Quick, what’s the cheapest 2026 car with a manual transmission you can buy? If you said the humble Nissan Versa, think again. Nissan’s pulling its budget-friendly subcompact from the U.S. market for 2026. That leaves the Mazda’s MX-5 Miata as the cheapest way to row your own. Its price will be at least $12,340 higher than the outgoing Versa.

The manual transmission is dead!

For the first 12 decades of the automobile, the cheapest car available had a manual transmissioneryear. This makes sense: Automatic transmissions are more complicated than the “cog swappers” of yest. They were more expensive to produce, so the option drove up MSRPs. In addition, swapping gears yourself allowed you to choose how much fuel you used. Driving a stick shift car conservatively saved you money on the MSRP, and at the pump.

The Nissan Versa continued the long tradition of budget-friendly stick shift cars. Through 2025, it was the cheapest car you could buy in the United States. Nissan advertises the Versa’s 2025 MSRP as $17,190. Choosing the automatic (a CVT option) adds $1,800.

According to Kelley Blue Book, your “out the door” cost for a stick shift Nissan Versa (with a freight and prep fee or all-inclusive “destination” charge) is $18,330. The second cheapest vehicle available is the 2025 Hyundai Venue crossover ($21,550). Runner’s up are the Chevrolet Trax ($21,795), and the Kia Soul ($21,885)–both crossovers. Who knows which will be the cheapest car of 2026. But they all have automatic transmissions.

Long live the manual transmission!

Stick shift sales are up! Manual transmissions are trending! Rowing your own is back in style! Drivers are swapping out autos for cog-swappers!

We’re in the midst of a manual transmission renaissance. Don’t believe me? In 2021, less than 1% of new car buyers opted for manual transmissions. But by 2023, 1.7% of new car buyers rolled off the dealership lot in first gear, stamped the clutch, grabbed second gear, and rocketed off into the sunset.

We already have some data for 2024. The “take rate” for manual transmission Toyota Supras rocketed 22% to 65%. The Tacoma nearly quadrupled: 0.6% to 2%. Subaru reports WRX’s stick shift take rate shifted into overdrive: up 12.7% to 86.7%. The Miata–the car synonymous with the stick shift–saw a 10% take rate increase, up to 70%.

The old cog swapper’s place in our society is…shifting

The way automakers are positioning manual transmissions is changing. Just three of the eight trims of the redesigned Toyota Tacoma even offer a manual transmission. And they aren’t the work trucks. It’s become a premium feature for sport trucks. The Supra and WRX and Mazda Miata are their brands’ halo cars. And they’re priced accordingly.

So it won’t be a shock that the cheapest of the bunch, the Mazda Miata, is advertised at $29,530 in 2025. That “sport” trim comes with a manual transmission standard. It’s currently $12,340 more than the 2025 Nissan Versa. It’s likely to cost even more in 2026. This huge jump in the cost of the cheapest manual transmission car is a good illustration of the shifting place the manual holds in our society.