Best manual cars 2026

Best for: unhinged driving enjoyment

The Toyota Yaris is a motorsport-bred beast that’s the closest thing you can buy to a rally car for the road. No, really - it was conceived for Toyota’s World Rally Championship programme, which says that for a car to compete it must be mechanically similar to one that’s on sale for the public to buy.

The GR Yaris is so good that we named it Hot Hatch of the Year back in 2021 - and after its mid-life facelift in 2025, we awarded it the Pleasure of Driving gong in the 2025 Carwow Car of the Year awards. Our own Mat Watson owns one, which should be enough of a ringing endorsement for anyone.

The update in 2024 added the option of an eight-speed automatic gearbox to the GR Yaris range, and very nice it is too - but for the best experience, you have to go for the six-speed manual. It’s a heavy, mechanical-feeling gearshift, so it makes you feel as if you’re really working in harmony with the car - and when you really nail a shift and you hear the bellow of the GR Yaris’ 1.6-litre, three-cylinder engine, it’s a truly fantastic experience.

The GR Yaris doesn’t really bear much resemblance to the regular Yaris - the majority of the body panels are different, and it’s a three-door rather than a five-door hatchback. That obviously has some implications for everyday usability, which is limited with the GR - the back seats are very cramped and access to them is difficult, so it’s best to think of it as a two-seater sports car rather than a family hatchback to sling car seats and pushchairs into.

But if you want a small, fast car that will put the world’s biggest grin on your face when you’re taking it down a back road - and you don’t want to feel disconnected through an automatic gearbox - then the GR Yaris is the best car you can buy.

Best for: an everyday supercar

Porsche doesn’t offer a manual gearbox on all versions of the venerable 911 sports car, but if you opt for the 911 Carrera T - a lighter, simpler, driver-focused version of the ‘entry-level’ Carrera S - you get an absolutely glorious six-speed manual gearbox in the middle and a third pedal beneath your feet.

Not that you can tell from the outside, which is either a great thing or a crime depending on your personality. Badge and a little decal aside, there’s no telling that the Carrera T is anything other than a ‘run of the mill’ 911, which means you get the classic, shapely silhouette and big, round headlights at the front.

The interior is a little different from the regular car, with lightweight sports seats trimmed in fabric, rather than the typical leather items in the Carrera. Most importantly, however, you’ll notice the wooden gear knob protruding from the centre console - a nod to the hair-raising Carrera GT hypercar of the 2000s.

As with all 911 models, the 911 Carrera T is a shockingly good daily driver - so long as you request the back seats be re-fitted (a no-cost option). No, you won’t fit too much shopping in the front boot, nor will you fit lanky friends in the tiny back seats - but you can squeeze kids back there, and there’s room for a weekly shop without too much hardship.

Once you start driving the 911 Carrera T you won’t want to stop, especially on your favourite country lane. The clutch and gear shift are so precise that you’ll find yourself rowing through gears just for fun, and the flat-six exhaust note is a joy for your ear drums.

Better still, the 911’s suspension is comfortable enough to dispatch a full continent-crossing road trip without giving you a sore bum, and its engine and gearbox are friendly enough that you won’t be trying to avoid commuting in it like you would some of its alternatives.

Best for: open-top fun

Small, cheap convertibles are few and far between, but the Mazda MX-5 has been a constant since the 1990s. Better yet, it hasn’t strayed from the spirit of the original and still has three essential traits.

First, it’s genuinely small, avoiding the bloating that’s hit almost every other vehicle nameplate. Second, it gets a quick-folding manually-operated fabric roof (though a hard-top ‘RF’ version is also available). And third, it’s fantastic to drive thanks to a combination of low weight, perky engines and a truly fantastic manual gearbox.

The MX-5’s gearshift is the platonic ideal of what a manual transmission should be like - it’s pin-sharp, short, snickety and makes every shift an absolute pleasure, no matter if you’re schlepping through traffic on the A27 or blasting down a twisty B-road.

You can choose between a 1.5-litre or a 2.0-litre petrol engine for the MX-5. The 1.5-litre isn’t quick, but it feels very sweet, being keen to rev up and giving the most lightweight feel. The 2.0-litre is much more powerful, and gets a limited-slip differential at the back - essentially meaning you can corner faster.

