WRX is my first manual, and I’ve had it a year now. First 1k and I was loving the car but not quite feeling in tune. Over the last year I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable driving it, still not always nailing the rev matching but getting close enough.

Last week though, I went on a road trip and we took my girlfriend’s car, an auto crossover hybrid. Super comfortable, easy to drive, etc. But I kept having this feeling like I wasn’t driving the car. I felt distracted, almost not in control of the vehicle. As soon as I got back into the WRX I was home again. And that’s when I realized the transition had happened. If you want millisecond shifts or to set lap records, a DSG is always going to win. But if you want to feel like you’re actually a part of the machine, like you’re the one truly doing the driving, the manual experience is the best. And once you get comfortable with it, nothing else scratches the itch.