[dfar1]

I grew up in Brazil where most cars are manual. After my first automatic car, I really missed switching gears... and I ended up going back to manual. Some friends ask if I don't ever get tired switching gears, but after you've done it for so long, it becomes second nature, you don't have to think about it. Whether true or false, I feel like I have more control of the car when I'm in control of the gear... specially when going up/down a steep hill, or going through terrains other than asphalt.

[rconti]

I've only owned manual transmission cars since I was old enough to buy my own, including my most recent car, a 2016 Golf R. In fact, I specifically bought the Golf instead of the BMW I wanted to buy, because BMW dropped the manual transmission choice.

I enjoy shifting, and even in bay area traffic, I simply don't get what's "hard'" about changing gears. I'm already sitting there in front of the controls. It really takes no additional effort or brainpower, it's second nature. It's like complaining it's too much work to press the brake to avoid colliding with the car in front of you. It's driving.