Wow there is a lot of back and forth here. I am all for the manual. I think that the cons of it being a little louder then the AT is worth it. Its easy to get into traffic when I can hold the gear out longer (not to say the autos are bad but less responsive IMO when I test drove them).

I drove the paddle shifter more then I drove the MT at the dealership b/c they sold the MT when I went to test drive some other cars, In driving the paddle shifter I was trying to convince myself that the paddle shifter could be "fun" and that it would grow on me. I couldn't convince myself. So we went back to the dealership and had one brought from about 200mi away in Red, the color I wanted.