Manual is only better for racing (shifting based on conditions more than just rpm, and weight) and for looking cool.
I like having the option to sit at higher RPM if I expect to need it in the next few seconds. If I'm stuck in the right lane of a packed highway and there's an onramp ahead where people are going to merge like idiots. If I'm about to pass somebody. Autos can't read your mind, so they will always have a nonzero delay starting once you put the pedal to the floor.
Of course this is not relevant to 99% of drive time and paddle shifters do much the same thing. Unfortunately cheap cars don't come with them (or with an option to change the RPM at a certain speed with a CVT, which I think is a terrible wasted opportunity). Electric motors have different transmission needs altogether so I think putting a stick shift on one is stupid.
I like having the option to sit at higher RPM if I expect to need it in the next few seconds. If I'm stuck in the right lane of a packed highway and there's an onramp ahead where people are going to merge like idiots. If I'm about to pass somebody. Autos can't read your mind, so they will always have a nonzero delay starting once you put the pedal to the floor.
Of course this is not relevant to 99% of drive time and paddle shifters do much the same thing. Unfortunately cheap cars don't come with them (or with an option to change the RPM at a certain speed with a CVT, which I think is a terrible wasted opportunity). Electric motors have different transmission needs altogether so I think putting a stick shift on one is stupid.