The new cars still available in Australia with a manual transmission
While car makers are slowly phasing out manual transmissions amid dwindling demand and the growth of hybrids, there’s still a decent list available in Australia if your style of driving involves three pedals and a stick.
While manufacturers might be slowly phasing out the manual transmission, there’s still a reasonable selection available on the market for Australian buyers.
Over the years, brands such as MG and Jeep have stopped selling manual cars in Australia. The same applies for luxury brands such as Lamborghini and Ferrari, which only offer their buyers faster, easier and more efficient automatic transmissions.
On the contrary, BMW, Kia, Mazda and Ford have kept the three pedal and stick option alive, while brands such as Mercedes-Benz and Peugeot have limited their offerings to commercial vehicles, specifically vans.
Some enthusiast nameplates have gone in the opposite direction – take the new Toyota GR Supra which, while rumoured to sprout a manual transmission again in the future, is still only available with an automatic.
Likewise with the Golf GTI and Polo GTI hot hatches, which ceased manual production in 2018 and 2017 respectively.
The Toyota Corolla, once Australia’s most popular vehicle – and still the most popular small car in the country – also removed its availability of a manual transmission in 2021.
Toyota has reported significant decline in manual uptake from consumers, with just 1.5 per cent of Corolla hatch buyers optioning a manual transmission in the first half of 2020, down from 7.4 per cent for 2015 (though in 2015 the manual could be had across three variants, rather than just one).
So while there’s no denying that manuals are slowly becoming an endangered species – particularly as hybrids and plug-in hybrids become increasingly prevalent – as of today there are still more than 200 different makes, models, and variants for sale in Australia today with a clutch pedal.
Here’s a list of new cars you can get with a manual transmission:
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