For me the TP car was the one that I wanted. Recaro's were a must as well. I haven't ever sat in a more comfortable seat in a car EVER. Long trips included. I could have cared less about all the creature comforts. I drive my car. Even when I'm in traffic and am on the clutch a lot it's not bad. It's funny that when I get into another manual car and then back into mine that I notice just how much effort it takes to push the clutch in. I start out in 2nd 99% of the time and don't power shift until the trans is well into being warmed up. I installed the Barton Short Shifter and it made a world of difference.

 

So after laboring over this for awhile, I'm now leaning back towards the auto Brembo car. While my '98 was fun a lot of the time, I also found myself wishing it was an automatic when sitting in traffic...in first gear it rolled way too slow to keep pace, but second gear was too fast...I was constantly between gears until I'd get sick of it and speed up and throw it in neutral til I had to slow way down again. I also got tired of riding the clutch down my parking ramp at work (same problem, not enough juice in first, two much in second) or even backing out of the driveway all the time.

The issues with the MT-82 in the face of how good the auto is really makes the auto the "buy it and forget it" option, shouldn't have to worry about clutch replacements or worn synchros (I'm no expert manual driver, but decent) or tranny issues.

I could see myself regretting both trannies, but really see myself regretting the manual on more occasions. Either way, the car will never see a day at the strip or the autox and it's going to stay stock so there are no goals to keep in mind, just what's best day to day driving from St. Paul into the smack middle of Minneapolis 5 days a week. If I lived and worked in the suburbs it might be different.

Ia lso talked to the wife and she is onboard with me buying the car, so now I just gotta sort out in my own head if I am ready to part with my cash to put in an order.

 

Id say go test drive an auto and a manual car if allowed. Getting some time with each tranny will help you make up your mind. I know the 13-14 have selectshift for the auto's which works pretty decently once you figure out how to use it well.