All The Manual Cars Currently On Sale In 2020

The manual transmission is a big talking point in the automotive community as of today since it’s future in the automotive community is literally hanging by a thread. Most manufacturers have given up on the manual transmission due to it being more or less obsolete in the American market. Yes, us enthusiasts loathe the idea of letting the manuals die out but it genuinely makes no sense from a business standpoint to keep the manuals around, at least for high production volume vehicles since there is next to no consumer demand for it.

Rowing through the gears does help one achieve a special connect with the car that one is commandeering but with modern dual clutch transmissions alongside torque converters and continuously variable transmissions, it is very tough to list out benefits of the manual transmission for the average car buyer when the automatics are quicker, more efficient and easier to drive. The third pedal has turned into something of a relic for the modern public where ease of use takes precedence over engagement and manuals are nothing but a hindrance to modern advancement as they won’t be a cakewalk to convert to SAE Level 4 or Level 5 Autonomy.

The manual transmission has not only lost it’s stronghold in the commuter oriented vehicle segment but also in the high performance enthusiast market as most of the modern offering from Automotive manufacturers rarely feature a manual transmission as most manufacturers are after the quickest lap time bragging rights which are certainly not going to be achievable with the slower manual transmission.

If you are one of the few people that are still dead set on bringing home a vehicle that still comes equipped with the more challenging transmission, your options are, to put it mildly, excruciatingly limited. So, if a manual is what you want, go ahead and get one of the vehicles that are mentioned in the following list because it wouldn’t be a surprise if even these get discontinued soon.

Aston Martin

• Vantage AMR

The Graziano Seven Speed Dog Leg Manual in the Vantage AMR is one of the last of it’s breed and certainly not going to be around much longer. If you have deep enough pockets, we would request you to please go and put a deposit down on one.

BMW

• 2 Series (230i coupe, M240i coupe/convertible)
• 4 Series (430i/440i coupe)
• M2
• M4

The 3 Series finally bows down to the trend and let’s go of the manual transmission for it’s newer generation but is expected to return with a “Pure” manual variant for the RWD BMW M3.

Fiat Chrysler

• Dodge Challenger
• Fiat 124 Spider
• Fiat 500
• Jeep Compass
• Jeep Wrangler
• Jeep Gladiator

The Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator can be equipped with a six speed manual transmission albeit only with the 3.6 litre V6 while the Renegade, 500X and 500L have all done away with any manual transmission variants for the 2020 MY.

The Fiat 124 is one of the star manual transmission vehicles for the FCA group as it brings in north of 69% of the overall manual sales for the brand.

FORD

• Ford Mustang
• Ford Mustang Shelby GT350

It is a delight to hear that almost fifty percent of the Ford Mustang GT clientele still continues to opt for the manual transmission while twenty percent of the Ecoboost owners go forth with the option of the manual as well.

The Ford Mustang Shelby GT 350 is one of the few vehicles on sale that come equipped only with a manual transmission and in our opinion is the perfect strategy for the potential buyer of the vehicle.

General Motors

• Cadillac CT4
• Chevrolet Camaro
• Chevrolet Spark

Manuals are becoming a rarer sight on the GM lineup of vehicles as the Chevy Sonic, Chevy Colorado and the GMC Canyon bid adieu to the manual transmission in 2019.

The Camaro and Spark are the last vehicles standing with the Camaro bringing in a 20% stake in the manual sales while the Spark does with a more healthy 40%.

Genesis

• G70

A Six Speed Manual is offered with the G70

Honda

• Accord
• Civic/Civic Si/ Type R
• Fit

No Acura’s offer a manual variant anymore while the Civics retain their famous short and snick smooth six speed transmissions.

Hyundai

• Accent
• Elantra/Elantra GT
• Veloster/Veloster N
• Venue

The Venue is the only subcompact crossover to offer a manual option in 2020.

Kia

• Forte
• Soul

The stick is only available on the base LX variant of the Soul thus capping take rate at just 1.8%.

Mazda

• Mazda 3
• MX-5 Miata

The MX-5 is certainly the king of manuals for Mazda with a 76 percent take rate.

Mini

• Clubman
• Countryman
• John Cooper Works
• Hardtop/Convertible

Mini is the only manufacturer in the American market that still offers a full line-up pf manual vehicles which it should be proud of.

Mitsubishi

• Mirage/Mirage G4

Nissan

• 370Z
• Frontier
• Sentra
• Versa

The manual take rate for the 370Z is at a healthy 46% but the take rates for the 370Z are something that is better not talked about.

Porsche

• 718 Boxster/Cayman
• 911 Carrera S/4S
• 992 variants

Porsche is the brand that is certainly on the enthusiast side by keeping the manuals alive and kicking as they have one of the largest take rates(As much as 70%) for their manual offerings.

Subaru

• BRZ
• Crosstrek
• Impreza
• WRX/STI

The WRX/STI with their take rates of 88 percent are king of the hills for the manuals while the BRZ trails behind with a respectable 73 percent.

Toyota

• 86
• Corolla Sedan/Hatchback
• Tacoma
• Yaris Sedan

The 86 is definitely the champ out of all the offerings as it is preferred by 67% of it’s buyers while the Corolla and Yaris have only a 1 percent claim.

Volkswagen

• Golf/GTI/Golf R
• Jetta S/GLI

The Golf’s are the ones that the enthusiasts go after when they want the manual because the Jetta’s only have a 7.1 percent manual take rate.