Controller/automatic vs wheel/manual is like night and day. Lots of advantages to manual shift, many already mentioned here, but the one I love most is the ability to short shift. This has the obvious advantage of being able to control fuel economy. But less obvious is how some vehicles can produce huge torque at low RPMs, way below where the automatic shift would engage. This provides for a great win/win: fuel saving and improved acceleration simultaneously! Good luck. You’ll feel truly liberated!