Over the past few years of testing various sports cars, I’ve had the chance to experience lots of firsts: Porsche’s very first all-electric car, the Taycan, or even Nissan’s first-ever all-electric Nismo with the Ariya Nismo. But I’ve also had to say goodbye to a few automotive icons, such as the Lotus Exige and the Nissan GT-R. A pattern seemed to be taking shape, where the more I waved goodbye to such sports cars, the more electric cars I was driving instead. EVs do bring their share of value to the automotive scene especially for daily use, but for us drivers and petrolheads, nothing comes close to the feeling of having a car with a stick shift and three pedals at reach. If you are also a firm believer in the “save the manuals” movement, keep reading about these sports cars that we can still buy with three pedals. We might have missed a few gems like the Mustang Dark Horse, M2, and the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, but this is a list of my favorite, and it might be a little different than yours. Welcome to Driver's Car Week. This week we're celebrating the driver's car — the machines built for people who actually love to drive. All week long we're covering the best enthusiast vehicles, the surrounding culture, and everything that makes them worth caring about. Nissan Z Photo credit: Claire-Kaoru Sakai & Ayesh Seneviratne Even with the Nissan GT-R now gone, Nissan still offers a pretty great gasoline sports car that also turns out to come with a manual transmission. The new Z keeps Nissan’s Fairlady heritage alive and well. With a design that pays homage to older generations while keeping it modern and fresh, this generation Z looks frankly stunning. While it is also offered as an automatic, the manual Z is the no brainer. The Z’s manual transmission feels fun and engaging and even with the car's modern looks, the transmission keeps this analog feel to it and doesn’t feel overly synthetized. You get a good rev-matching system, a satisfying clutch and despite some shortcomings such as long shifts that could use more precision, the Z’s driver-focused experience easily makes up for it. Now, we're just patiently waiting for the Z Nismo manual to hit the streets! Toyota GR Corolla (And Other GR Favorites) Toyota If there is one manufacturer singlehandedly saving the manuals, it is without a shadow of a doubt Toyota and the GR Corolla is the manual Toyota that makes most sense for the North American market. The Corolla is a hot hatch that comfortably seats four, and that also offers a trunk space of 17.8 cubic feet, making it a usable daily driver. The GR Corolla has this rally-inspired personality, complete with an AWD drivetrain, a turbocharged engine and a manual transmission. This rally-oriented aspect translates to the manual transmission as well, with a raw and mechanical feel to it that feels much more aggressive than a refined Porsche. It’s all about hard driving with close gear ratios, mechanical shifts and a performance-oriented clutch. Though we’re focusing on the GR Corolla here, I am not forgetting all the other manual GR sports cars and the GR Supra, the GR 86 and the GR Yaris are equally worthy. As the homologation hot hatch, the GR Yaris is by far my favorite. Though it has taken over the streets of Tokyo, it is sadly not available in North America. Honda Civic Type R Honda You’ve got to love Honda for offering the Civic Type R as a manual only, fully living up to its Type R badge. The Civic itself is a top-selling vehicle, ideal for daily driving thanks to a spacious interior for families, which is why the Type R makes so much sense. It brings the best of convenience and performance all under one roof; it’s the car that screams “you can have it all!” The Type R is exciting and rewarding to drive and its manual gearbox reflects just that: shifting is precise and it somehow feels really satisfying too. The clutch also stands out, and feels perfectly weighted, smooth and communicative, making it ideal for all types of drivers with different levels of experience with manual gearboxes. Mazda MX-5 Miata Mazda No manual transmission list is complete without a mention of the Mazda MX-5 Miata. As the holder of the Guinness World Record for the best-selling two-seat convertible sports car, the Miata is the manual darling of the car community. It’s never been the fastest on the roads, but over the years, the Miata has consistently delivered on commitment to offering the ultimate driver’s car, which of course involves a manual transmission. What makes the Miata’s manual transmission so appealing is the quick and precise shifting experience. The gear ratio is short and the slick shifting is quite satisfying. Now we’re all just hoping Mazda doesn’t ruin it for us when they’ll eventually decide to move onto a new generation Miata. Porsche 911 Claire-Kaoru Sakai, Ayesh Seneviratne / HotCars As the benchmark sports coupe in the industry, it’s hard to find anything bad to say about the Porsche 911, or so I thought until Porsche introduced its T-Hybrid tech with the 911 Carrera GTS. I've had the opportunity to drive both GTS generations, the 992 generation in its manual form and the 992.2 generation T-Hybrid, and the difference was flagrant. Sure, the new GTS T-Hybrid was much faster and responded much quicker than the previous manual, but it ultimately ended up sacrificing driver engagement for speed.If you’ve experienced Porsche’s manual transmission, you’ll know how satisfying it is. You get relatively short throws, clearly defined gates, and a smooth, balanced clutch pedal that isn’t too heavy, but not vague either. Unlike overly sharp, mechanical transmissions, Porsche’s manual transmission is also forgiving and the state-of-the art, extremely well calibrated rev-matching system is perhaps the best in the industry. Though Porsche has been cutting down the number of manual 911s available, the entry-level Carrera T, the track-focused GT3 and the pricey, top-of-the-line S/T still come as manuals. Caterham Seven Claire-Kaoru Sakai, Ayesh Seneviratne / HotCars While the Mazda MX-5 Miata steals the spotlight for two-seater open-top sports cars, there is another one that often flies under the radar, and that is deserving of more attention. The Caterham Seven is the ultimate British lightweight sports car that fulfills the wishes of every gearhead: it’s ultra-light, very analogue, and everything about this car goes straight to the point —something that is well reflected in its manual transmission. The Seven lineup comes with 5-speed and 6-speed models, but don’t expect anything gentle and polished out of either. With the Seven, it’s all about firm, mechanical shifts for a raw and engaging driving experience. No rev-matching system here, you do it all on your own of course. The Caterham Seven doesn’t try to pretend to offer you comfort and refinement, because it very much knows what it is.I’m hoping Caterham doesn’t dive too deep into their Project V, because the Seven is one of, if not the most engaging manual sports car currently out there.