There is an automatic available, but it ruins the spirit of the MX-5 - and it’s not a particularly good automatic either, being an old-fashioned torque converter type rather than a modern dual-clutch. If you want an automatic convertible, look elsewhere - maybe a BMW Z4 or, as a left-field choice, a Volkswagen T-Roc Cabriolet.

The MX-5 isn’t exactly a practical daily driver unless you’re unencumbered by things such as children, friends, or possessions. The cabin is snug for tall drivers and there are precious few cubbyholes to store odds and ends in. The boot, too, will just about manage a weekly shop for two people but don’t expect to visit your local flat-pack furniture emporium.

But when it’s late afternoon, the sun’s just lowering in the sky, you’ve got the roof down and some tunes on - you won’t care.

Best for: a bargain-priced seven-seater

The Dacia Jogger is a total enigma - it’s a family-sized seven-seater that costs less than most small hatchbacks. How Dacia has done it may seem obvious when you get up close, as it’s clearly a crazy mishmash of parts from the Renault/Dacia stores all smushed together to make a strange hybrid of estate car, MPV and SUV.

Though there’s a hybrid engine option with an automatic gearbox available, the entry-level - and best-value - version comes with a 110hp petrol engine and six-speed manual gearbox. It’s not particularly fast, but even when laden with seven people it’s just about adequate, and it adds to the charmingly basic feel that the Jogger has when you’re driving it.

It’s certainly basic inside. The third row of seats don’t fold nice and flat into the floor like they do on alternative SUVs - instead, they bend in half and you can either pile stuff on top of them or remove them completely. The front of the cabin isn’t much posher - the base-spec car doesn’t even get an infotainment screen, just a place to mount your smartphone.

However if what you want is maximum practicality for your money, the Jogger is extremely hard to beat. Even seats six and seven have space for an adult to sit in reasonable comfort, and if you do remove them and fold the middle row forward you’ve got loads of space.

Best for: a classic all-round sports car

The M2 is BMW doing what it does best - it’s a small, rather handsome two-door coupe, which features a six-cylinder engine at the front, rear-wheel drive at the back, and the option of a six-speed manual gearbox in the middle.

The M2’s gearbox isn’t actually its finest feature - like most BMW gearboxes, it’s a bit springy - but it still adds a great layer of involvement to the M2 and makes it terrific fun to drive. The eight-speed automatic is otherwise very good, but feels a bit anodyne compared to the manual model.

All versions have the same fantastically precise steering, tons of grip in the corners and ample power to make the best use of it. You get a pretty nice interior too - it’s understated, but high-quality and packed with tech all operated through a high-res, 14.9-inch infotainment touchscreen.

It’s even reasonably practical - though the back seats are very tight, the boot has plenty of room for a big weekly shop. It also sounds absolutely brilliant when you’re pressing on. Don’t get yourself confused with the front-wheel drive BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe - this M2 is a totally different car, and much better for it.

Best for: a budget family SUV

The MG HS isn’t much like the cars above - it’s not designed to be a pleasure to hoon down a B-road, nor is it meant to go around the racetrack as fast as possible. Instead, it’s a big SUV that’s absolutely remarkable value for money - and no more so than in its entry-level form with a manual gearbox.

The HS gets a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine and a six-speed manual gearbox with a surprisingly nice action. You won’t feel the need to ram it home like you would one of the hot hatchbacks on this list, but it’s perfectly serviceable and the engine provides plenty of power, so you won’t find yourself missing the more expensive plug-in hybrid model.

It’s rare that SUVs this size even offer a manual gearbox any more - the Nissan Qashqai and Skoda Karoq do, but both of them only have this on their low-powered, entry-level cars. By contrast, the HS gets a 169hp engine which is well up to the task of ferrying a family around.

You don’t even have to tolerate a mean entry-level spec to get your manual gearbox, as it’s available on both the regular SE and the top-end Trophy model with its 360-degree camera, wireless phone charging and heated seats.

Unlike some other cars on this list, the MG HS’s manual gearbox isn’t a joy to use - but it’s not a distraction either, and it makes this big SUV even cheaper than it would be with an auto.

