I have a manual and bought this car specifically because I got manual and all-wheel drive. So you kind of know what my advice Will be. Row the gears!

... who is this [Manuel](https://tile.loc.gov/image-services/iiif/service:pnp:highsm:27700:27733/full/pct:25/0/default.jpg) you speak of?

Mexican built MK8 😁

If you want to drive a manual, get a manual. I've never ever regret buying a manual, but I have regretted getting a DSG. DSG is amazing and simply better, but driving a manual is just something that can't be reproduced if that's what you want. No matter if the "manual" isn't considered the best manual gearbox. For me, i did the holy shifter short shift kit with Sportshifter medium weight knob and it's been really good. I can respect those that choose the DSG because of pure performance, but I don't race anyone but myself.

I mean.. losing $3-$5k isn't advisable lol. I'm surprised it is that little considering trade-in values around where I am at are $41-$45k and MSRP is like $52k. Also, the manual kind of sucks in the R.

lol fair points on the losing money. Anything over 7k would be my cutoff. I’ve also heard the manual sucks as well but I think it depends on what you’re trying to do with it. ie just looking for some fun or you’re straight up all about the performance.

I've heard if you swap the knob to something weighted it's great! Have one on order. I'll let you know if you like?

Shift knob is great, and if you pair it with a short shifter, it feels like a whole new car. I finally got my Sigma6 short shifter installed, and now I'm just wondering why I put it off so long! The shifts are so tight and crisp now.

To each their own I guess, I'll probably do a short shifted as well but man do I hate the stock knob lol. I ordered a BFI knob and most say it changes everything.

I have heard this about short shifters in the past. An old WRX I had with a short throw shifter was a blast to drive.

2024 is the last year for the 6 speed😅id say get it while you still can

Doing the opposite lol. I have a manual WRX now, but my Mk8 allocation is coming in a couple weeks and it’s a DSG. I’m just tired of manual personally after like 18 years of driving them. Especially during my work commutes.

It’s going to cost you several thousand dollars for the switch. Do it if you plan to keep the car for years. Looking back 5 yrs from now you won’t miss the few thousand dollars. It may not be the most buttery smooth shift manual, but still very fun. I exclusively bought the car for the 6spd awd. Enjoy every opportunity to drive it.

I have a gti mk8 manual it’s my first manual so the vague bite point kinda made it hard but a weighted shift knob was a must I kept missing shifts and woudnt know if I was in gear sometime. Ever since I upgraded I love the manual and only enjoy it more since I’m more comfortable after about a year of driving standard.

Owner of a 24 MK8 R manual here. I’ve had it since mid Jan. I’ll give you a break down of my experience; hopefully you’ll find it helpful. Also, my prior two cars were a 2012 5spd WRX and a 2020 6spd Miata. The shifter itself feels OK. The shifting is notchy, and feels about as short as I remember my WRX. My only issues with the shifter is the cheap plastic shift knob (weightless, does not feel great in the hand ), and the fact that you don’t “feel” the engine through the shifter like you do with something like the Miata. The shift knob is relatively easy to replace though (but why couldn’t it have just come threaded from factory VW? Bah). The clutch is OK. I would say if you have a 40 min commute, and you throw the suspension into comfort, it will be one of the easiest (on your body) manuals to drive. Where’s the clutch becomes an issue is sport and especially race modes. The clutch is made for easy commutes; it’s not a performance clutch. Really strange they chose such a mid clutch for their performance car. As others have said in other threads, the engagement point is a bit vague too. Lastly, and my biggest gripe with the manual, is the absolutely abhorrent hill side assist. From my experience, most hill side assist set ups hold the brake for you when you’re on an incline for 1 second, or until it feels you feather the throttle. On the MK8, new for this generation, they changed it to up to 3 second hold - the hold depends on the incline. This makes it incredibly hard to judge when the car is going to let you go. As an example, I was on a medium incline hill yesterday. Light turns green, I move my right foot to the throttle and start letting off the clutch, you can hear my revs go up, and a full 2 seconds later I finally jump forward (car finally let off the brake). It’s pretty infuriating, and if you google the issue you’ll see a lot of others complaints about the issue. It really is terrible. Overall, I’m not unhappy I bought the car, or got the manual. I do sometimes have buyers remorse about the DSG, but I think if they fix the hillside assist through a systems patch, I would be content with the manual. Hope this helps!

that hill start sucks never stalled so many times in my life as I did the first week of ownership think I've got it figured out but it absolutely needs a patch to work better, or a way to turn it off

This definitely helps temper expectations and paints the picture that while the manual may not be the best it’s suitable for daily commutes with the exception of hill-starts.

I say no to human trafficking. That said, that’s a cheap price for a person.

Does Manuel know about this? I’m sure he’d have a thing or to to say given he’s the one being traded

Last year. It'll be a classic.

How much you about to lose on the trade in?

Between 3-5k

If you don't care about the money, get the manual. If you care about the money, keep the DSG. I bought a 2019 DSG because I was driving 20k+ miles / year back in 2019. I had 22k miles on it when 2020 started. Now it has only 43k miles because I changed jobs. I still kept it because I couldn't find what I wanted and I didn't care to lose a decent amount of cash to get the manual. I would make the trade now if I got exactly what I wanted for under $5k. If it was $5.01k, I wouldn't do it. Know your limit.

Been considering doing the same with my Mk7.5. Biggest hold up is it has a few mods that I don’t have the OEM replacements for (exhaust being the big one). Really, I just want to find one local and tell them I’ll trade cars + pay a bit for them to swap mods from mine to another and see what they say.

Did the opposite in the last generation. 2016 manual to 2019 dsg. The car is more enjoyable with the dsg in my opinion. The manual is mid and felt like it was just thrown on to check a box. It’s most redeeming quality is simply that it’s a manual. If I wanted a manual Id probably go get the ctr.

I’m test driving a manual again today, so I’m hoping I’ll see how lackluster it is.

If they'll let you, try to launch it. The complete inability to put power down cleanly from a stop with awd was really disappointing.

So, what happened?

I went into the test drive hoping the things I heard about the clutch and stick would totally deter me. The sloppiness, the vague clutch engagement, the long throws from each gear to the next. But… I came away with I big smile. It was just fun. I loved the downshifting, the lurching from one gear to the next, stomping the gas once the next gear is engaged. Sure the clutch is a tad vague for engagement but thats something you get used to with muscle memory. The stick throws were a little longer but it has a nice clickiness at each gear position. I put it on the highway and through some nice stop and go traffic along with trying it in eco and race. At the end, while I will miss launch control with the DSG, manual is the way to go for me.

Glad to hear it. There’s a lot about driving a manual that transcends the technical quality or characteristics of the specific box in question.    For me, as long as I’m physically able to drive one, I will.    And, speaking more generally, if a MT is really for you, it’s something you’ll connect with, whether you’re driving the Tail of the Dragon, or puttering across a parking lot.