![]() Honda has always produced a fine manual shift – even the six-speed unit in the Honda Jazz feels as nice to use as many sports cars’ – but the Japanese firm saves its best for the performance models. Use our Ford Fiesta deals page to see what you could save. The smooth, quick action of the gearchange in even the most basic five-speed manual versions explains why the Fiesta is such great fun to extract every last horsepower from. The steering is pin sharp in its accuracy, the pedals are light but well-judged, while the gear shift is hugely enjoyable to use. It’s rare for a plain old family hatchback to offer genuine driver involvement from all of the major controls, but the Ford Fiesta does an uncanny job of getting everything just right. The compensation of a perfect downchange every time is more than enough for most drivers, anyway. While some driving enthusiasts suggest that it takes a little of the skill out of performance driving, from behind the wheel of a busy, 189hp hot hatch like the Mini, it can often be a welcome addition. One such car which also includes rev match is the Mini Cooper S. While Nissan invented the rev matching system, other manufacturers have developed similar tech. Spec up your 370Z with carwow to buy from the best Nissan dealers in the country. The added bonus is that combined with the 370Z’s 3.7-litre V6, it sounds fantastic. By blipping the throttle automatically, every downshift is perfect, enabling the driver to focus a more on the road ahead rather than fluffing up the footwork. To simplify things for the driver, Nissan introduced a system known as SynchroRev Match for the 370Z, equipped as standard on GT models. It sounds tricky, and it certainly takes practice to master, but it keeps the car more stable under hard braking – especially in wet conditions. This requires rolling the right foot onto the accelerator pedal while keeping it pressed down on the brakes. When approaching a corner, the driver must brake with the right foot, change down the gears by pressing the clutch with the left foot, while simultaneously blipping the throttle to match engine revs to the road speed. The art of heel and toe, however, is a difficult one to master. The best bit is that you can save around £1,000 on the car’s £13,999 list price by buying the Swift through carwow. It won’t be long before you’re heel-and toeing each braking point to perfection. The revvy 134 hp 1.6-litre engine has barely 1,000kg to shift, and the snappy manual ‘box encourages the driver to squeeze every last ounce of performance from it. It’s rare to find such simple fun elsewhere, especially for such a low price. As with the GT86, straight line performance is modest, but entertainment is very high. The Suzuki Swift Sport is arguably one of the most underrated performance cars on the market. The six speed manual is a joy to use: precise, quick, and with just enough weight to feel like there is a direct mechanical connection between car and driver. The driving position is nigh-on perfect, the steering is full of feel and is perfectly weighted, and the four cylinder ‘boxer’ engine keeps the centre of gravity very low for exceptional cornering agility.Īnd then there’s the gearbox. When Toyota set about developing the GT86 (in conjunction with Subaru) it chose not to focus on outright performance, deciding instead to produce one of the purest, most interactive driving experiences on the market. Whether you’re looking for something sporty which offers an extra dimension of interaction, or simply appreciate the quality of a good manual shift in an everyday car, there’ll be something for you in this, our top 10 list of do-it-yourself shifters. Find the right road, and not even the most advanced dual clutch automatics will come close to the satisfaction of perfectly matching engine revs on a downshift, or slipping through the gears to keep the engine in its sweet spot. ![]() Speak to most driving enthusiasts, however, and they’ll claim that nothing beats the involvement that a proper manual shift delivers. As you waggle the lever around, clutch pedal wearing out your left leg in every traffic jam, you might wonder if it’s worth the hassle. To many drivers, using a manual gearbox might seem like a chore.
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