 and into the Legacy. Luxury enough for me and more fun in my opinion.

 

I’ve owned 3 manual vehicles. A Mazda 3, Honda Civic SI, and my Tacoma. The Honda was by far my favorite followed by the Mazda. I feel like the Tacoma is harder to drive and would be harder to teach a new driver in. Still love my truck though.

 

My 94 Miata

 

Of all my manuals, 2 stick out as favorites.

'00 S2000, which only came in a manual --- thank you Honda. Bought it when it was 12 years old with 15k miles on it for $14k. Someone described it's handling as "a hummingbird on Red bull" and I gotta agree. It was crazy nimble. I took it to a few track days. Eventually, I put a Brembo BBK on it and some Volk CE28n wheels with 255's all around. It muted the nimbleness of the car, but the grip was outrageous. I would scare the shit out of friends taking corners so fast. I sold it, as I hardly drove it, had no garage so I kept it in a storage unit. Sold it back in stock form for 17.5k with 32k miles. Super fun car.




My other favorite is an '02 Jetta TDI with a Malone stage 3 tune. I got it for fuel mileage benefits, as I was driving a diesel E350 van from central KY to East coast race tracks to instruct (motorcycles). Went from 17mpg to 42mpg towing 2 track bike on a Harbor Freight trailer. With the tune, I can easily hit 100 while towing. Car has 293k on it now. Not towing, I average 50-55mpg. Got 60.4 once slip streaming trucks and driving like a grandma. Done. Not doing that again. Haha... It was lowered 2", but since moving to WV and being 6 miles from asphalt, I raised it 3". Love it and I hope it makes it to 400k+ miles. It's fun to drive, fairly quick and I can roll coal on ahole tailgaters. No pic, just a silver mk4 Jetta lifted 1"...

 

1990 Saab 900 sedan

 

I finally drove a friend's manual 2017 Tacoma TRD Offroad with 265 75 r16 Falkens on it and 80,000 miles and absolutely loved the experience! It really has me thinking about my next move... Might become a 2 Tacoma Guy. I actually found the Tacoma to be far more pleasant to drive than expected. The clutch was great and to me had actual feel to it unlike my STI and other cars with zero feel at all.

The gearbox was smooth and rev matching (outside of second gear) was super super fun. The gear ratios were very short for a fun around town experience. You can easily creep forward in first or I'm sure even second. I am curious though how it would feel on the highway at around like 75 say driving all the way to Colorado for a trip from Illinois.

Overall it made me really think about snagging one to try to keep fairly stock and keep my 2nd Gen nice... we will see what happens. I probably should get another car but it was for sure something to think about for my next vehicle purchase.

 

It cruises along great at 75, but gas mileage drops off around 72.

 

I’ve probably driven about 100+ different manual transmission car models in the past 2 years. Most of them feel the same, some are worse than others, and some are just outright weird. I did a detail on a MT Honda Element last summer and it was the first and only time I ever saw a manual transmission in a Honda Element.
My favorite MT car I’ve driven was a BMW Z3 M Hatchback. It’s a very quirky looking car and they’re pretty hard to find in the hatchback configuration

 

Didn't the Honda Element have a weird shifter location, like almost on the dash?

 

I enjoyed the 1992 Mustang GT convertible I had but the smoothest manual I ever drove was a friends BMW, don't remember what model it was though.

 

Still love my 460hp LS 6 speed 4 door.

 

Yes. Jeep Patriot is the same way and I never really understood the logic behind that design.

 

Definitely seems odd.

 

Tie between my previous 2017 Civic Si and current 2000 Corvette. Both very fun cars. The Civic was slightly more fun overall. I could really push the car since it was so easy to drive. Have to respect the Corvette.