As has been mentioned previously, the 5-speed manual 190e2.6 is sluggish in city driving, what with the peaky nature of the M103 and the widely-spaced gear ratios.

I am very particular with the rpm/mph ratio of the top gear - the lower, the better, for better fuel economy and less engine wear. What I like about the 5speed box is the gearing of 4th and 5th:

* the car has a drag-limited top speed in both gears - in 4th, the engine is at approximately its power peak, and in 5th, it is at approximately its torque peak

* the fact that the car is drag-limited in 4th means that you can safely shift from 5th to 4th anytime without any fear of over-revving the engine

* this gives you 2 modes of highway cruising - banzai mode in 4th (with the knowledge that the automatic 2.6 cars are geared this way) or economy mode in 5th

On stretches of highway that are mostly level, I do not really feel the need to shift down to 4th to overtake - I just floor it in 5th, and the engine begins to respond at around 3500rpm, after which the speed builds nearly linearly. On fast 2-lane roads, shifting down to 4th is needed for minimum exposure in the overtaking lane.

1st gear is really boring, as it is geared very low. On the other hand, you can use this in bumper-to-bumper traffic that is moving very slowly. And this comes handy as well in winter.

2nd gear can be spectacular, especially when you floor the throttle past 5000 rpm.

The highly geared 3rd gear is perfect for a highway on-ramp, with a 160kph max speed. You just concentrate on where you need to merge the car.

Another advantage of the manual car is longer transmission life and longer brake life (due to more engine braking).