After replacing the clutch to get a better feel/experience, I've turned to wanting the '08 in AT. While I'm good enough to work the 6MT into a pretty smooth operator, and can nail rev-matched, heel-toe downshifts all day long, that has a lot more to do with me then it does this 6MT.

I'm not trying single anyone out, but there needs to be some context with the responses. Some feel it's not all that bad, others feels it's sucks completely, and others think it's the only way to enjoy the car. What seems to get overlooked a lot of the time is the poster's age and/or experience with an MT.

I think it says a lot when long-time MT drivers hate the system enough to look at the AT. Obvisouly, it also says something good about how far ATs have come. I've been driving MT cars for nearly 20 years, and this 6MT, possibly along with age (and experience!) has me looking at the AT very strongly. I have relatively little faith that Nissan will get it perfected with the '08, as my '05 has the same issues after several revisions.

I notice a lot of those that feel the 6MT is the only way to go happen to be younger and/or have found the joy of driving an MT car no so long ago. There are always exceptions, but I'm noting the general replies seen on this forum.

At 35, I assumed the 6MT was the best way to go with my '05... ...especially with more HP. Fact is, if I had gone with the AT I wouldn't now be contemplating trading my '05 with only 6300 miles on it and with the mods and the way I wanted it to look all completed.

1st car: '79 Datsun 280ZX - MT
2nd car: '83 Nissan 280ZX Turbo - AT
3rd car: '91 Mustang GT - MT
4th car: 97 Mitsubishi GSX - MT
5th car: '55 Bel Air w/468bb -AT
6th car: '03 Chevy Cavalier - MT
7th car: '05 G35 Coupe - MT

I've driven a pretty large variety of MT's and I've also owned one from several manufacturers that span a good deal of time. I feel I've put in enough MT time to recognize when it's a poor system. I like the relatively short throws and the robust feeling of this 6MT, but the rest of the interface leaves a lot to be desired. There are a lot of long-time MT drivers that felt like a noob again when getting used to the G.

You can get used to it... ...you can even work it into a reasonable experience if you're a good enough MT driver... ...but neither of those things make it a good system. While it's not all that bad of a system, I said the same thing about the POS daily-driver 5spd. Chevy Cavalier I had. That car cost less than half of the G.

The 6MT experience isn't up to the level of vehicle the G is supposed to be, IMO. Test drive them both.

 

Could it have anything to do with the fact that you learned how to drive a stick on crappy cars? I've driven Ferrari's, Porsche's, M3's (etc) (none of them mine by the way...) and all of them have a closer feel to the G35 than any mustang or cavalier. Hell, even the Richard Petty driving experience cars I have driven had a high engagement point. I will be driving F2000 cars in Vegas the weekend and I will let you know how they respond as well. (Still guessing it will not feel quite like a Cavalier)

 

Look, don't miss the point and be a douchebag about it. Nowhere did I say that the Cavalier was anything near an ideal set-up. What I did was say that a "not so bad" description is fine for a Cavalier, not so fine for $35K+ G35.

If you look, I mentioned that G's 6MT feels nice and robust, and that I like the connected feeling, rather than something rubbery such as the Cavalier. The point was that the G's 6MT has it's issues and is not on par with the car. If it were, there wouldn't be so many complaints about it.

Glad you've been fortunate enough to drive some exotics. The only car I ever felt crappy in was the Cavalier, but that was a given before even buying it for daily commuting. Sure, a '79 280ZX might not be cool nearly 30 years later, but it was above average in my area back in the early/mid '80s. Sorry, there weren't many friends around with Ferraris, Porsches (unless you count the POS 914), etc., and there certainly weren't any 6MTs from a yet-to-be-formed company called Infiniti.

If you've had issues with filling the fuel tank, could it be because you've filled crappy cars in the past? Doesn't it make sense that if a good number of people have the same/similar gripe, that there might be some very legitimate subtance to it. FWIW, I've never had an issue filling my fuel tank completely full, without the pumpever even clicking off before it gets full. Does that mean that any fueling problem you might encounter is due to your life experiences, or could it point to a common issue that not everyone is experiencing?

 

I owned some really good MTs and some really bad MTs. I have gotten used to all of them. I would not let a bad experience with a clutch or shifter on a test drive dissuade you from buying an MT. That is not enough time to get used to it. Buy the MT now while you can. With DSG becoming more mainstream, the standard may be gone in another 10-15 years.