Do you remember the first time you rode in a car with a manual transmission? Was it something like watching witchcraft as the driver played with a third pedal and rowed through the gears? Now, years later, the market still offers new cars with six, even seven-speed manual gearboxes. So, you can get a fun, stick-shift ride in 2025. But should you?

The manual transmission refuses to die, even in 2025

It’s 2025. That means ballistically quick electric vehicles and lightning-fast dual-clutch transmissions. Even stout, traditional automatics like the ZF 8HP can blip off up-and-down shifts much faster than a competent driver flicking through gears. It’s a good time for speed.

Still, even with the empirical evidence that DCTs and shiftable automatics are faster and (as of late) more efficient than manuals, automakers won’t relent. As of 2025, there are around 26 new cars you can still get with three pedals and a stick in the middle.

However, some models, like the venerable Volkswagen Golf GTI, recently lost or will ditch the stick soon. In other cases, like that of the Chevrolet Camaro, the car simply drove out of production, manual transmission and all.

But there are still options. Want a world-class performance car with a third pedal? BMW still makes M cars with manual gearboxes. Would you prefer a more affordable driver’s car with a six-speed? The Mazda MX-5, Subaru BRZ, and Toyota GR86 can provide.

Even super sedans offer the option. Case in point: the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, perhaps the best pound-for-pound performance sedan to ever come out of America, offers a six-speed gearbox. But you won’t out-drag or conserve fuel quite like a dialed-in automatic.  

A case for keeping learning the third pedal

So, why would you buy a car with a manual transmission in 2025? In short: it’s fun. No paddle shifter-equipped traditional automatic or DCT will provide the same driver engagement as a three-pedal, stick-shift application.

Beyond the fun factor, some vehicles are strictly a manual affair. That means if you don’t want the manual, you can’t have the car. For example, the S550 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 from the C5 generation are manual-only. No automatic option at all.

Finally, a three-pedal car can be a somewhat effective anti-theft device. According to US News and World Report, the number of manual-literate Americans out there could be as low as 18%. That means a much smaller number of people can even drive a stick-shift car, let alone steal one.

Think you’re ready to try driving a manual? Check out this guide to learning without breaking the car you’re driving.