Best for: a manual city car

Time was a small, cheap car was unlikely to have an automatic gearbox even as an option - and if it was, it was either an ancient unit from the depths of that manufacturer’s parts bin, or a dreadful automated manual transmission that took four-to-six working days to swap from second to third. Well, now many small cars do offer automatics, but some still fly the flag for a good manual, and the Citroen C3 is one of them.

The C3’s manual gearbox won’t go down in the annals of history as one of the most satisfying to use, but it’s light and easygoing, suiting the character of this little crossover perfectly. Paired to Citroen’s 1.2-litre petrol engine with a surprisingly perky 100hp, it’s notably more enjoyable to drive than entry-level versions of the Kia Picanto or Hyundai i10 simply because it has much more power in reserve.

And even though the C3 is Citroen’s smallest and cheapest car, it doesn’t feel bargain-basement. Every model gets wireless smartphone connectivity, for example, and there’s space for adults in the back seats and even a reasonable amount of luggage in the boot.

With a price tag lower than most alternatives, the Citroen C3 feels like a real bargain. While you can spend a bit extra and get an automatic-equipped hybrid variant, or a fully electric e-C3, the basic manual car is the most charming of the lot.

Best for: old-school muscle

The USA is notorious for automatic gearboxes - it’s often joked that the way to avoid car theft in the States is to purchase a manual, since the thief won’t know what to do with that strange waggly thing in the middle. But the Ford Mustang has always been an exception to that rule, offering a slice of old-school American muscle with an old-school manual gearbox to tame it.

Of course, the manual gearbox is only one piece of the puzzle - the Mustang’s main appeal lies in its majestic 5.0-litre V8 engine, which is unsullied by a turbocharger to give it the maximum raw driver appeal.

The Mustang’s price is also far lower than most European opposition, even ones with half the cylinders - so it remains a performance car bargain, albeit one with notably less sophistication than, say, a BMW M4.

That probably won’t matter to you if you just want to make loud noises, cruise comfortably down a straight road and maybe do the occasional big, smoky burnout. But you’ll probably wish you were in something smaller and more agile when you hit some tight corners - though the Mustang really doesn’t embarrass itself here compared to previous generations of the car.

There’s even a Mustang Convertible if you fancy showing off even more, though this will be even more a boulevard cruiser than a sports car.

Best for: a true sports car experience

Lotus is pretty legendary when it comes to making light, simple sports cars, but the Emira does feel markedly more modern than its previous efforts - without sacrificing too much character. It comes with a manual option if you opt for the 3.5-litre V6 engine, in which event you get a beefy 400hp - capable of propelling the lightweight Emira from 0-60mph in 4.3 seconds and on to 180mph.

The Emira sounds utterly fantastic when you open the throttle up, and its suspension is tuned just right to be the perfect blend between comfortable on a bumpy city street but firm and precise on a twisting back road.

You do pay a premium for the Emira’s hand-built nature, though. It costs more than even top-spec versions of the Porsche 718 Cayman or Alpine A110 - and both of those cars have more substantial interiors and should prove rather less temperamental in terms of ownership. However, if you want something that you’ll probably never see on your neighbour’s drive, and you love the way the Emira looks - almost like it’s bursting out of its own skin - there’s no substitute.

Best for: a big, powerful hyper-hatchback

The Honda Civic Type R may no longer be on sale, but it’s still one of the best hot hatches ever built, and it came exclusively with a manual ‘box right until the very end.

Honda ripped out the regular Civic’s hybrid engine and automatic gearbox and replaced it with a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine pushing out 329hp. The glorious six-speed manual gearbox is fantastic to use and - like all Type Rs - topped with a fantastic solid metal gearknob.

The Civic Type R remains a hugely practical everyday hatchback thanks to its big boot, spacious back seats and straightforward dashboard.

But once you’ve dropped the kids at school, you can head home via the back roads and really open the Civic Type R up - once you do, you’ll find a hooligan of a car that you’d scarcely believe was even distantly related to the regular Civic if you drove them back to back.

It may have an obnoxiously loud exhaust and enormous rear wing, but that’s part of the Type R’s yobbish charm. It was also not particularly cheap when new, with a Volkswagen Golf GTI costing a good chunk less

But it’s remarkably useful as an everyday driver, amazing fun on a back road and blessed with one of the best manual gearshifts on any model you can buy today - which is enough for a whole generation of petrolheads to get their kicks. We’re really very sad to see the Honda Civic Type R go.