Stick-shifts are vanishing from cars, but I still have some favorites — here they are, ranked

Matthew DeBord/BI

• Stick-shifts are disappearing from the automotive landscape.
• But one can still option a manual on some performance cars and pickup trucks.
• Here's a disputatious ranking of my favorites, with appearances from MINI, Mazda, and Jaguar.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Time was when many vehicles offered a manual option, either because customers wanted performance, or because they wanted better fuel-economy — or because they just wanted a cheap option.

While one can still find manual transmissions on vehicles in Europe and South America, automatics are the rule in the US.

Even some performance cars have dropped the manual options, most notably Ferrari. Most people no longer learn to drive on a stick-shift, and for the most part, automatics yield good fuel economy and can be had on inexpensive cars.

So the stick-shift is dying out. But one can still find it on a decent number of cars. 

Here's a rundown of some of my favorites, ranked from most satisfying to least:

1. The MINI John Cooper Works is a savage little beast of a car. I just love the thing, but it absolutely terrified me.

Read the review.

It has a very crisp-shifting six-speed manual that's my all-time favorite.

2. The MINI Cooper S Countryman ALL4 that I tested a while back is a performance version of MINI's anti-SUV.

Read the review.

See Also:

• I drove a $141,000 Porsche 911 4S and a $224,000 911 Turbo S — and my favorite model might surprise you
• I drove a $178,000 BMW M8 Competition convertible to find of the lavish drop-top could combine power and style — here's the verdict
• 13 things you should do now to maintain your car while coronavirus lockdowns park it indefinitely

FOLLOW US: On Facebook for more car and transportation content!