Nissan still makes manual transmission cars but sell very few in the US. The base model Versa is still a 5 speed manual.
Even in Europe automatic transmissions are more popular than ever. About 15 years ago I had a business trip to Austria. When I arrived at the care rental counter there was an Ugly American in front of me insisting on an auto transmission and behaving badly while waiting. When I got to the counter I told the agent that a manual transmission was fine and I had a choice of several brands. I chose the BMW not-so-hot hatch with a turbo diesel and 5 speed manual trans. It was the Bimmer equivalent of a VW Golf. I enjoyed it.
Great advicre and counsel on this thread. I settled for the FWD Nissan Rogue 2020 model with lower mileage (10K lower). I personally wanted the AWD since it gave a nice oomph from stop/low speed to joining traffic on highways etc but my daughter did not have such compulsions and wanted a trouble free car. So it was the FWD. Plus it worked out $2500 cheaper. So its done. Thanks guys. Now I will let you all fight out AWD vs FWD battle.
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Just let me add, a CVT in a Nissan is a reliable transmission today. Nissan was an early adopter of the CVT and ended up having to deal with the āteething painsā of a new technology.
And yes I know that CVTs have been around for a long time but they were not widely used until Nissan made the plunge. Honda tried them a few years earlier in one model of the Civic but ended up recalling every one of them and replacing them with geared ATs.
Today, Nissan CVTs are a reliable option for an automatic transmission.